Signs of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are classified as health conditions marked by an unhealthy relationship with food and beverages. They are severe and persistent and can negatively impact health and one’s ability to function properly.

Many eating disorders like Anorexia or Bulimia start during teenage or young adulthood. They involve a person focusing too much on their weight and body shape, and hence they cut down on food or overeat. This malnourishment affects organ and organ system functions to the extent that it can be fatal. Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental disorders.

The most common eating disorders and their signs are listed below in detail:

Anorexia Nervosa:

Anorexia Nervosa is often just called Anorexia by many physicians. However, it is one of the most life-threatening eating disorders. These patients are obsessed with weight loss to the extent that they always want to be thin; even if they have lost weight to an extreme extent, they still have the urge to lose more.

Signs:

People suffering from Anorexia usually have the following symptoms:

1. They are weight-conscious.
2. They exercise excessively.
3. They starve themselves.
4. They binge and then purge by vomiting, hence suffering from stomach pains.
5. They misuse laxatives.
6. They avoid eating in front of other people.
7. They have a distorted body image; believe they are overweight even though they are usually underweight.
8. They count Calories excessively.
9. They tend to wear loose and bulky clothes to hide their weight loss.
10. Have Calluses on their fingers from inducing vomits.

Most signs of Anorexia are subtle and can only be observed if you pay close attention to the person suffering from it. This is because patients often deny that they even have the disorder in the first place. Unfortunately, this is also true for other types of eating disorders; patients don’t want to admit that they are engaging in potentially harmful activities to control their diets.

Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) acts like a sliding hinge, connecting your jawbone to your skull. You have one joint on each side of your jaw. TMJ disorders — a type of temporomandibular disorder or TMD — can cause pain in your jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of TMJ disorders may include:

• Pain or tenderness of your jaw
• Pain in one or both of the temporomandibular joints
• Aching pain in and around your ear
• Difficulty chewing or pain while chewing
• Aching facial pain

Locking of the joint, making it difficult to open or close your mouth

If you have one of the symptoms mentioned above then all you need to do is to visit TMJD/TMD diagnosis and treatment center near you. If you are living in Nevada state then you may visit TMJ treatment in Reno offering specialized TMJ diagnosis and treatment.

Bulimia Nervosa:

Bulimia Nervosa, commonly called Bulimia, is also a severe and potentially deadly eating disorder. This involves the patients engaging in episodes of binge eating and then purging. They feel like they have no control over themselves and often feel guilt, shame, and fear regarding their body’s image. As a result, they usually resort to laxative use, fasting, and excessively vomiting to eliminate all the calories.

Patients with Bulimia usually weigh normally, unlike those suffering from Anorexia. They often feel disgusted with themselves and hide these destructive behavior patterns.

Signs:

1. They have many empty food containers and food wrappers at home. They are binge eaters; hence one of the most common indications of these patients is this.
2. They often make trips to the restroom after their meals, and they have a hoarse voice due to vomiting.
3. They always have laxatives on them.
4. They often skip meals.
5. They avoid eating in front of other people, even close family, and friends.
6. They exercise excessively, just like people with Anorexia.
7. They always complain about being ‘fat.’
8. They also wear baggy and loose clothes.
9. They always use mouth-fresheners, gums, and mints excessively.
10. They have scarred knuckles from prompting vomiting.

Binge Eating Disorder:

Approximately 8 percent of American adults suffer from Binge Eating disorders. Typically, people with binge eating disorders overeat and feel like they have no control over themselves. As a result, they usually eat even after they are uncomfortably full. Then the vicious cycle begins where they feel disgusted, shameful, and sometimes even ashamed of their behavior and the amount of food they consume daily.

They don’t purge by vomiting or exercising excessively like someone with Anorexia or Bulimia would do; instead, they hide and eat alone. As a result, they feel embarrassed and often are diagnosed with depression. The frequency of bingeing is usually at least once every week, and these patients are often average weight, overweight or obese.

Binge eating disorder is as common in men as it is in women. The average age for the onset of BED is 25 and is most common in people within the age bracket of 25 to 60.

Signs:

1. Like Bulimia, they also have many empty food containers and food wrappers around them; large amounts of food disappear in a short time.
2. They hoard food and hide it in places that are easily accessible for them.
3. They are body-image conscious.
4. They wear baggy clothes to hide their bodies.
5. They skip meals at times.
6. They avoid eating in front of other people.
7. They try to diet constantly but are rarely, if ever, able to lose weight.
8. They are often severely depressed.

Binge eating often leads to obesity, and as we know, obesity is the mother of all diseases. In addition, it can lead to serious health complications. For treatment, such individuals are often recommended behavioral weight reduction programs. They can also be prescribed Vyvanse, an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of BED. Moreover, they are also prescribed anti-depressants and psychotherapy.

Bottom Line:

For you to seek help for yourself or your loved ones, you must accept that you are suffering from an eating disorder. For this, you must identify the signs and symptoms for each kind. While some are repetitive in almost all eating disorders like depression or avoiding eating meals with people, other telltale signs help you differentiate between them. Moreover, it is highly advised that you seek professional help to treat these eating disorders because they can take away a lot from you other than your health and self-image.