What Kind Of Eating Disorders Are There

How Is Eating Disorder Treated

In the process of eating disorder treatment, it is very important for many specialists to work together in order to make the process work healthy. The process is carried out with the support of a psychotherapist who specializes in eating disorders, a physician in order to keep the health problems that can be caused by eating disorders under control, a psychiatrist consultation to support the process when necessary, and a nutritionist when necessary in line with the needs of the individual. In the process of treating an eating disorder, while working on the causes of the appearance and continuation of the eating disorder, it also works on changing eating attitudes and behaviors.

Classification Of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are classified into different types, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fifth Edition. Classifications are made based on the presenting symptoms and how often these occur, and include:

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What Is An Emotional Eating Disorder

Since emotional eating disorder is not yet included in DSM-V, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, diagnostic criteria are not available. Roughly speaking, its not the first time weve been able to it is appropriate to define it as impaired eating behavior due to mood. I mean, I dont know The fact that the person has difficulty managing the emotions that challenge him, such as tension, boredom, sadness, and uses eating as a means to avoid feeling emotions, can sum up impaired eating behavior due to his mood.

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What Are The Causes Of Emotional Eating Disorder

Growing up in a family environment where one cannot express ones feelings in a healthy way, judging their feelings with rhetoric such as Dont cry, be strongWhy be unhappy, you have everything, and believing that the individual should never feel unhappy, I should not feel sad. I have to do something, such as approaching feelings and thoughts as if they were problems that need to be solved, not knowing what to do with the emotion he feels and not allowing himself to feel his feelings, can be among the causes of emotional eating problems. These causes also play an important role in the formation of all eating disorders.

What Are The Different Types Of Eating Disorder

One eating disorder called orthorexia was only described for the first time in the 1990s. As a result, there have been several changes in how eating disorders are grouped together, or classified.

The World Health Organization uses a classification called ICD-10, which splits eating disorders up into Anorexia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa Overeating Associated with Other Psychological Disturbances and Other Eating Disorders.

The DSM classification, from the American Psychiatric Association, was updated to its fifth version in 2013. DSM-5 breaks eating disorders down into:

• Anorexia nervosa .
• Bulimia nervosa .
• Binge eating disorder.
• Other specified feeding or eating disorder .
• Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder .
• Rumination disorder.
• Unspecified feeding or eating disorder.

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Other Eating Disorders And Eating Problems

Other specified feeding and eating disorder

OFSED means you have symptoms of an eating disorder, but you dont have all the typical symptoms of anorexia, bulimia or BED. You may have a mixture of symptoms from different eating disorders. This doesnt mean that your illness is less serious.

Emotional overeating

You turn to food when you have negative feelings if you are an emotional overeater. These can be feelings like anxiety or sadness. Eating food may help you to feel comforted.

Lots of people use food to help manage feelings, this is normal. But it may become a problem if this is the only management technique that you have, or you are beginning to feel out of control. Emotional overeating can cause feelings of guilt and shame.

Pica

With pica, you eat non-food objects such as chalk, paint, stones and clothing. There is no nutritional benefit from eating these items and some can be harmful. Pica can lead to further health concerns such as dental and stomach problems.

Rumination disorder

You will chew and spit out food without swallowing it if you have rumination disorder. You may do this repeatedly.

Selective eating disorder

You will only eat certain foods and may refuse to try other foods if you have SED. This is common in young children. But the problem can continue into adulthood.

Orthorexia nervosa

In this section

How Is An Eating Disorder Diagnosed

Healthcare providers, such as physicians and mental health professionals, diagnose eating disorders. Your primary care provider may review symptoms, perform a physical examination and order blood tests. A mental health counselor, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, conducts a psychological evaluation to learn more about your eating behaviors and beliefs.

Providers use the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to make a diagnosis. The DSM outlines symptoms for each type of eating disorder. You dont have to have every symptom to receive an eating disorder diagnosis. And even if you dont have a specific DSM-listed eating disorder, you may still need help overcoming food-related issues.

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What Is An Eating Disorder

Eating disorders revolve around abnormal eating habits and often include physical changes.

For some, eating disorders involve limiting the amount of food that is consumed for others, it involves uncontrollable eating. Some people with eating disorders become obsessed with diet and exercise. Others will eat large quantities of food and then vomit.

There is no single demographic at risk for eating disorders theyre diseases that can occur in people of any gender, race, religion, or socio-economic background.

How Are Eating Disorders Treated

Eating disorders are best treated by a team that includes a doctor, dietitian, and therapist. Treatment includes nutrition counseling, medical care, and talk therapy . The doctor might prescribe medicine to treat binge eating, anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns.

