3 common eating disorders
3 common eating disorders
What are the most common eating disorders? What are the consequences on quality of life? What can online therapy do?
When we talk about eating disorders we are referring to incorrect behaviors regarding food intake. Normally, people eat to satisfy their nutritional needs, driven by the stimulus of hunger.
Those affected by an eating disorder, however, do not take into account either the sense of hunger or the sensation of satiety, both determined by the connection between stomach and brain. This means, for example, that a person may continue to eat even if they feel full, or not eat even though visibly thin and underweight.
There are numerous risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing an eating disorder, including depression, substance abuse, a family history in which the prevailing family model is psychosomatic in nature, or frequent criticism of one’s eating habits, body weight, and physical appearance.
The three most widespread eating disorders
The three main eating behavior disorders are the following:
Bulimia: it consists of pathological voracity and eating a large amount of food, followed then by guilt and self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, or fasting.
Anorexia: the individual does not eat or eats very little, says they are full, and tries to lose as much weight as possible without realizing they are severely underweight.
Binge Eating Disorder: the person tends to eat excessively, but unlike bulimia nervosa they do not self-induce vomiting, do not use laxatives, and do not fast. It is a very common disorder among teenage girls who, following personal problems or after following a particularly restrictive diet, find comfort in eating until they lose control. Food serves to calm anxiety but if taken in excessive quantities could cause serious health damage. Often these are suffering people, with low self-esteem and many feelings of guilt. They think they are ugly and clumsy, and they try to resolve this discomfort with food. Weight gain, however, makes it even more difficult to integrate with others, thus increasing their discomfort.
These three eating disorders have different variants and subtypes, and individuals tend to move from one disorder to another. In the following paragraph we will try to analyze a little more deeply the three types of eating disorders mentioned above.
Bulimia
Those affected by bulimia consume food quickly and in excessive quantities (binges), but later, taken by guilt for having eaten too much, self-induce vomiting, abuse laxatives, or overdo physical activity to avoid gaining weight. Normally, the bulimic is of normal weight, has low self-esteem, thinks they will only be happy if they reach the desired weight, and will hardly admit to having a problem. Among the consequences of bulimia we can mention damage to the digestive system, throat and esophagus disorders, stomach dilation, cardiac arrhythmias, etc. Sometimes anorexia and bulimia alternate cyclically, in fact the anorexic person who is no longer able to fast gives in to hunger and then punishes themselves with self-induced vomiting.
Anorexia
Anorexia pushes one to progressively decrease the amount of food in their diet until reaching an ideal thinness that will never be satisfactory. Anorexia arises mostly in adolescence and is more widespread among girls. The individual appears visibly underweight but is not able to see themselves as they really are. For this reason they constantly monitor their weight on the scale and reduce food to lose even more weight, overdo physical activity, use laxatives, or induce vomiting.
Those affected by anorexia have as their only fixations food and thinness; therefore everything revolves solely around these two things. For them losing weight means managing to feel strong, becoming thin increases their self-esteem, but if they notice they have gained weight or not lost enough they easily fall into despair. What are the consequences of anorexia? Anxiety, depression, absence of menstruation (amenorrhea), sleep disorders, kidney failure, demineralization of teeth, osteoporosis, heart alterations, hair loss, etc.
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge Eating Disorder is widespread mainly among women, although 40% of male subjects represent a higher percentage compared to cases of bulimia nervosa and anorexia.
This disorder arises mostly in early adulthood, although it can concern a very wide age range.
Suspicion arises when one begins to consume food more quickly than normal and compulsively until losing control over what and how much is being eaten, with a late sense of guilt. Body weight begins to increase progressively with fluctuating trends and the individual shows growing concern for their body shape and weight. The disorder is often associated with obesity with all the repercussions on health and quality of life. Causes can be various: an intolerable emotional state, repeated exposure to others’ judgments and negative comments, dissatisfaction with self-image, etc. Among the psychological and behavioral symptoms can be found great discomfort in eating with others, a sense of failure and frustration, isolation, low self-esteem, and depression.
What can online therapy do?
Online therapy, particularly online family therapy, is the most useful for addressing cases of eating disorders, especially when there are adolescents beginning to suffer from such conditions.
Online family psychotherapy becomes necessary when there are difficulties within the family where conflicts, relational disharmonies, and abnormal behaviors in children and adolescents are present.
Parents, upon discovering they have a son/daughter with eating disorders, often react by becoming even more controlling, thereby maintaining the function of the symptom. The symptom would take on an advantage for the son/daughter within the family system to claim their own autonomy, often hindered by a psychosomatic transactional family.
With adults, instead, the path will be addressed individually, still through online therapy, in videoconference for constant support.
For information write to Dr. Jessica Zecchini.
Email contact consulenza@jessicazecchini.it, whatsapp contact 370 32 17 351.
