Eating Disorders and Types
Eating disorders are severe mental health challenges that can harm both mental and physical health. They affect the perception of body weight and shape, which can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and excessive restrictions on food intake. Living with an eating disorder is a challenging, isolating experience that affects the person’s health, emotions, and ability to function in various spheres of everyday life.
The symptoms of most eating disorders involve fixations on food, body shape and weight. Low self-esteem and obsession with weight loss often lead to harmful behaviours that prevent the body from getting the required nutrition. Without effective treatment, eating disorders can harm an individual’s physical health, including teeth, bones, digestive system, and heart.
The most common eating disorder types include:
Compassionate support and care can help individuals recover from eating disorders and improve their mental well-being.
Co-occurrences with Other Conditions
In many cases, individuals with eating disorders also struggle with other mental health challenges, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
The joint characteristics of eating disorders and other co-occurring mental health challenges can result in a denial of struggles and anxiety about changing one’s established eating rituals. Therefore, people with eating disorders need comprehensive and compassionate treatment that addresses the potential nutritional, behavioural, and psychological complications.
Eating Disorders and Mental Health
Disordered eating is not just about food – it reflects the person’s overall mental state. Eating disorders cause unusual activity across several neural systems. This leads to psychological symptoms like low self-esteem, lack of control in life, feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and anger. The most common eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder, are also related to struggles in one’s interpersonal relationships, such as troubled family relations, inability to express emotions, and a history of bullying or abuse.
Social factors can play a significant part in causing the development of eating disorders. The narrow social definitions of beauty place value on thinness as the ideal body shape, which leads to distorted body image and restrictive eating habits. These cultural norms mainly affect young people but can affect anyone.
Eating Disorders and Anxiety
The restrictive habits associated with eating disorders, such as excessive exercise and dieting, can give a false sense of control that bring temporary relief to individuals struggling with anxiety. Individuals with anxiety disorder and an eating disorder require comprehensive treatment to overcome their symptoms and learn healthier coping mechanisms.
Eating Disorders and BPD
Adolescents and young adults are usually the most vulnerable to both eating disorders and BPD. These conditions often co-occur – around 25% of individuals with anorexia nervosa and 28% of individuals with bulimia nervosa also struggle with borderline personality disorder.
In addition to that, there is considerable overlap between the environmental factors that cause BPD and eating disorders. Disordered eating and BPD are both associated with a history of childhood trauma, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Eating Disorders and Bipolar
Bipolar disorder is characterised by manic, hypomanic, and depressive symptoms, which are found to co-occur with disordered eating behaviours. During manic and hypomanic episodes, the individual is likelier to exhibit impulsive and self-destructive behaviours, such as purging. On the other hand, depressive episodes are often linked to over-consuming food as a coping mechanism.
Manic, hypomanic, and depressive episodes might be accompanied by a loss of appetite. This leads to irregular diet patterns that can become more consistent with disordered eating habits. Furthermore, individuals with bipolar disorder may turn to restrictive eating behaviours as a way to cope with the need for control over their lives.
Eating Disorder and OCD
Studies have shown that a high percentage of individuals with an eating disorder also struggle with OCD symptoms. OCD is a mental health condition involving a cycle of obsessions (distressing thoughts, feelings, and images) and compulsions (acts the affected person performs to reduce the anxiety caused by their obsessions).
Eating disorders are characterised by a similar cycle of highly distressing preoccupations with body shape and weight. These intrusive thoughts lead to food-related compulsions, such as restricting food intake, excessive exercising, self-induced vomiting, and misuse of dietary aids.
Eating Disorders and Depression
Major depressive disorder is one of the most frequent diagnoses that co-occur with disordered eating. Due to the challenging mood disturbances, people with depression are prone to maladaptive coping mechanisms, including harmful eating behaviours. For instance, a depressed individual will likely turn to binge eating, purging, or restricting food intake.
Depression and eating disorders have several symptoms in common, including decreased confidence and a distorted sense of self. Finally, depression symptoms often include appetite changes, which can significantly affect the person’s relationship with food.
Eating Disorders and Neurodiversity
With the advancement of research techniques, medical experts have discovered a link between eating disorders and various forms of neurodiversity, especially Autism Spectrum Disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sensory processing challenges related to Autism and ADHD are likely the main reason for this co-occurrence.
Many individuals with autistic or ADHD traits experience disturbances in internal stimuli, such as hunger, thirst, or pain. This may cause a feeling of lack of control and ownership over one’s body, as individuals may struggle to recognise their hunger cues.
Eating Disorders and ADHD
Experts claim that individuals with ADHD are more likely to develop an eating disorder. The reason behind this lies in impulsivity and inattentiveness, two of the most typical ADHD characteristics. These traits often lead to binge eating and other disordered eating behaviours, such as purging.
Other food-related characteristics of ADHD include unreliable hunger and satiety cues. These symptoms can also lead to specific disturbances in the person’s dietary habits, such as disinterest in food or binge eating.
Eating Disorders and Autism
Individuals on the Autism spectrum are particularly vulnerable to food aversions due to selective dietary needs and sensitivity to certain food textures, smells, or tastes. Moreover, Autistic individuals may struggle with the social aspects of eating, such as sitting at a table with other people or waiting until they have finished their meal.
Finally, some individuals with Autism experience physical difficulties that reduce the pleasure of eating, such as gastrointestinal issues or problems with chewing and swallowing.
Seeking Professional Help
If you struggle with disordered eating behaviours, it is essential to consult your GP as soon as possible. Your doctor will check your weight and overall health, and then ask about your dietary habits. If the suspicions are confirmed, your GP can refer you to a team of eating disorder specialists.
Individuals with an eating disorder often find it difficult to open up about their struggles and seek professional help. In these cases, you can contact an adviser from an eating disorder charity. Support from family members and friends is also crucial in your journey toward healing and regaining healthy dietary habits.
Get Support with Unique Community Services
At Unique Community Services, our mission is to provide person-centred treatment to people with eating disorders. Our dedicated clinicians aim to dismantle the stigma surrounding eating disorders and deliver humanised home care services.
To provide bespoke assistance, the Unique Community Services care team consults the individual, their family members and specialists to assess each person’s needs and personal preferences. Our clinicians follow personalised care plans that prioritise the individual’s privacy, dignity, and safety.
If you need a quality care provider for a loved one with an eating disorder, look no further than Unique Community Services. We deliver CQC-regulated home care services to individuals in Bristol and Manchester.
Contact us now, and we will create a tailored care plan catering to your unique needs.
