Forums → The Tavern → Eating Disorders.

My mom has anorexia, it really effected her when she was a teen. But it seems to be gone now or soemthing, because she doesn't seem all that skinny and eat well. But I don't know too much about it so I don't know if it can go away or what. But if you ask me, eating disorders are just slow suicide.

Anorexia is pretty severe, when someone just doesn't eat. I know a few of my friends mums battled it when they were in their teens.

I think eating disorders are really bad and it's just sad to see how someone can believe in something so badly (like that they're fat) and that they don't see which consequences it has.

It really depends on the person who you can 'blame' for it. Sometimes children are bullied and get an eating disorder because of that, but it's also possible when the parents say that you're overweight. My parents tell me that a lot that i could better lose some pounds, while my bmi is good and everybody else says i'm thin/good looking. They almost talked me into an eating disorder..

But it's also possible that there is no one to blame for it. Some people just don't see that their diet is becoming a disorder..

@Vontje, i think in some cases it s solely peer pressure and there should be more attempts within schools to educate kids.

In 14 years at school i had maybe a one hour class on eating disorders.

Eating disorders have become a fairly common thing nowadays, even if no one talks about it.

I blame the focus on sickly skinny super models and actors. They get all the attention, fame and glory all while being described as "gorgeous, sexy, brilliant" and so on.
Due to this, the average twit thinks "Well, if the people on the moving picture box say that those people are all these awesome things so do I!"
Then they start to judge how people look based on how cloesly to the sickly folks in hte media limelight.
Take a person who already has some self-image issues who has already seen idolized stars and add twit that bases beauty off of what media twits say...

Not to judge, but I think girls suffer the most from this. Devoidless's comment pretty much sums up why some girls go through eating disorders. My guess is nobody wants to grow up being 'The Fat Kid'. I've never actually met/heard of a guy that ever had an eating disorder, fat dudes usually just work out or something, I suppose.
I've met one girl with Anorexia, and another with Bulimia, and to me, Bulimia seemed to be a lot worse. Eating and throwing up just sounds scary and it seems terrible.
I guess it's just more ways for people to try to gain an advantage over their social lives.

Anorexia is a serve eating disorder. Its when you look in the mirror and your nothing but skin and bones but you still think that your fat. Karen Carpenter had this disease and when she tried to eat again she had a heart attack because her heart couldn't take the stress of eating after she hadn't eat in about a week. It's mostly common in women because they feel like they don't have any control in their lives so they starve them selves because then they have control over what their eating. It's not very common in men for what ever reason.

Let's start by separating the wood from the trees.

Expert consensus on eating disorders doesn't specifically condemn media portrayal of skinny models and actors, but does agree that they are a manifestation of an aggressive predatory market, which has a lot to answer for nonetheless. The aetiology of eating disorders actually stems from something other than eating itself.

The two biggest categories of eating disorders (at least, defined by the DSM), are Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa, and they're good places to start when discussing the major features of eating disorders, as they're both eating disorders, but they contrast significantly. Both involve disturbances in dietary habits, and both involve dissatisfaction with body image. However,

Anorexia Nervosa:
* Is the progressive loss of weight to a dangerous degree.
* Often occurs in adolescents whose families "exhibit a high degree of expressed emotion" (put simply, stressful and overbearing environments).
* Is primarily characterised by a determination of the patient to exercise control over some aspect of their life.
* Therefore manifests either as ritualistic excessive exercise, rigid (or unreasonable) dietary control, or habitual purging, or a combination.
* By definition is exceedingly underweight, often presenting with medical complications of malnutrition (and sometimes chronic vomiting).

From this you might appreciate that telling somebody with anorexia nervosa that they are too skinny isn't going to help, because that's just evidence that they're succeeding in their original goal. The major hypothesis, as bolded, is associated with people who are prone to anxiety over their limited autonomy. Thus pictures of skinny models etc. isn't that relevant to the cause of AN itself, but certainly may provide a point of reinforcement and identification, particularly as so much the focus these days is on celebrities who turn anorexic as a manifestation of their trainwreck of a personal life.

Bulimia Nervosa, on the other hand:
* Doesn't necessarily involve weight loss.
* Is primarily characterised by the feeling of a loss of control, a compulsion to eat, and intense feelings of guilt thereafter.
* Thus the archetypal pattern of a patient who, feeling stressed, will scoff down an entire triple choc mudcake or whatever, then disappear into the toilet, presumably to vomit the entire thing back up.
* Again, to emphasise, it's about compulsive binges of diet-related behaviour, as opposed to a methodical control, as in AN. There's a feeling of stress, temporary euphoria, and then shame.
* Patients are often normal weight or even slightly overweight, but may still present with the marks and complications of excessive vomiting.

One of the reasons eating disorders are such a can of worms is because they're so difficult to deal with. As with any behavioural disorder, it's a disorder because it's an unhealthy behaviour which actually perpetuates itself as it triggers a reward signal in the sufferer, compelling them to continue or escalate said unhealthy behaviour.

Body image, while linked to eating disorders, is best discussed as a topic all on its own, as I believe that there's much wrong about the way it's dealt with in today's world, sure, but the scope is much broader than however it might relate to eating disorders. I daresay that dissatisfaction with body image is far, far more prevalent (let's say about 90% as a ballpark estimate) than eating disorders, and there's no real avenue to talk about it on a normal social basis.

i used to have eating disorders but not anymore (i think). i was (am) never hungry and never wanted to eat. i cant really say why. i guess eating was a waste of time and boring (i know its stupid but that is how it felt). it was nothing worth wasting my time for because taste wasnt that important to me and id rather do something fun. my dad had eating disorders too but idk why. i cant really say why this happens. it might be because of genes but i cant say for sure because my father and i are the only people in my family who had those.

now i eat almost like a normal person but not because i feel hungry, its because i know i have to. i can pretty much say that i never felt hungry and that i have to REMEMBER that i have to eat.

Well hunger is mental, and some people have the exact opposit problem. Some people are always hungry whether they need to eat or not.

Some people are always hungry whether they need to eat or not.

My health teacher should sure come into this cinversation

Well hunger is mental, and some people have the exact opposit problem. Some people are always hungry whether they need to eat or not.

It's mostly common in women because they feel like they don't have any control in their lives so they starve them selves because then they have control over what their eating. It's not very common in men for what ever reason.

Who do I blame for eating disorders? There are too many cases to blame someone or something for all of them. One thing I blame though, is fashion. Almost anorexic models give us a wrong image, the youth (especially, but adult people are too) is put under pressure to be as slim as possible, as fit as possible, etc. And this is simply not good for them.
Second thing, stress, psychologic stress like caused by mobbing or professional race to the lead.