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What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is characterized by an irrational and extreme fear of weight gain and significantly restricting one’s food intake, which results in low body weight. It’s typically accompanied by a distorted body image, abnormal eating habits, an obsession with thinness, and a belief of being “too fat” despite being underweight.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Anorexia?

Extremely restricted eating patterns and low body weight: People with anorexia often have an intense fear of gaining weight and severely limit their food intake, leading to significant weight loss. They may deny feeling hungry or refuse to eat.
Distorted body image: Individuals with anorexia often have a distorted perception of their body weight and shape. They may see themselves as overweight even when they are dangerously underweight.
Preoccupation with food, calories, and dieting: People with anorexia may obsess over food, calories, and dieting. They may develop rigid eating habits, such as counting calories or avoiding certain foods.
Excessive exercise: Some individuals with anorexia may engage in compulsive, excessive exercise to burn calories and control their weight.
Physical symptoms: As a result of malnutrition, people with anorexia may experience various physical symptoms, such as fatigue, dizziness, hair loss, dry skin, constipation and irregular menstrual periods in females.
Emotional and behavioral changes: Anorexia can also cause emotional and behavioral symptoms, such as social withdrawal, irritability, difficulty concentrating and a persistent concern with food and weight.

What is Bulimia?

There are two main types of bulimia nervosa:

Purging Type Bulimia: Purging type bulimia involves engaging in self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics (water pills), or enemas after binge eating episodes to get rid of the consumed food and prevent weight gain.
Non-Purging Type Bulimia: Non-purging type bulimia involves compensating for binge eating episodes through excessive exercise or fasting rather than purging behaviors like vomiting or using laxatives.

Both types of bulimia involve recurrent episodes of binge eating, which is characterized by consuming large amounts of food in a short period and feeling a lack of control over eating during these episodes.

Regardless of the type, bulimia is a serious eating disorder that can have significant negative impacts on a person’s physical and mental health. It is essential for individuals struggling with bulimia to seek professional help and support to address the underlying causes and develop healthy coping mechanisms.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Bulimia?

The signs and symptoms of bulimia nervosa can be physical, psychological, and behavioral. Some of the most common include:

Binge eating: People with bulimia have recurrent episodes of consuming large amounts of food in a short period, often feeling a lack of control over their eating during these episodes.
Purging behaviors: Individuals with bulimia often engage in purging behaviors to compensate for binge eating and prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or diuretics, or excessive exercise.
Fixation on body weight and shape: People with bulimia often have a negative body image and may be overly concerned with their weight and appearance.
Frequent visits to the bathroom after meals: This may be a sign that the person is purging by self-induced vomiting.
Swollen salivary glands and tooth decay: Frequent self-induced vomiting can cause swelling in the jaw and cheeks, as well as tooth decay due to exposure to stomach acid.
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances: Purging behaviors can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, which may cause symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, and irregular heartbeat.
Gastrointestinal problems: Binge eating and purging can cause digestive issues such as stomach pain, bloating, and constipation.
Mood swings and social isolation: People with bulimia may experience mood swings, anxiety, or depression, and may withdraw from social activities.

If you or someone you know is experiencing the signs and symptoms of anorexia or bulimia, it is crucial to seek professional help. Early intervention and treatment can significantly improve the chances of recovery from bulimia nervosa.

What is an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified?

An additional disorder called Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified exists in which an individual may meet some but not all of the criteria of anorexia or bulimia. An individual may engage in abnormal or unhealthy eating habits such as purging after eating only small amounts of food, excessive exercising without abnormal eating, limiting intake to only very specific foods or certain times of the day, or bingeing without any purging behaviors. Ultimately any behavior that interferes with a healthy and balanced eating lifestyle and/or involves significant body image concerns is cause for concern, both psychologically and physically.

What Treatment Options Are For Eating Disorders?

Seeking professional help as early as possible is the best option for being able to move forward living a healthy and fulfilling life. Treatment typically involves a combination of nutrition counseling, medical consultation, and psychological therapy. From a psychological standpoint, treatment generally involves cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. We’ll assist you address unhealthy eating patterns and behaviors, maladaptive thoughts, body image distortions, relationship factors that have influenced the behaviors or are being impacted by them, and symptoms of depression or anxiety that often accompany eating disorders.