Eating disorders belong to physiological disorders related to psychological and mental factors. Simply put, it is due to psychological and mental reasons that some system activities of the body (such as autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, etc.) are abnormal, thus leading to some normal functions of the body.
From the performance point of view, eating disorder is mainly the abnormal behavior of [eating], which can be divided into [anorexia nervosa] and [bulimia nervosa].
Therefore, we can simply understand eating disorder as [a mental and psychological problem about “eating” and “not eating”].
According to relevant statistics, about 3% of the world’s young people and adults suffer from severe eating disorders, of which 10% are young people and the ratio of men to women is 1:10.
This means:
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The vast majority of patients with eating disorders are young women.
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Adolescence is the main period of high incidence of eating disorders.
Pay attention to the [psychologist] public number (micro signal: XinLiJiBing) to learn more about psychological disorders.
The consequences are serious!
The most serious health risk of anorexia is death, which is either caused by [significant weight loss] or [suicide].
In addition, other problems that anorexia may cause include:
- Heart disease; Menstrual disorder or amenorrhea; Infertility; Growth retardation; Brain and nerve damage; Epilepsy; Loss of sensation; Anemia; … …
However, the health problems related to bulimia are not as serious as anorexia, partly because most bulimia people are at normal or overweight levels.
However, bulimia may lead to the following diseases:
- Tooth and gum problems; Myasthenia and arrhythmia; Digestive problems, eg constipation.
In addition, it may also lead to psychological diseases and other social maladjustment behaviors, such as:
- Depression; Sexual promiscuity; To steal; Alcohol and drug abuse.
If one opens one’s mouth and [eats] abnormally, there may be a series of problems. Correct identification of eating disorders is the key to solve the problem.
According to the diagnostic criteria of the fifth edition of the authoritative Psychiatric Manual on Diagnosis and Statistics of Mental Diseases (DSM 5), the following indicators can be used to identify bulimia and anorexia.
In addition, self-tests can be conducted through the “Eating Disorder Survey Scale” to find out whether there are cognitive or behavioral symptoms of eating disorders.
Anorexia nervosa-not only [not wanting to eat]
The main symptoms of anorexia include:
1. Significant weight loss
Usually, the patient’s weight is at least 15% lower than the standard weight.
DSM 5 pointed out that those who are already obese and have lost weight sharply but have not yet dropped to 15% below the normal value should also be included in the [high-risk group].
2. Cognitive distortion of weight
Patients will show a high fear of [weight gain] or [getting fat], and even some people have obviously lost weight, still think they are [too fat], and disagree with the harm of being underweight.
3. After anorexia, gluttony occurs, and after gluttony, compensation behavior occurs.
Due to long-term hunger, patients’ strong desire for food will erupt intermittently.
However, after eating, the patient will voluntarily take [compensatory actions], including but not limited to:
- Self-induced diarrhea and vomiting; Excessive crazy exercise; Take laxatives.
In addition, gluttony is usually carried out in secret, so patients often avoid group dinners.
4. Endocrine disorders
Due to malnutrition and mental illness, female patients will suffer from amenorrhea-they will not come to their aunt for at least three consecutive months. While men may have hyposexuality and impotence.
If the disease occurs before puberty, the child’s development will slow down or even stagnate.
5. Other Symptoms
In addition, the patient’s symptoms may also include dry skin, fear of cold and cold hands and feet, often feeling tired, weak, vertigo, etc., which is closely related to malnutrition.
Signs of anorexia during puberty
Because anorexia is common in puberty, and children are often unwilling to admit their anorexia behavior.
Therefore, parents should pay attention to whether their adolescent children have the following abnormal behaviors:
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Changes in eating habits in the past: such as sudden refusal to eat any more dishes that I especially loved before without any reason, not eating according to the meal order, or reducing the number of meals per day, etc.;
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Children in early youth stop gaining weight: this stage is the period of active growth and development, and children’s weight should increase significantly every year;
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Girls have amenorrhea or menstrual disorder;
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Don’t want to eat with your family, in order to avoid group meals, willing to be alone;
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When eating or after eating, you go to the toilet frequently and stay for a long time. You may turn on the faucet to cover up the sound of vomiting.
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I didn’t do much exercise before. I suddenly started to exercise or even exercised too much.
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Weigh your weight frequently and regard your weight as an extremely important part of your life.
