Eating Disorders
The Problem
Many of you have heard about people, such as the singer, Karen Carpenter, who have died of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and weakened immunity and heart function due to under-nutrition. Based on the information provided by the British Anorexia/Bulimia Association, an estimated 1% of teenagers suffer from anorexia and up to 10% of these will die.
Fatal dangers for both anorexics and bulimics include gastric ruptures, cardiac arrhythmias, and heart failure. Many other medical complications are not necessarily fatal, but can lead to permanent physical and neurological damages. For example, in an effort to reduce weight and maintain energy without eating, many individuals ith eating disorders turn to laxatives and dieting pills. Side effects of inappropriate use of laxatives are dry skin due to dehydration, abdominal cramping, muscle cramps, and electrolyte imbalances which affect neurological functioning. Daily use of dieting pills may lead to rebound fatigue, insomnia, mood changes, irritability, and when in extremely large doses, psychosis.
Our society, with its obsession with thinness and obtaining the perfect body, has cultivated the development of eating disorders. Research studies found that 52% of adolescents begin dieting before age 14. Among university student females, 78% reported bingeing experiences and 8.2% used self-induced vomiting to control weight.
In an effort to reduce weight and maintain energy without eating, many individuals with eating disorders turn to laxatives and dieting pills. Side effects of inappropriate use of laxatives are dry skin due to dehydration, abdominal cramping, muscle cramps, and electrolyte imbalances which affect neurological functioning. Daily use of dieting pills may lead to rebound fatigue, insomnia, mood changes, irritability, and when in extremely large doses, psychosis.
Middle-class adolescents and women in their twenties with a strong orientation toward academic achievement and a traditional lifestyle, including marriage, are most vulnerable. Many are highly intelligent, attractive in appearance, and capable of handling successful careers. Yet traditionally they have abnormally low self-esteem, a desire for perfection, and a sense of loneliness and isolation, and an obsession with food as it relates to body weight. While many females are expected to be competitive and successful, they also feel the demand to remain feminine and "desirable." Such demands may create conflicts and overwhelmed feelings.
Although men are considered a low-risk group for eating disorders, partly because they are not under as much social pressure to be slim and thin, we should be aware of the "Pursuit of Fitness" among many men. This may lead to obsessive-compulsive thinking and behaviours, low self-esteem, and distorted body image - classic characteristics of eating disorders. Some research findings suggested that males and females with an eating disorder have similar clinical characteristics, such as an obsession with thinness, distorted body image, and emotional problems.
The fact is, repeated weight-loss dieting leads to higher and higher weight gains. Here are three reasons:
1) When the body is faced with constant deprivation, it automatically tries to conserve energy by slowing down the metabolism, instead of continuing to burn body fat. The longer people stay on low calorie diets, the longer it takes for their metabolism to return to normal. Thus, dieting predisposes people to rapid weight gains immediately following the loosening of food restriction.
2) Evidence indicates that when people lose weight, they lose fat and protein, but when they regain, they regain mostly fat.
3) When weight is lost, the fat cells shrink, but when weight is regained, fat cells multiply. These "fattening" effects of weight loss are referred to as "overcompensation" that may mean the intention and effort to lose weight become a "never-win" distress.
Based on the statistics provided by the ANRED, Inc., after 2 years, 95% of dieters regain all their lost weight plus about 10 extra pounds; and after 5 years, 98% of dieters regain all their lost weight plus about 10 extra pounds.
The Solution
Eating disorders are treatable conditions. Symptoms include a troubled relationship with food characterised by fasting, purging, and/or bingeing behaviours and recurring inappropriate compensatory behaviour to reduce or control weight through excessive exercise, laxative misuse, and self-induced vomiting. Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and many other unspecified types. It is important to seek professional help and overcome these problems as soon as possible.
Beyond food-related behaviours, people with eating disorders may display a wide range of cognitive and emotional problems, including an intense fear of gaining weight, distress over body size and shape, depression, moodiness, dichotomous thinking, low self- esteem, and perfectionism.
It is not uncommon for people to engage in bingeing and/or purging behaviours for years before their family or friends notice a problem. Learning about eating disorders may help to detect early warning signs including frequent use of bathrooms right after meals, vigorous exercise, preoccupation with body weight and constant weighing. Knowledge about medical complications, such as hair loss, complaints of sore throat and bloating stomach, fatigue and muscle weakness, tooth decay, and edema, can help to identify this disorder.
The most challenging task is to confront the person who denies having an eating disorder. Because so much shame and guilt is involved, acknowledging the problem can be very terrifying. Direct and supportive communications as well as consultation and help from a good therapist often leads to the successful initiation of the treatment and recovery process. NLP & hypnosis are very effective in treating Eating Disorders, identifying when these problems started and deleting the meta-programs that are are running these destructive patterns.
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