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Problems with food can begin when it is used to cope with those times when you have feelings that are difficult to manage, and at any time in life. If you are bored, anxious, angry, lonely, ashamed, or sad, for whatever reason, using food can change the way you feel. Food can be a comfort, or seen as an enemy to fight and avoid. Food, just as with alcohol and other drugs, becomes a problem when it is used to help you to cope with painful situations or feelings, or to relieve stress, perhaps without you even realising it. We can do this subconsciously, or by copying family templates. If this is how you deal with emotions and feelings and you are unhappy about it, then you should try to talk to someone you trust. Using food can be a way of feeling in control of your life when all around you feels out of control. Some people also find they are affected by an urge to harm themselves or misuse alcohol or drugs. You may find that in common with many other people you experience feelings of despair and shame. There is also, in some people’s experience, a struggle with how you feel about their body, the shape, size, and appearance. Eating disorders are not gender or age specific. The bottom line is, if eating and food rules your life you will probably need some kind of help.
Eating disorders are characterised by disturbances in eating behaviour.
This can mean eating too much, not eating enough, or eating in an extremely unhealthy manner, such as binging or stuffing yourself over and over, and in some cases purging. There are only three diagnoses of eating disorders in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, they are:
307.1 Anorexia nervosa
307.51 Bulimia nervosa
307.50 Eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS)
There is some discussion in the medical world at present as many more people fit the EDNOS diagnosis than the other two. There is also a mixed medical and experiential response to treating the first two diagnoses with a Twelve Step model of recovery. The debate continues.
Food addiction is a serious condition with many adverse health consequences. Obesity, diabetes, psychological disorders, brittle bones, poor dental condition, body hair, the ceasing of the menstruation cycle in women, and gastric problems are just a few. The first step to recovery is, of course, to realise and accept the problem. Many food addicts also need help with issues of control, depression, low self-esteem, isolation, guilt and disappointment. There will almost certainly be underlying family dynamics that will have been the breeding ground for the addiction.
As with any form of dependency, there is no quick route to recovery. Ambitious attempts to lose weight quickly are usually short-lived. Diets and more fads will be unhelpful, as will trying to do it alone. Overcoming this condition involves changing our whole approach and relationship to food, and adopting a new lifestyle and eating patterns for the long term.
As with any other addiction, food addiction is about losing control, in this instance over how much and what we eat or do not eat. It's a compulsive, excessive craving for foods that, in themselves, are harmful to us. Addicts typically binge on junk foods, white bread, sugary foods, and an inability to control our intake. If you binge eat and then vomit or use laxatives to purge yourself, you are suffering from the form of addiction known as bulimia.
The majority of food addicts, for whom the disease has progressed, are overweight or obese. Some addicts, particularly bulimics, will fast, diet and/or exercise vigorously in order to prevent weight gain. They will focus on eating foods that are diuretics, contain mostly water, and have little in the way of calories. They may maintain a normal weight or it may fluctuate significantly.
For most addicts, there are foods that act as 'triggers' once we start eating them we just can't stop. These are usually sugary foods, white flour, and other refined carbohydrates, which research has shown could have addictive qualities because they cause certain chemical changes in the brain.
Many individuals with Bulimia come from over controlling families where nurturance is lacking. Studies suggest that sexual abuse survivors are more prone to the disorder, as are fraternal twins and first degree relatives of those who have anorexia, the latter suggesting a biological component as well.
Symptoms
The key characteristics of this disorder include bingeing, the intake of large quantities of food, and purging, elimination of the food through artificial means such as forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, periods of fasting, or excessive exercise.
Treatment is similar to Anorexia in that the primary focus is on restoring health and then focusing on normal eating patterns and exploring underlying issues. Therapy, a food plan, emotional support, and a journey into a health relationship with self and food will create recovery.
Individuals with bulimia are more likely to get treatment due to the more obvious symptoms and self recognition of such and recovery is therefore improved.
