Eating disorders are when you have a difficult relationship with food. Food is important and a lot of us change our eating habits, eat more, eat less or even lose our appetites but this is normal. When it becomes a problem is when food and eating begins to feel like it’s taking over your life. You don’t have to be overweight or underweight to have an eating problem – anyone regardless of weight, gender and age can have one.

There are different types of eating disorders, the most common are:

  • Anorexia nervosa – when you don’t eat enough food and/or exercise too much to keep your weight as low as possible
  • Bulimia – when you eat a lot of food in a short space of time (binging) and then purposely make yourself sick or use laxatives, don’t eat again or do excessive exercise to stop yourself putting on weight 
  • Binge Eating Disorder (BED) – when you constantly lose control of your eating, eating so much food at once until you feel uncomfortably full and then you feel guilty and upset
  • Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) – when your symptoms don’t exactly match any of the above, but this doesn’t mean it’s any less serious than them

Symptoms

If you’re worried that you might have a difficult relationship with food, it’s having an impact on your health or it’s making you or the people that care about you unhappy you might have an eating disorder. 

Symptoms of eating disorders include: 

  • Avoiding situations where food may be involved
  • Exercising too much
  • Worrying about your weight and body shape a lot
  • Purposely making yourself sick or taking laxatives after you eat
  • Changes in your mood
  • Physical signs such as digestion problems, feeling exhausted or dizzy or not getting your period for women


Noticing that a friend or loved one has developed an eating disorder can often be really difficult. Warning signs to look out for include:

  • Complaining about being fat (even though they are at a normal weight or are even underweight)
  • Always claiming that they’ve already eaten and avoiding eating with others
  • Cooking big meals for others but not eating any of the food themselves
  • Going to the bathroom a lot after eating
  • Changes in personality
  • Withdrawing from things they used to enjoy 
  • Excessively or obsessively exercising
  • Dramatic weight loss

Causes

There isn’t an exact cause of eating disorders. However, it is believed that there are factors that can contribute to the development of one. These include:

  • Personal traits – being critical of yourself, being very competitive or wanting everything to be perfect all the time
  • Stressful life experiences – physical, emotional or sexual abuse, loss, divorce, puberty, starting a new school, bullying, leaving home etc
  • Social pressures – the pressure in the media about how our bodies should look 
  • Physical or mental health problems – feeling powerless because you have a physical health problem and then eating/exercising to gain control over your life or eating because you experience a mental health problem such as Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder or Body Dysmorphic Disorder
  • Biology and genes – having too much or too little of the brain chemicals that affect your mood and appetite

How can I help myself?

  • Look for peer support – it can really help to talk to someone about your experiences
  • Identifying triggers – it may help if you identify what kind of situations make you more likely to have an eating problem, this way you can manage them better e.g. finding different ways to distract yourself, buying less food if you are worried about overeating etc
  • Be kind to yourself – remembering that recovery is possible but it is also a process so take each day at a time.

Treatments

Treatment often involves a talking therapy (usually Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)) which focuses on your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. 

There isn’t any medication specifically for eating disorders, but you might be prescribed some drugs such as antidepressants to help you with the underlying factors (such as depression or anxiety).