The term eating disorder/eating distress refers to a broad variety of unbalanced eating rituals and disturbance in eating behaviour, an irregularity between a person and their eating. Each disorder can be understood as a coping strategy, a solution to underlying issue, not a problem. The term eating disorder refers to a set of complex, successive conditions typified by psychological and emotional suffering, acute disorders in eating and the physical repercussions of it; the most common of these being anorexia, bulimia and over eating.
In each of these disorders experiences can be similar in terms of there being a constant search for approval from the individual, discomfort when eating with others, problems with interpersonal relationships, preoccupation with weight, size, food and dieting, obvious changes in moods, personality and habits, factors of control, trust, autonomy and low self-esteem, hyperactive behaviour, difficulty with concentration, relaxation and sleeping and physical complaints such as headaches, tiredness, muscle weakness and unexplained gland swelling. sense of control
Anorexia Nervosa can be understood as self imposed starvation that is characterised by a deliberate refusal to eat enough food so as to maintain minimal weight. Some of the symptoms of anorexia are
Bulimia Nervosa is characterised by repeated episodes of binge eating followed by behaviours known as purging, to prevent weight gain. Some of the symptoms of bulimia are
Overeating generally refers to the long-term consumption of excess food in relation to what the person needs for normal functioning, leading to weight gain and often obesity. Some of the symptoms of overeating are binge eating, or eating uncontrollably even when not physically hungry, eating much more rapidly than normal, eating alone due to shame and embarrassment and feelings of guilt due to overeating