Like bulimia, binge eating disorder has only recently been recognised as a distinct condition if not a clinical diagnosis in the true sense, it was first acknowledged as a disorder in its own right in 1992. Binge Eating Disorder (BED) shares some of the characteristics of bulimia but the essential difference is that you binge uncontrollably but do not purge. It is believed that many more people suffer from binge eating disorder than either anorexia or bulimia nervosa. Because of the amount of food eaten, many people with BED become obese, this can lead to problems with blood pressure, heart disease and a general lack of fitness. The treatment for BED is in some ways similar to that for bulimia.
Signs of binge eating
Eating much more rapidly than usual
Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
Eating alone because of embarrassment at the quantities of food consumed
Feeling out of control around food
Feeling very self conscious eating in front of others
Feeling ashamed, depressed or guilty after bingeing
Being unable to purge yourself or compensate for the food eaten
Compulsive Overeating is a variation on binge eating when you will eat at times when you are not hungry. This may happen all the time, or it may come and go in cycles. Most people who are compulsive eaters are overweight, and may use their weight or appearance as a shield they can hide behind to avoid social interaction, others hide behind a happy or jolly façade to avoid confronting their problems.
Sufferers often have great shame at being unable to control the compulsion to eat. Compulsive overeating is a serious condition and needs professional support to ensure long term recovery.
Much research has been completed on this disorder, and results indicate a strong familial undercurrent. Many individuals with Anorexia come from over controlling families where nurturance is lacking. Studies suggest that sexual abuse survivors are more prone to the disorder, as are fraternal twins and first degree relatives of those who have anorexia, the latter suggesting a biological component as well.
Symptoms
Most often diagnosed in females (up to 90%), Anorexia is characterized by failure to maintain body weight of at least 85% of what is expected, fear of losing control over your weight or of becoming ‘fat.’ There is typically a distorted body image, where the individual sees themselves as overweight despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Treatment involves, initially, focusing on improving the individual’s health. Once this is obtained, therapy can be useful in helping the individual maintain normal eating habits and explore faulty thinking which resulted in the distorted body image and excessive needs for control.
If caught in time, Anorexia is very treatable, but can easily lead to severe physical problems and death if it is allowed to continue. In many cases, an individual with anorexia is very reluctant to get treatment as this would mean giving up control. Inpatient or other hospitalisation is often needed when health is at risk. A Twelve Step recovery process is possible but if someone is under weight, they will need a medical intervention to stabilise them first.
Conditions as complex as eating disorders inevitably mean that there are variations in the typical signs described above and not all symptoms will apply to all people. In fact many people find they have a diagnosis of an A-typical Eating Disorder or Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). These are disorders where you have some but not all of the diagnostic signs for anorexia or bulimia. You may also be diagnosed with a ‘partial syndrome’ eating disorder if for example you are a woman with anorexia who has irregular or normal periods, or perhaps your bulimic episodes are very infrequent.
Some eating problems are much more distinct, such as ‘chew and spit’ behaviour, when a person chews food and spits it out, rather than swallowing normal or even large amounts of food. Another example is regurgitation when food is swallowed, and is then brought back up into the mouth for re-chewing. Some people eat non-foods, such as paper tissues, to fill themselves up without the calorific intake. All of these behaviours are more common than many people believe and sometimes exist alongside other eating disorder symptoms. They can often be overcome with professional help.
Prader Willi Syndrome is not an eating disorder as such, in the sense that it does not have its roots in emotional problems, but is a genetic disorder that results in excessive eating from early childhood. People with Prader Willi syndrome may not achieve full height growth; they may have bad temper tantrums and often have learning difficulties, all of which require specialist healthcare treatment.
If you feel that you fit any of what you have read above, we strongly recommend that you consult professional help. TRN offers guidance and the ability to identify and share with others, and is a really useful step on the road to recovery.