Bulimia nervosa-tangled [food]
The onset age of bulimia nervosa is slightly later than anorexia nervosa, but the prevalence rate is higher.
The most obvious characteristics are: the patient has recurrent irresistible desire to eat, and abnormal overeating or gluttony behavior that cannot be stopped at all; After eating, I worry about getting fat and use various methods to lose weight.
This is an eating disorder whose weight change is not necessarily obvious, mostly for women aged 18-20.
The patient’s inner monologue is about this: the baby should not only eat and eat incessantly, but also be thin and thin into a flash of lightning!
Such contradictory and high-standard requirements are really shocking.
So, what are the main manifestations of bulimia patients?
1. Periodic gluttony
- To eat in large quantities in a short period of time (such as two hours), and the intake is several times higher than that of most people under normal circumstances, and the eating speed is especially fast. It is difficult to control the onset of eating desire. During the onset of the disease, patients cannot control [eating what] and [how much to eat]. They often do not know the taste of eating, but only mechanically stuff food into their mouths, and prefer high-calorie junk food until abdominal distension is unbearable.
2. Recovery after periodic gluttony
After overeating, due to fear of weight gain, they will repeatedly take remedial actions, such as self-induced vomiting, use laxatives, diuretics or complete fasting, excessive exercise, etc.
3. Persistence
On average, overeating and compensatory behaviors occur at least twice a week for at least three months.
4. Be very concerned about weight
Patients regard thinness as their beauty and worry about obesity. A large part of their self-evaluation comes from the description of [weight] and [body].
Who is prone to eating disorders?
Be careful if you have the following symptoms, because such people are [high-risk groups] with eating disorders and are easy to develop eating disorders:
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The body mass index is in the normal or thin range, but there is no delay or stop of body development.
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Distorted cognition of weight and body shape, dissatisfaction with body; Strong emotional reaction to weight gain; Believing that weight and body shape affect self-evaluation and other people’s views on themselves;
- There is at least one of the following abnormal eating behaviors: dieting: paying too much attention to eating, accompanied by guilt after eating too much, which affects daily life; Gluttony: If you eat a lot of food in a short period of time, it is still difficult to control your support and you will regret it after eating. Compensation: There is at least one kind of compensation behavior, such as taking laxatives, inducing vomiting, excessive exercise, etc.
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Menstruation is normal or disordered, but there is no amenorrhea.
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The gluttony or compensation behavior occurred more than once and lasted for at least one month;
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Symptoms slightly affect the individual’s physical and social functions, but the severity is not as serious as eating disorders.
What should I do if I have eating disorders?
Step 1 See a doctor regularly
Eating disorders require one-on-one professional treatment. Doctors discuss weight and nutrition issues with patients and work out appropriate treatment plans with patients.
2. Reshaping Correct Values
Patients often have unreasonable concepts such as [thin is everything] [thin or dead], which is like a [virus program] implanted into the brain and requires us to actively identify and intercept.
In addition to psychotherapy, which can help patients do this faster, patients themselves need to love themselves and accept themselves, so as to resist the brainwashing of the media that [what is normal weight and ideal body shape].
3. Make a regular eating plan and abide by it.
It is best to arrange three meals a day at a fixed hour and form the habit of eating regularly. When you are full, stop and stop yourself from eating too much.
4. Choose fresh and healthy ingredients
Fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, poultry, eggs, lean meat, etc. can be eaten more. A healthy and balanced diet can make people feel refreshed all day. When eating, you may as well slow down and savor the taste of the food itself.
5. Exercise regularly and moderately
Exercise can promote metabolism, and exercise is not only beneficial to the body, but also beneficial to the state of mind-people who like exercise have healthier state of mind.
6. Develop hobbies and learn new skills
New hobbies and skills can divert attention from food and increase self-confidence. Learning new skills, developing new hobbies, volunteering, raising a small animal, etc. can all have an effect.
7. Improving family relations
If there are children with eating disorders in the family, parents need to make efforts to improve the family atmosphere and be tolerant and receptive to the children.
Psychological research shows that low self-esteem level may lead to anorexia or bulimia in children. Expressing love to children, giving timely and specific praise to children, encouraging children to express their emotions, and establishing smooth and effective parent-child communication can all give children a strong family support system to resist bad psychological and mental problems.