Eating Disorders

When you have an eating disorder, it’s associated with disturbances in eating behaviors and the thoughts and emotions you have about food and eating. Someone with an eating disorder may appear preoccupied with their weight, shape, and food. The particular signs and symptoms of an eating disorder depend on which one someone has.

Some of the more common eating disorders:

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa involves food avoidance, extreme food restriction, or very small amounts of certain foods. Someone who has anorexia may weigh themselves frequently and see themselves as overweight, even if they’re underweight.

There are two types of anorexia nervosa. One is the restrictive subtype. With restrictive-type anorexia, a person will severely limit the types of foods they eat and the amount.

The binge-purge type of anorexia involves restricting the amount and type of food eaten but also involves episodes of binging and purging. Binging involves eating large amounts of food in a short window, followed by behaviors to eliminate what was consumed, such as self-induced vomiting.

Anorexia nervosa has a high fatality rate compared to other mental health disorders. There are frequent medical complications that occur when the eating disorder goes untreated, and suicide is the second-leading cause of death in people with a diagnosis of anorexia.

Bulimia Nervosa

With bulimia nervosa, an impacted person will have frequent and ongoing episodes of eating large amounts of food and feeling out of control over these behaviors. After someone binge eats, they will try to overcompensate for overeating with behaviors like excessive exercise, forced vomiting, or the use of diuretics or laxatives. Someone with bulimia might also use a combination of these behaviors.

With bulimia, the affected person can be underweight, normal weight, or overweight.

Binge-Eating Disorder

Binge-eating disorder is one of the most common eating disorders, and it involves episodes where a person loses control of their eating. They often eat very large amounts of food in short periods, then try to purge, fast, or exercise excessively.

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) symptoms include limiting the type of food eaten or the amount, but compared to anorexia, someone with this condition doesn’t have an extreme fear of weight gain or distortions in body image.

This condition is most common in middle childhood and can lead to symptoms like a loss of appetite, dramatic weight loss, or gastrointestinal issues.

People with an eating disorder typically need a professional approach to treatment. Centric Behavioral Health is an eating disorder rehab center. Our eating disorder treatment and is paired with rehab for addiction disorders. This is known as dual diagnosis treatment, leading to better long-term recovery outcomes than treating just one of the conditions on their own.