February 24 through March 1, 2020 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Eating Disorders are both medical and mental health disorders, they are not a lifestyle choice.
If you are needing immediate help please contact the National Eating Disorders Association:
Helpline phone hours are Monday-Thursday from 11AM to 9PM ET, and Friday from 11AM to 5PM ET. 1-800-931-2237.
Part of living in wellness is eating nutritiously and moving your body regularly. However, there are people who abuse themselves by going overboard with exercise and eating and that is called having an eating disorder. There are 30 million Americans who have an eating disorder. Eating Disorders affect both men and women.There are three main classifications of Eating Disorders:
- Anorexia Nervosa:
A person living with anorexia nervosa is afraid of gaining weight so much that they have strict rules about eating. They eat very little and then they purge what they eat. This severe restriction of calories is very dangerous because our organs require a certain amount of calories, nutrients and vitamins to work properly. This mental illness has the highest rate of death of all mental illnesses. - Bulimia Nervosa:
A person living with bulimia nervosa has periods where they binge eat large amounts of food and then they purge, by throwing up or using a laxative. They also may fast and/or exercise excessively. People who suffer with bulimia nervosa can be underweight, normal weight or overweight. - Binge Eating Disorder:
People who engage in binge eating eat large quantities of food in a short period of time. They don’t pay attention to fullness or how they are feeling. They eat fast. They don’t purge afterwards like in Bulimia and Anorexia. These periods of binge eating cause feelings of guilt, shame or distress and can lead to severe obesity. Binge eating is the most common eating disorder in the United States.
This information is scary stuff if you read everything that can go wrong with having an eating disorder:
- Emotional pain
- Health issues, liver failure, kidney failure, heart issues, skin issues.
- Family/relationship issues
- Sexuality
You can live well while recovering from an eating disorder and help is available. There are some key things you can do to aide in your recovery. Here are some great ways you can live well:
- First step is to admit you have a problem with an eating disorder.
- Listen to your feelings. Don’t live in your feelings, but listen and observe them and don’t hide them.
- Listen to your body. If it is telling you that you need water, food, or movement then give it those things in reasonable amounts.
- Accept who you are.
- Love yourself.
- Reach out for support and you can do this by being specific in how your support team can help you.
- Assemble your team, friends, family, medical, counseling, etc. This is especially important if you don’t have a support team.
- Address your health issues whether they are from your eating disorder or from another cause.
- Make a long term plan: include group or individual therapies, seeing a nutritionist, seeing a personal trainer, and a primary doctor,
- Learn self-help strategies: These can include: calling a friend, listening to music, reading a good book, journaling, art, meditation and mindfulness, watching a movie, exploring nature, going for a walk, play with a pet, play a game or volunteering in your community.
- Develop a balanced relationship with food: Let go of rigid food rules. Create and stick to an eating schedule. Learn to listen to the needs of your body. Remember the word diet is a noun, not a verb. Achieving balance is part of a healthy lifestyle change.
- Stop checking your body for fat and avoid fat talk and negative body shaming on yourself.
- Stay active but don’t over do it. You may not know what is appropriate activity for health; speak with your medical team and consider a therapist and/ or personal trainer who will help you overcome the emotions that will arise while you deal with the pain causing your eating disorder.
- Forgive yourself when you fail and start over as many times as necessary.
I know the value having a team to help me deal with my chronic health issues and I can see the value of having a team helping someone heal from an eating disorder. If you have an eating disorder don’t live in your feelings of shame or guilty. Being mentally or physically sick is nothing to feel ashamed about. There are great people who are willing to stand with you as you go through the recovering process. I know Karen Clemenson at Wellness Works NW would be a great support team member. Most importantly, get some help, go to your primary doctor, lean on trusted family members and friends who can support you and share your pain and about your eating disorder. There is help for you.
Here are some links I would like to share with you:
- Contact the Helpline at National Eating Disorders Association
- Eating Disorders by National Institute of Mental Health Staff
- Eating Disorders: Also called Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating, Bulimia by MedlinePlus Staff
- Eating Disorders Statistics by Mirror Mirror Staff
- Eating Disorders: Causes, Symptoms, Signs, & Medical Complications by Eating Disorder Hope Staff
- Eating Disorder Treatment and Recovery by by HelpGuide Staff
- National Eating Disorders Awareness Week by the National Eating Disorders Association Staff
- Signs of an Eating Disorder by WebMD Staff
- Understanding Eating Disorders Reviewed by Taylor Wolfram, MS, RDN, LDN for Eat Right Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- We Need to Talk About How Eating Disorders Affect Our Sexuality by Melissa Fabello, PhD for HealthLine
- Related Articles
Jamie Holloway lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. As most of her articles will be about Men’s Health, Jamie intends to write her articles as though she was sharing important information with her brother, nephews and friends. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing. If you would like to help support Jamie’s writing efforts please Donate now.
