Eating disorders: key facts
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What are eating disorders?
Many ‘eating styles’ can help us to stay
healthy - but some are driven by an intense fear of becoming fat.
These can damage our health and are called eating disorders. The
two most common problems are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.
We describe them separately here, but the symptoms are often
mixed.
Who gets eating disorders?
They are around 10 times more common in girls
and women. In teenagers, they affect seven girls in every 1000, but
only one boy in every 1000.
What causes eating disorders?
We do not know for certain, but many factors
could play a part. They include: -
- social pressure - Western culture -
particularly the media - idealises being thin.
- control - losing weight can make us feel good
and in control.
- puberty - Anorexia reverses some of the
physical changes of becoming an adult.
- family - saying “no” to food may be the only
way you can express your feelings.
- depression - binges may start off as a way of
coping with unhappiness.
- low self-esteem.
- genes may play a part.
Anorexia Nervosa - signs and symptoms
- worrying more and more about your
weight;
- eating less;
- exercising more;
- being unable to stop losing weight, even when
you are below a safe weight;
- smoking and chewing gum to keep your weight
down;
- losing interest in sex.
In women, periods become irregular or
stop.
In men and boys, erections and wet dreams stop
and testicles shrink.
When does it start? - Usually in the teenage
years, but it can start at anytime.
Bulimia Nervosa - signs and symptoms
- You worry more about your weight;
- You binge eat;
- You make yourself vomit and/or use
laxatives;
- You have irregular periods and feel
guilty about your eating pattern, but stay a normal weight.
When does it start? - Often in the mid-teens.
But people don't usually seek help for it until their twenties
because they are able to hide it.
Binge Eating Disorder
This has recently been recognised. It involves
dieting and binge eating, but not vomiting. It is distressing, but
less harmful than bulimia. Sufferers are more likely to become
overweight.
Can treatment help?
Helping yourself - Bulimia
can be tackled using a self-help manual with guidance from a
therapist. Anorexia usually needs help from a clinic or
therapist.
- Try to stick to regular mealtimes –
breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your weight is very low, have extra
snacks.
- Keep a diary of what you eat and your
thoughts and feelings. You can use this to see if there are links
between how you feel, think and eat.
- Be honest with yourself and with others.
Remind yourself that you don’t always have to be achieving things –
let yourself off the hook sometimes.
- Think about joining a self-help group and
contact the b-eat.
Professional help - Your GP
can refer you to a specialist counsellor, psychiatrist or
psychologist. Your eating disorder may have caused physical
problems or you may have an unrecognised medical condition – a
physical health check would be wise.
Treatments for anorexia
Psychiatric support - A
specialist will want to find out when the problem started and how
it developed. You will be weighed and, depending on how much weight
you've lost, may need a physical examination and blood tests. With
your permission, the specialist might want to talk with your family
or a friend to see what light they can shed on the problem.
Psychotherapy or counselling
- This involves talking to a therapist about your thoughts and
feelings. It can help you to understand how the problem started,
and how you can change some of the ways you think and feel about
things. It can be upsetting to talk about some things, but a good
therapist will help you to do this in a way which helps you to cope
better with your difficulties. They will also help you value
yourself more, and rebuild your sense of self-esteem.
Advice and help with eating -
A dietician may talk to you about healthy eating. You may need
vitamin supplements.
Hospital admission - This is
only an option if you are dangerously underweight or just not
getting better. It involves controlling your eating, doing physical
checks and talking about problems.
Compulsory treatment - This
only happens if someone is so unwell that their life or health is
in danger or they cannot make proper decisions for themselves and
need to be protected.
How effective is the
treatment? More than half make a recovery, although it can
take some years to recover completely.
Treatments for bulimia
Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - This can be done with a
therapist, with a self-help book, in group sessions, or with a
computer program. CBT helps you to look at the links between your
thoughts, feelings and actions.
Interpersonal Therapy - This
is usually done with an individual therapist. This treatment
focuses on your relationships with other people.
Eating advice - This helps
you to get back to regular eating, without starving or
vomiting.
Medication - Antidepressants can reduce the
urge to binge. Unfortunately, without the other forms of help, the
benefits wear off after a while.
How effective is the treatment?
- About half of sufferers recover. Recovery usually takes
place slowly over a few months or many years.
This leaflet is made available through the
generosity of the Charitable Monies Allocation Committee
of the mental health charity St Andrew's, Northampton
© February 2009. Royal College
of Psychiatrists http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/.
Due for review February
2011.
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