Keep in mind that one of the main reasons an eating disorder begins is to help make people feel better when life is tough. They feel shame over the behavior, which they have kept secret - and they have to keep their behavior secret so that they can't be stopped. It's one big painful cycle, isn't it?
There's intense anxiety over the process itself, too. Here's how a person with anxiety lives: She constantly thinks about food - how many calories, how many fat grams, how much exercise do you need to do if you eat a cookie? How many times do you check the scale? She constantly attempts to try to control eating because of the fear of gaining weight. Often meals are avoided or eaten very slowly, fearing that surely it will make her fat. These thoughts begin to control a person's mind 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Imagine your entire life centered on this one issue, depriving you of enjoying friends, fun, and family.
She becomes disgusted with herself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating or missing a weigh-in. Because of her own feelings about herself, as well as because of likely hormone imbalances, she becomes moody and irritable and responds to confrontation and even low-key interchanges with tears, tantrums, or withdrawal.
People with eating disorders pull away from those who care. They often feel they don't fit in anywhere, and even when they do spend time with others, they hold themselves apart. They tend to try to please everyone and withdraw when they inevitably fail. One way of keeping their distance is to either be the caretaker who doesn't need to show weakness, or to be tough and independent and reject all efforts to help.
Whether their disorder is of the starvation type or the bingeing/ purging type, it takes up so much physical and emotional energy that they don't have energy or focus to be in serious relationships or even friendships. Those with anorexia tend to be so rigidly controlling that others may not be able to connect with them. Those with bulimia tend to be impulsive and get themselves into difficult situations with people, money, and work. So in addition to their compulsions and obsessions, they feel socially isolated. It's hardly an easy way to live! Sometimes people who don't realize that they may have an eating disorder can identify with a lot of the feelings that people with anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders experience. The specific behaviors are often really expressions of their feelings, so anyone who shares these feelings may want to look closely for any patterns of disordered eating.
There's often such focus on the big issues of eating disorders that we forget that people live with constantly queasy stomachs, constant diarrhea, bad tastes in the mouth, and headaches, as well as fatigue. Changes in the mouth are often physical signs of an eating disorder. Malnutrition can cause decay, and erosion of the teeth is caused by stomach acid from vomiting.
Sometimes people turn to alcohol and drugs, simply for relief from the day-to-day stress of maintaining their eating disorders. And those habits cause even further discomfort. When you read about the feelings associated with eating disorders, you can understand why it's important for people living with anorexia, bulimia, and other disorders to have people like them with whom they can share their experiences and feelings. It's also critical for them to get professional help.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
Note: This article was sent to us by: Layala Kraft at 09282010
1. Carbohydrates and fats to help you to stay in shape
All articles are property of their respective authors. Please read our Privacy Policy!
© 2009 ArticleInput.com.
Partners: Damenmode