Eating disorders are a very serious thing that should not be taken lightly. Eating disorders are not about food, weight, dieting, etc, they are about deeper issues, internal conflicts, anxiety, depression, stress and other factors. Often the person uses a eating disorder to deal with the emotions because it is the only thing that they can control in their life. Meaning, they can control food, but they can't control what is going on around them. Low self-esteem is present in almost every eating disorder.
The most common types of eating disorders are: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Compulsive over-eating, and Binge eating.
Anorexia- A person with Anorexia sees themself as fat, or has a deep fear of becoming fat. Though not every person with Anorexia has this fear. The behavioral signs of Anorexia are: obsessive exercise, calorie and fat gram counting, starvation and restriction of food, self-induced vomiting, the use of diet pills, laxatives or diuretics to attempt controlling weight, and a persistent concern with body image.
Bulimia- Persons with Bulimia see out binge and perge episodes. Meaning they eat a relatively large amount of food for a short period of time, and then use methods such as periods of self-induced vommiting or laxatives. Usually, they use these episodes to let go of emotions. They are aware they have a problem, and often enjoy reading recipes and discussing dieting issues. Some behavorial signs include:Recurring episodes of rapid food consumption followed by tremendous guilt and purging (laxatives or self-induced vomiting), a feeling of lacking control over his or her eating behaviors, regularly engaging in stringent diet plans and exercise, the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, and/or diet pills and a persistent concern with body image can all be warning signs someone is suffering with Bulimia.
Compulsive Eating- People with compulsive eating disorders are often "addicted" to food and use food to hide from their emotions, feel a void inside themselves, and to cope with the stress of their life. They are usually aware their habits are abnormal, and are usually overweight.
Binge Eating- Binge Eaters suffer from over eating, and something like Bulimia. They binge eat until they are uncomfortablly full. A person with a binge eating disorder run the risk of a heartattack, high blood pressure,kidney disease/failure, bone deteriation, and stroke.
