Eating disorders can cause harmful effects on the mind and body. Some people who struggle with an eating disorder have body dysmorphia, where they look in a mirror and see something completely different from what is there. Others simply want to achieve a different outcome, and they do so by binging and purging. In many cases, eating disorders co-occur with other mental health disorders like OCD or anxiety.
If you or someone close to you is struggling with signs of an eating disorder, you can get help today.
Most Common Eating Disorders
While there are a handful of eating disorders, the most common are anorexia, bulimia as well as binge eating disorder.
Anorexia
Signs of an eating disorder will look slightly different depending on the condition. With anorexia, for example, signs of this eating disorder may include refusing to eat enough or exercising too often. People who struggle with anorexia might regularly purge their bodies through excessive exercise or by forcing themselves to vomit after they eat.
For example:
Clarissa decided the fastest way to lose weight was to simply cut back on how much she was eating. She would go through fasting on the weekends, and under regular circumstances, she cut her caloric intake to around 800 calories per day. She refused to eat full meals despite the consequences it was having.
She rapidly lost weight, but then she lost too much weight. Still, when Clarissa looked in the mirror, she didn’t see any improvement, so she continued to starve herself. When she was forced to eat in front of friends and family, she would excuse herself to the restroom to throw up.
Bulimia
With bulimia, signs of an eating disorder have to do primarily with binge eating followed by purging. Binge eating is when individuals consume excessive calories, significantly more than their bodies can handle. After that, they either intentionally or involuntarily vomit.
The purging cycle might also take the form of excessive exercise to an unhealthy degree or fasting to compensate for the times when binge eating takes place.
This presents with similar risks to anorexia like blood sugar problems and adrenal issues as well as damage to the kidneys because the body doesn’t get the right nutrients. However, the excessive vomiting can also cause things like internal bleeding and holes in the stomach lining.
For example:
Jessica dealt with a lot of depression, and she would fill the emotional emptiness inside her with excessive calories, in single sittings eating an entire birthday cake or a large box of pasta with ample cheese on top. She would eat so much that she made herself sick and would vomit all the food.
Whenever Jessica couldn’t make herself sick, or she was in a social situation where she ate too much, she would fast for several days after excessive exercise to try and compensate. Jessica started dealing with significant problems with her weight and her health.
Binge Eating Disorder
Signs of an eating disorder with binge eating disorder are very similar to bulimia, where an individual will consume significantly more calories than they can handle or then their body can handle, but the difference is they don’t go through the same purging cycles, so they don’t force themselves to fast, to exercise too much, or to induce vomiting.
For example:
Linda eats much the same as Jessica, consuming far too many calories in a single sitting, but Linda doesn’t purge the same way.
Getting Help for Eating Disorders at Casa Serena
The primary candidates for eating disorders are women and young women between the ages of 12 and 35. This can happen for several reasons, namely societal pressures to look a certain way no matter what else is going on.
If you or a woman in your life is struggling with an eating disorder, getting women-specific care at Casa Serena can offer significant relief from symptoms while also providing the supportive community that women need to learn to love themselves and their bodies. Our women’s eating disorder program offers several forms of therapy by women for women.
Signs of an eating disorder center on forcing restrictions on the way that you eat, often as a result of body dysmorphia, where you don’t view your body accurately. This can include starving yourself through things like fasting or calorie restriction, as well as binging and purging cycles.
If you are struggling with signs of an eating disorder, call our facility today to learn more about the benefits of getting treatment at a women ‘s-only center.