OCD, Inhalants, & Eating Disorders

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EATING DISORDERS

An eating disorder is commonly known as an obsession with food and often accompanied with body and weight image. But that is only the beginning. An eating disorder is a serious illness that left untreated can be life threatening. There are often times other psychiatric issues involved with this disease such as depression, anxiety and drug abuse. Most eating disorders will require long term treatment and at times an intervention may need to occur in order to bring the individual into treatment before they permanently damage their bodies or hit "rock bottom". Unlike other addictions, abstinence is not an option when dealing with eating disorders. We have to eat food in order to live, but what we can change is the behavior, the way we eat. By educating oneself in the different types of eating disorders, behaviors and more importantly how to change one's lifestyle is critical to living healthy. The following paragraphs explain just a few types of eating disorders:

Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a very common type of eating disorder that many people suffer from. Most commonly anorexia nervosa affects women between the ages of 11 and 35, however they are not alone. The age for girls to show signs of anorexia nervosa has been documented as early as 6 years old and even men have been diagnosed with the disorder. Anorexia nervosa is deliberate weight loss due to fear of becoming overweight, and is accompanied by distorted body image. This disease not only affects the body, but the mind becomes obsessed with the idea of dieting, losing weight, to the extreme of not eating at all.

There are no known causes of eating disorders, however, it is certain that most who suffer from eating disorders, are also perfectionists. They strive for perfection in every aspect of their life. When other areas of their life may be beyond their control, they may lean on controlling their food intake or lack of food in order to relieve the obsession.

Bulimia Nervosa
Another form of eating disorder is called bulimia. Bulimia is considered a psychological condition associated not only with body image but also with depression, anxiety and self-esteem issues. With this disorder, one is trapped in a vicious cycle of binge eating and then purging. What this entails is eating excessively large amounts of food in one sitting and then driven by guilt and shame, forcing oneself to vomit, or over exercising to compensate for the huge caloric intake. The "high" of eating in a binge setting then followed by guilt, leads to the purging, which will then leave the individual feeling empty and ashamed, thus creating the cycle to repeat itself.

Compulsive Overeating
Compulsive overeating is an addiction to food. An individual who is suffering from compulsive overeating obsesses with the idea of eating food. It is beyond a craving for chocolate cake or something sweet, it is out of control binging, eating so much food that they are uncomfortable full. This is called "binge eating disorder". After the binge, feelings of guilt and shame arise. Unlike those suffering from bulimia nervosa, compulsive overeaters do not relieve their feelings by purging. There are also those who do not binge eat, but they will eat small amounts continuously throughout the day. However, they will consume huge amounts of calories over the course of the day. Those individuals are suffering from "compulsive overeating disorder". Compulsive overeating whether compulsive or binging can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and depression.

Symptoms

Some signs that one may be struggling with an eating disorder are:
• Extreme weight loss or weight gain
• Excessive exercising
• Eating enormous amounts of food in one sitting
• Vomiting
• Not eating at all

Treatment for Eating Disorders
It is so important that eating disorders require immediate treatment. Not only for the emotional reasons, but the physical ramifications of unhealthy eating habits can lead to permanent internal damage, tooth decay and even death. Treatment can save one's life. Going to good treatment center, with a structured program including a doctor, therapist, nutritionist, and in some cases medication may even be prescribed to address any anxiety or depression conditions. There are also 12-step groups, for example CEA-HOW - Compulsive Eaters Anonymous (www.ceahow.org), or OA - Overeaters Anonymous (www.oa.org) that you can attend. This fellowship is open to men and women who meet regularly to share their experience, strength and hope with one another in order to help each other solve their common problem and help those who still suffer from compulsive eating. The most important thing is that you do something. Take that first step. You don't have to continue living life the way you have been. There is help. The life you are saving may be your loved one's or even your own.