The details of the treatment depend on the type of eating disorder and how severe it is. Some people are hospitalized because of extreme weight loss and medical complications.

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Body Mass Index And Diagnosis

In your assessment, your BMI should not be the only factor your GP or hospital doctor takes into account.

Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment for an eating disorder can be related to your weight. You could have a serious problem with eating, but without meeting the criteria for diagnosis. This can feel very frustrating.

However, you should not need an eating disorder diagnosis to get treatment for an eating problem.

Usually, your recommended treatment will be for the disorder most similar to your eating problem.

See our page on treatment and support for more details.

Treatments For Eating Disorders

Starting treatment as early as possible is important because there can be long-term health consequences for people with chronic eating disorders.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to treating eating disorders since everyone is different. Often a team of health professionals is involved in an individual’s treatment, including a psychologist, dietitian and doctor.

Some of the treatment options include:

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Other Eating And Feeding Problems

For your eating problem, you may get a diagnosis for one of the eating disorders explained on this page.

However, there are other diagnoses you may receive.

These tend to be much less common than anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

Diabulimia

Diabulimia is something that can affect people with type 1 diabetes. It is a term for when you deliberately restrict or stop taking your insulin to control how many calories your body absorbs from food.

âDiabulimiaâ is not a formal medical diagnosis, so your doctor might not know about it. But it is a term that some people with type 1 diabetes use to describe this experience.

Some people also use the term âT1EDâ or ‘T1DE’, which is short for âtype 1 diabetes with an eating disorderâ. You may hear this used to describe living with type 1 diabetes and experiencing an eating disorder, including restricting your insulin.

Restricting your insulin can be very dangerous, or even life-threatening. So it is important to get support.

The charity Diabetes UK has more information on diabulimia and diabetes, and where to turn for help.

Rumination disorder

If you get a diagnosis of rumination disorder, you’ll regularly regurgitate your food. Regurgitating means bringing food back up that you’ve already eaten and swallowed.

You won’t have a physical health problem to explain it. You might re-chew, re-swallow or spit out the food you regurgitate.

For more details, see Beat’s information about rumination disorder.

Pica

Anorexia Nervosa And Gender

Despite the around with women, one in three people with an eating disorder is male. This statistic may represent a minimum estimation. Due to the attached to anorexia, many men are hesitant to seek help and remain undiagnosed. Additionally, assessment tests are geared towards how anorexia is experienced in women, leading to misconceptions around how men experience anorexia. Some reports note a rise in men developing anorexia, however this may be explained by men feeling better able to seek help and wider recognition of the fact men experience .

The history of anorexia nervosa begins with descriptions of religious fasting dating from the and continuing into the medieval period. The medieval practice of self-starvation by women, including some young women, in the name of religious piety and purity also concerns anorexia nervosa it is sometimes referred to as . The earliest medical descriptions of anorexic illnesses are generally credited to English physician in 1689. Case descriptions fitting anorexic illnesses continued throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

The term “anorexia nervosa” was coined in 1873 by , one of ‘s personal physicians. Gull published a seminal paper providing a number of detailed case descriptions of patients with anorexia nervosa. In the same year, French physician similarly published details of a number of cases in a paper entitled De l’Anorexie hystérique.

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What Are Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses affecting people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. People with eating disorders use disordered eating behaviour as a way to cope with difficult situations or feelings. This behaviour can include limiting the amount of food eaten, eating very large quantities of food at once, getting rid of food eaten through unhealthy means , or a combination of these behaviours.

Its important to remember that eating disorders are not all about food itself, but about feelings. The way the person treats food may make them feel more able to cope, or may make them feel in control, though they might not be aware of the purpose this behaviour is serving. An eating disorder is never the fault of the person experiencing it, and anyone who has an eating disorder deserves fast, compassionate support to help them get better.

So that healthcare professionals can choose the right kind of treatment for someone, there are a number of different eating disorders that someone can be diagnosed with. Its possible for someone to move between diagnoses if their symptoms change there is often a lot of overlap between different eating disorders.

What Causes Eating Disorders

There’s no single cause for eating disorders. Genes, environment, and stressful events all play a role. Some things can increase a person’s chance of having an eating disorder, such as:

• poor body image
• too much focus on weight or looks
• dieting at a young age
• playing sports that focus on weight
• having a family member with an eating disorder
• mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, or OCD

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Pandemic And Eating Disorder

During the pandemic, there was a significant increase in the incidence of eating disorders. I think this is more about difficulty adapting to our differentiated lives than changing our eating habits, and about trying to manage uncertainty, anxiety, tension by overeating or on strict diets.

