Eating disorder

What are eating disorders?

An eating disorder is a condition that causes significant disturbances in thoughts, feelings and/or behavior related to food, weight and body image. Eating disorders are not just about food and weight, but are also a coping mechanism for an individual to handle difficult emotions they experience.

An eating disorder is a serious mental illness which can cause life-threatening situations. It’s important to recognize and acknowledge an eating disorder as early as possible in order to find long term recovery. Eating disorders can be recognized by a variety of signs and symptoms, as we will discuss below.

The most common eating disorders are:

• Anorexia Nervosa: People with anorexia nervosa starve themselves to lose weight. They are obsessed with becoming thin and believe they are overweight even though they actually have little or no body fat. Their excessive fear of gaining weight may cause them to exercise obsessively by refusing to eat certain foods, binge on other foods, or vomit after eating.
• Bulimia Nervosa: Bulimia nervosa is the type of eating disorder where people eat a lot of food in a single sitting and then force themselves to vomit or take laxatives (medications that cause bowel movements) or diuretics (medication that causes urination) afterward in order to avoid weight gain.
• Binge-Eating Disorder: Binge-eating disorder is characterized by recurrent binge eating without the use of compensatory methods like vomiting afterward or purging through laxatives, diuretics and enemas.
• Orthorexia Nervosa: Orthorexia nervosa is characterized by obsession with eating only "pure" or "healthy" foods despite being underweight
• Other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED): However the four types of eating disorders stated above are the most common, it is good to know there is also a large group of people who are experiencing several symptoms of multiple eating disorders, but can not be diagnosed with one of the specific eating disorders. They get the diagnoses of OSFED.

Does my child suffer from an eating disorder?

An eating disorder can be developed at various stages in life, but usually occurs during teenage years or as a young adult. Young people with an eating disorder are frequently insecure, have a distorted body image and often have low self-esteem. All kinds of factors can play a role in this, such as someone's personality, the culture in which someone has grown up, pressure from the social environment and traumatic emotional experiences.

Signs & symptoms of an eating disorder

The signs and symptoms of eating disorders vary by specific type and person, but some common symptoms of eating disorders include:

• Your weight is very low or very high for someone your age.
• You spend a lot of time of your day worrying about food, your weight and shape.
• You have created very specific routines or habits around food.
• Your mood switches, and you can feel anxious, depressed or withdrawn.
• You experience physical issues, such as problems with digestion (bloating, constipation or diarrhea), feeling faint from experiencing heart racing.

What causes eating disorders?

You can develop an eating disorder for several reasons. The way we see our body is widely discussed in the media, on social media and within our social circles. We get confronted with a beauty ideal on a daily basis, which influences the way we see ourselves and others. It can feed our perception of how we want our body to be, and how we do or do not match those criteria.

Besides the beauty ideal it is also a way to feel like you have some sort of control in your life. Research points out your family, social or traumatic experiences, and specific characteristics are likely to increase the chance of developing an eating disorder.

Risk factors for developing an eating disorder include:

• Family history: you or someone in your family has experienced an eating disorder in the past. Also a history with depression or addiction increases your chances of developing an eating disorder as a main or dual diagnosis.
• Personality treats: you’re a perfectionist.
• Other mental health disorders: you’re obsessive, experience anxiety or have a low self-esteem.
• Trauma’s: you’ve been (sexually) abused, criticized or bullied with your body shape, weight or eating habits in the past.
• Social pressure: you feel pressure to be a certain body shape, for example because it’s an important factor in your daily work life (as an athlete, model or professional dancer).
• Stress: change can cause stress, for example moving, going to university for the first time, landing a new job, or issues in your family or relationship.
• Dieting: dieting is a risk factor. Weight loss can change the way the brain works for vulnerable people, who can get lost in restricting eating patterns and find it hard to return to normal eating behavior.

Treatment of eating disorders

We treat teenagers and young adults with an eating disorder. We offer the best possible treatment in order to achieve a lasting recovery. The result is that the teenager or young adult is able to live and function in society in a pleasant way again, by slowly breaking down the wall they have built around themselves.

Need help? Contact us

An eating disorder is a serious and common health condition, which can affect anyone at any age. If you would like to register a teenager or young adult (aged 18-25) for a treatment at The Grange Youth Clinic, please complete our intake form and we will contact you to schedule a personal intake interview. Our therapists have experience working with individuals from all walks of life and will help you overcome your problems and find hope for the future.