| An eating disorder is an illness which permeates all aspects of each sufferer's life, is caused by various emotional factors and impacts. In this article we will touch upon Anorexia and Bulimia. Eating disorder sufferers are characterized as having a low self-esteem and often a tremendous need to have stringent control over their emotions and surroundings.
Anorexia is a unique reaction to a variety of outer and inner conflicts, such as stress, concern, unhappiness and feeling as if life is uncontrolled. Anorexia is a negative way to cope with these emotions. A person having Anorexia may be extremely sensitive about being fat, or have a deep fear of becoming overweight - though not all Anorexia sufferers experience this fear. They may fear to lose control of the quantity of food they consume, accompanied by the craving to take strict control over their emotions and responses to these emotions. This forces them to turn to obsessive weight control and starvation as a way to control not only their body weight, but what they feel and how they react. Some also believe that they do not merit pleasure out of life, and will avoid situations related to pleasure (including eating).
Typical behavioral signs may include: obsessive exercise, calorie and fat gram counting, starvation and restriction of food, self-induced vomiting, the use of weight loss solutions, laxatives or diuretics to attempt controlling body weight, and a persistent concern with the way they look.
People who suffer from Bulimia seek episodes of binging and purging - they will binge on food in a comparatively short period and then use behaviors such as pickings laxatives or diuretics or self-induced vomiting - because they feel overwhelmed in handling their emotions, or to punish themselves. This can be in direct relation to how they feel about themselves, or about a particular event or series of events in their lives. Bulimia sufferers may seek episodes of binging and purging to avoid and let out feelings of stress, anger, anxiety or depression.
Recurring episodes of overeating followed by tremendous guilt and purging (laxatives or self-induced vomiting), a feeling of losing control over eating behaviors, engaging in strict dieting and exercise on a regular basis, the misuse of diuretics or laxatives, and/or weight loss solutions and a persistent concern about the way they look can all be warning signs of Bulimia.
There are many similarities in both illnesses, the most common being the cause. They are very complex emotional issues. Although they may seem to be nothing more than a health-threatening obsessive weight concern on the surface, for most sufferers there are deeper emotional conflicts to be handled. |
