Eating Disorders

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Do these ideas or questions sound familiar? 

Are you preoccupied with thoughts about your body, weight, shape and size?  Are you going hell for leather at the gym and chastising yourself if you miss a session?  Perhaps you are wedded to the bathroom scales and find yourself stepping on them several times a day and then berating yourself because you don't like what you see? 

Do you constantly compare yourself to others; either in your world or the social media world?  Do you have a chaotic eating style and find yourself going from one diet to another,  only to feel disappointed when you haven't succeeded in what you have set out to achieve?  

Perhaps you are investing in compensatory behaviours; such as taking laxatives, restricting food intake or self induced vomiting.

 Maybe you are experiencing some shame and guilt around what you are eating?  Perhaps other people are starting to express concerns about your weight loss/gain and eating behaviours?  Have you started to align moral values to food?  Maybe you find yourself avoiding meal times or pretending you have already eaten?

If any of this sounds familiar, you may have an Eating Disorder  

It is estimated that over 700,000 people in the UK have some form of Eating Disorder (Royal College Psychiatrists, 2019), however it is suspected that there are as many cases that do not present to health services.  The prevalence is much greater than is actually reported. 

NICE (National Institute for Health & Care Excellence) define 4 main types of Eating Disorder, however it is recognised that it extends way behind this.  All of them are serious mental health illnesses and must be treated by clinicians with specific training.

• Anorexia Nervosa - Individuals restrict their food and liquid intake.  They may develop rules around eating.  They may exercise often and check their bodies in the mirror regularly.  They often have a distorted image of themselves, and think themselves bigger than they actually are.  They might wear baggy clothes to hide weight loss.
• Binge Eating Disorder -  Individuals will eat large quantities of food in a short space of time.  They often feel like they are out of control and may have lost touch of their hunger/fullness cues.   They may have planned rituals for bingeing such as buying "special binge foods".  
• Bulimia Nervosa - Individuals will eat large quantities of food in a short space of time and then will compensate for that eating with purging behaviours such as vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics, fasting or exercising excessively.
• OSFED - Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder.  Sometimes an individuals behaviours do not fit with the aforementioned disorders, in this case individuals may be diagnosed with OSFED.  For more information about OSFED, please visit Beat

Eating Disorders can arise out of many factors and with an appropriately trained Eating Disorder therapist, you will start to piece together these things that have resulted in a chaotic relationship with food.  

Some people with an Eating Disorder have a low self esteem and often this can lead to a poor body image.  Common characteristics of low self esteem are:

• A sense of worthlessness and needing constant reassurance or validation from others.
• Can experience rejection or abandonment on an intense level.
• They struggle to be assertive and have their needs met.
• They can struggle with emotional problem solving.  

We know that those with confidence and a good self esteem are generally more resilient and can find solutions to problems or can accept those things that they cannot change.

Very rarely is the root cause of an Eating Disorder about the way individuals look.  More often than not, the root is that which taps into their sense of not being "good enough" and having to fit with the worlds unrelenting standards and the "idea" of perfectionism.  

Provide training and support around Eating Disorders.  The centre is run by world renowned Psychologists and Psychotherapists whom regularly contribute to medical journals and higher learning around this important issue.  You will also be able to find a therapist directory.

Beat has a helpline that is open 365 days a year.  They offer support to individuals suffering and their carers.  Beat regularly campaigns; raising awareness and increasing knowledge so that sufferers can be better supported.

Based in Hull, they have a lot of online resources that individuals can access.  They provide a lot of useful psychoeducation around nutritional rehabilitation

Here you will find information on recognising and treating Eating Disorders best practice.  The guidance is regularly reviewed in line with latest medical research and treatment outcomes.  NICE produces guidance for central and local government and social care providers.

A national Mental Health Charity with hubs up and down the country.  They can signpost to other services and provide psychoeducation around Eating Disorders and coping strategies.

Internationally renowned for its research and treatment development.  The trust provides a range of evidence based treatment packages which are tailored to individual need.