Sistersteel
04-13-2009, 03:04 AM
There are three aspects to any eating disorder. Our THOUGHTS, our FEELINGS and our BEHAVIOR. You can first check if you may have some kind of eating disorder by looking at these in your own life .
THOUGHTS
Consider your own THINKING about food, eating, your weight and your body. Do you think about these things all the time? Are these thoughts negative? For example, do you think that you wouldn't like it if other people knew what you ate or what you did to avoid putting on weight? Do you find it hard to stop thinking about what you have eaten? What you are going to eat? Or what you 'should' be eating?
FEELINGS
Now consider how you FEEL about food, weight, eating and your own body. Do you feel a lot of guilt, anxiety and fear? Do you feel fat, even though your friends say you're not? Do you hate yourself for what you eat? Are you scared of eating normally? Do you sometimes feel out of control - as if you are doing everything you would rather not do? Do you feel helpless around food? Are all these feelings very strong?
BEHAVIOR
Now consider how your thoughts and feelings lead you to BEHAVE around food, eating and weight control. For example, do you do things in secret, like throw up your meals, or over-eat? Do you avoid wearing certain clothes because of how you feel about your body? Do you avoid meeting people because of this? Do you constantly weigh yourself? Are you always trying a diet?
Many people with an eating disorder lose sight of what is normal. They are so used to doing things a certain way, that they don't remember what it was like to be any different. They don't remember enjoying a relaxed relationship with food. For this reason lots of people who behave dangerously with food are in denial about how serious their problems are.
By considering your thoughts, feelings and behaviour, as you have above, you can get a good idea of whether your relationship with food, eating, your weight and your body is healthy or not. If you have answered YES to several of the questions above, then you probably are suffering from some sort of eating disorder.
So - let's see if we can find out what type of eating disorder you are suffering from. Again - shy - we must stress that you need to be honest with yourself here. We know it's hard - it can be very painful to admit what's going on - but this is where you can show real love for yourself.
This is where you can begin to turn it around.
Below, we've listed some of the signs, or symptoms, that can indicate a person is suffering from anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder/compulsive overeating. Take your time, read through the lists, and see if you can recognize your own situation. Some things you simply might not know if you display the symptom or not - don't worry about that. If you feel comfortable about it, you could ask others - like friends or family members - if you show that symptom.
It’s important to know that not everyone will show the same signs. Some people will have a mix of symptoms and you do not need to show all of the signs to be suffering from a particular eating disorder.
ANOREXIA
People who suffer from anorexia:
Are very fearful of gaining weight
Eat very small portions of food
Are often very interested in what others eat
Develop rituals, such as self-weighing several times each day
Have a distorted perception of their own body shape or weight
Deny the existence of an eating problem
Undertake excessive exercise
Change in their personality from what they were like before
Have mood swings
Act out eating routines, such as cutting food into tiny pieces
Feel restless and hyperactive
Somtimes vomit deliberately or take laxatives
Wear big baggy clothes to hide their body shape
BULIMIA
People who suffer from bulimia:
Have uncontrollable urges to eat very large amounts of food
Think about food all the time
Binge food and vomit afterwards
Use laxatives, diuretics or enemas
Feel 'out of control' around food
Have a distorted perception of their own body shape or weight
Have mood swings
Feel anxious and depressed
Have low self-esteem
Have feelings of shame and guilt
Often feel helpless and lonely
Sometimes fast (don't eat anything) for a time
Undertake excessive exercise
Don't like to mix with other people
Spend a lot of money on food - may go shoplifting to get money.
Secretly hoards food
BINGE EATING
People who suffer from binge eating disorder:
Eat much more rapidly than they used to
Carry on eating until they feel uncomfortably full
Eat large amounts of food, even when they are not actually hungry
Eat alone because they are embarrassed about how much they eat
Feel very self conscious if they have to eat in front of others
Feel 'out of control' around food
Feel ashamed, depressed or guilty after bingeing
Feel unable to vomit, or otherwise purge themselves
Now you have read through the list of symptoms of these eating disorders, you may well feel that you suffer from one of these. If you do, then don't despair - recovery from these conditions is possible, and there are loads of people out there who will help you to deal with this.
