Eating disorders
Different eating disorders are common and resemble other addiction diseases. If your life revolves around eating or not eating, you likely have an eating disorder. However, it’s possible to recover from it with professional assistance, support from loved ones and over time.
Eating disorders often begin as a result of psychological pressure and stress at the age of approximately 15 to 24, but younger and older people may also fall ill. According to Current Care Guidelines, 10.5 per cent of young adults have had an eating disorder in Finland by early adulthood.
Eating disorders are never the cause or choice of the affected person, and they can not be resolved by coercion. Although the illness can make life very dark and frightening, you can recover from it with professional help, support from loved ones and over time.
What causes eating disorders?
There are many factors behind eating disorders. Family dynamics, psychological development, hereditary factors and personality can all affect the onset of an eating disorder. Society from health care to the media also maintains an understanding of what an ideal person looks like and how much they weigh.
When feeling bad, fears, emotional knots or traumas fill the mind, regulating eating and controlling your own body can be ways of coping.
What are the symptoms of eating disorders?
In an eating disorder, the symptoms can be anything from restricting eating to uncontrolled eating. Eating that appears to be completely healthy may involve an eating disorder in the background. It’s not about appearance or weight, but about what’s going on in your mind and how you feel about eating.
No one falls ill overnight; it’s a long process. For example, anorexia often starts with a diet becoming over-healthy and physical activity increasing strongly. Positive comments about the thinner figure and thoughts about the benefits of losing weight do not make the person feel sick, and friends and family are often the first to notice that everything’s not well.
The eating behaviour of the person with an eating disorder begins to control and interfere with daily life, school, work, hobbies and interpersonal relationships as well as physical health. Chills, tiredness, problems with concentration, self-loathing, anxiety, fear and loneliness can take over the body and mind. Eating disorders often also involve depression or self-harm.
AFRID
Avoiding and restricting eating because of the characteristics of food, fears related to eating or a low appetite. Typical for people with neuropsychiatric disorders.
Anorexia nervosa
Thinness disorder. Avoidance and regulation of eating and food. Obsessive exercise.
Bulimia
Binge eating disorder. Need to purge the binged food by vomiting or laxatives.
BED (Binge eating disorder)
A binge eating disorder that doesn’t involve the need to purge the binged food.
Atypical eating disorder
Same symptoms as in anorexia or binge disorders, but some key symptom is missing or less severe. Approximately half of eating disorders are atypical.
Orthorexia
Obsession with healthy food. This is not an official diagnosis, but part of atypical eating disorders.
How are eating disorders treated?
The role of the family and friends alongside the person who has fallen ill is important. It’s important to leave comments on food and weight out of discussions, even if there is great concern. Patience, understanding and support can be demonstrated by focusing on entirely other things together.
Professional help, often psychotherapy, is particularly important for recovery. With a professional, you can deal with the causes of the illness and find the motivation for recovery. Medical help may also be necessary due to physical health.
Recovery takes time, and sometimes there are setbacks. Symptoms may return, especially in stressful life stages. However, most patients recover completely with time.