The inability to apply stress management techniques applied in the daily routine, such as going to a course for a hobby, socializing, traveling, socialization is unlikely and the focus is on the body and food with social isolation are among the main factors. In addition, the fact that working online causes us to face more of our own image through the camera can also be counted as a factor in the increase of eating disorders.

Eating too much due to boredom, stress, uncertainty-related anxiety, or trying to diet strictly or trying to diet strictly with more focus, ending with eating out of control and then trying to diet again can be listed as just a few of the eating disorder behaviors common in this process.

Psychological And Nutritional Counseling

Eating disorders are mental illnesses and so, like any other mental illness, treatment for eating disorders often includes psychological counseling. This type of therapy for eating disorders may focus on building life or psychological skills, or analyzing the cause of the eating disorder. Types of counseling used include:

• Talk therapy – for psychological issues behind the eating disorder
• Cognitive behavioral therapy – to challenge the thought patterns and actions surrounding eating behaviors
• Group therapy – professionally-led group therapy can be used as part of CBT, as support and as a learning environment

Nutritional counseling may be used in conjunction with any of the other treatments – either initially or on an ongoing basis.

In-depth information on types and benefits of eating disorders therapy

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Other Types Of Eating Disorders

This eating disorders list includes disorders which are a combination of the signs and symptoms of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and other disordered eating behavior. These types of eating disorders may, or may not, be officially recognized as a specific mental illness, but any time eating behaviors cause distress, they should be evaluated by a professional.

You can read more about these other types of eating disorders here:

How Can I Help A Loved One

Supporting a loved one who experiences an eating disorder can be very challenging. Many people feel upset or even frightened by their loved ones beliefs, behaviours, or state of well-being. An approach that focuses on support and understanding rather than control is best. Here are some tips to help you support a loved one:

• Remember that eating disorders are a sign of much bigger problems. Avoid focusing on food or eating habits alone.
• Be mindful of your own attitudes and behaviours around food and body image.
• Never force someone to change their eating habits or trick someone into changing.
• Avoid reacting to a loved ones body image talk or trying to reason with statements that seem unrealistic to you.
• If your loved one is an adult, remember that supporting help-seeking is a balance between your own concerns and their right to privacy.
• If your loved ones experiences are affecting other family members, family counselling may be helpful
• Dont be afraid to set boundaries and seek support for yourself.

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What Can I Do About It

You may have a lot of difficult feelings around finding helpit isnt always an easy step to take. Many people who experience an eating disorder are scared to go into treatment because they may believe that they will have to gain weight. Many also feel a lot of shame or guilt around their illness, so the thought of talking about very personal experiences can seem overwhelming. Some people find comfort in their eating behaviours and are scared to find new ways to cope. Restricting food, bingeing, and purging can lead to serious health problems, but eating disorders are treatable and you can recover. A good support team can help you through recovery and teach important skills that last a lifetime.

Treatment for an eating disorder usually involves several different health professionals. Some people may need to spend time in hospital to treat physical health problems.

What Are The Risks Related To Bulimia

Bulimia can result in significant behavioral and physical complications. This can include severe depression, anxiety, cardiac issues, and, in some cases, death.

In addition, electrolyte imbalances, mouth damage, and gum disease are often caused by frequent purging. Social withdrawal and damage to personal relationships are common among those with bulimia.

Read our blog posts about bulimia to learn more about bulimia symptoms, treatment and more.

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Types Of Eating Disorders

A serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.

Symptoms

• Food restriction leading to significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, development, and physical health

• Intense fear of weight gain or becoming fat

• Persistent behavior interfering with weight gain despite low weight, such as fasting or excessive exercise

• Disturbed experience of ones body weight or shape, influenced by self-evaluation or persistent lack of recognizing the seriousness of current low body weight

• Restricting behavior or binge eating and purging behaviors

Medical Complications and Associated Features

• Signs of depression, such as depressed mood, social withdrawal, irritability, insomnia, and diminished interest in sex

• Obsessive-compulsive features, both related and unrelated to food

• Elevated suicide risk

• Delayed puberty, lack of development

• Hormonal imbalance

• Gastrointestinal complications such as stomach aches, bloating, constipation, and acid reflux

• Vital sign disturbances, such as dangerously low blood pressure

• Loss of and/or weakened heart muscle

• Heart palpitations and chest pain

• Bradycardia or tachycardia

• Heart failure

• Edema

What Is Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa consists of recurrent episodes of binge eating along with compensatory behavior. People struggling with bulimia recurrently try to compensate for eating through fasting, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or use of laxatives, diuretics or other medications. They might also be very concerned about their weight or body shape.

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