THOUGHTS
Consider your own THINKING about food, eating, your weight and your body. Do you think about these things all the time? Are these thoughts negative? For example, do you think that you wouldn't like it if other people knew what you ate or what you did to avoid putting on weight? Do you find it hard to stop thinking about what you have eaten? What you are going to eat? Or what you 'should' be eating?
FEELINGS
Now consider how you FEEL about food, weight, eating and your own body. Do you feel a lot of guilt, anxiety and fear? Do you feel fat, even though your friends say you're not? Do you hate yourself for what you eat? Are you scared of eating normally? Do you sometimes feel out of control - as if you are doing everything you would rather not do? Do you feel helpless around food? Are all these feelings very strong?
BEHAVIOR
Now consider how your thoughts and feelings lead you to BEHAVE around food, eating and weight control. For example, do you do things in secret, like throw up your meals, or over-eat? Do you avoid wearing certain clothes because of how you feel about your body? Do you avoid meeting people because of this? Do you constantly weigh yourself? Are you always trying a diet?
Many people with an eating disorder lose sight of what is normal. They are so used to doing things a certain way, that they don't remember what it was like to be any different. They don't remember enjoying a relaxed relationship with food. For this reason lots of people who behave dangerously with food are in denial about how serious their problems are.
By considering your thoughts, feelings and behaviour, as you have above, you can get a good idea of whether your relationship with food, eating, your weight and your body is healthy or not. If you have answered YES to several of the questions above, then you probably are suffering from some sort of eating disorder.
So - let's see if we can find out what type of eating disorder you are suffering from. Again - shy - we must stress that you need to be honest with yourself here. We know it's hard - it can be very painful to admit what's going on - but this is where you can show real love for yourself.
This is where you can begin to turn it around.
Below, we've listed some of the signs, or symptoms, that can indicate a person is suffering from anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder/compulsive overeating. Take your time, read through the lists, and see if you can recognize your own situation. Some things you simply might not know if you display the symptom or not - don't worry about that. If you feel comfortable about it, you could ask others - like friends or family members - if you show that symptom.
It’s important to know that not everyone will show the same signs. Some people will have a mix of symptoms and you do not need to show all of the signs to be suffering from a particular eating disorder.
ANOREXIA
People who suffer from anorexia:
Are very fearful of gaining weight
Eat very small portions of food
Are often very interested in what others eat
Develop rituals, such as self-weighing several times each day
Have a distorted perception of their own body shape or weight
Deny the existence of an eating problem
Undertake excessive exercise
Change in their personality from what they were like before
Have mood swings
Act out eating routines, such as cutting food into tiny pieces
Feel restless and hyperactive
Somtimes vomit deliberately or take laxatives
Wear big baggy clothes to hide their body shape
BULIMIA
People who suffer from bulimia:
Have uncontrollable urges to eat very large amounts of food
Think about food all the time
Binge food and vomit afterwards
Use laxatives, diuretics or enemas
Feel 'out of control' around food
Have a distorted perception of their own body shape or weight
Have mood swings
Feel anxious and depressed
Have low self-esteem
Have feelings of shame and guilt
Often feel helpless and lonely
Sometimes fast (don't eat anything) for a time
Undertake excessive exercise
Don't like to mix with other people
Spend a lot of money on food - may go shoplifting to get money.
Secretly hoards food
BINGE EATING
People who suffer from binge eating disorder:
Eat much more rapidly than they used to
Carry on eating until they feel uncomfortably full
Eat large amounts of food, even when they are not actually hungry
Eat alone because they are embarrassed about how much they eat
Feel very self conscious if they have to eat in front of others
Feel 'out of control' around food
Feel ashamed, depressed or guilty after bingeing
Feel unable to vomit, or otherwise purge themselves
Now you have read through the list of symptoms of these eating disorders, you may well feel that you suffer from one of these. If you do, then don't despair - recovery from these conditions is possible, and there are loads of people out there who will help you to deal with this.