What are the Common Causes and Symptoms of Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders can be described as psychological conditions that cause unhealthy eating habits. People can become obsessed with their bodies, weight, and food. This condition can cause serious health problems for any race, gender, or ethnicity.
What to Do When Someone Has an Eating Disorder
Mood Swings
It’s difficult to feel happy when you are starving. An eating disorder is when someone you love experiences irritability, mood swings, or both. Insufficient nutrition can also cause stress to your organs which could lead to health problems.
Esteem Issues
An eating disorder can lead to a person displaying a distorted view of their body, causing them to believe they are fat. These distorted perceptions may lead to excessive exercise or vomiting.
Sleeping Disorders
An eating disorder can manifest as excessive or insufficient sleep. Oversleeping can be caused by fatigue from eating thousands of calories. Others may have difficulty sleeping because they feel anxious or stressed from binging and purging. Binge eating disorder can also lead to sleeplessness at night because of strong food cravings.
Social Isolation
People with an eating disorder are more likely to become socially isolated. They feel that their family and friends don’t understand them, so they feel more at home without them. Sometimes, this can lead to physical repulsion and even abandonment of school or work.
Hiding Food
According to the National Eating Disorder Association, hiding food is one of the first signs that an individual has an eating disorder. This behavior may manifest as throwing away food or eating in secret. Others may hide food from others to control their portion sizes.
Using
While most people overeat, eating disorders can occur when someone eats out of control and in a different way to normal eating habits. Overeating is a way to deal with problems.
Skip Meals
People who suffer from an eating disorder are more likely to skip meals. People with an eating disorder tend to skip meals more often because they feel the food isn’t good enough, are under pressure to lose weight or have to eat healthy. Extreme hunger pangs, irritability, mood swings can result from skipping meals.
Eating Disorders
Biological Causes
The risk of developing an eating disorder increases if you are born into a family that has had a history of it. If a family member is watching the other person eat, the risk of developing an eating disorder increases. Although there are possible genetic links, it is important to remember that eating disorders can also be caused by anxiety, depression, and mood disorders.
Environmental Causes
You are more likely to have an eating disorder if you live in a society where beauty is associated with being thin. Peer influence, weight teasing and peer pressure are all major environmental factors. Poor body image and eating disorders can also be caused by social comparisons.
Cultural Causes
Eating disorders are largely caused by cultural influences like fashion and beauty. Although losing weight is a good thing, A healthy weight loss can cause health problems.
Bulimia Nervosa
This eating disorder is characterized by binge eating and purging. Many people suffering from this condition think that being thin is beautiful. This California treatment for binge eating disorder is available to those who have the problem.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexics think they are overweight even though they are underweight. They tend to be more careful about their weight and avoid certain foods. Anorexics often have difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. Anorexia can be described as restricting, purging, and binging.
An eating disorder is a mental illness that requires medical treatment. It is important to know the factors that increase your susceptibility if you or someone close has this condition. Changes in one’s environment can help with recovery and prevention. Don’t suffer in silence. Get medical attention immediately to prevent you from becoming overweight or too thin.