Eating disorders / Mental health | Sounds Gay

Eating disorders

Eating disorders are where an individuals experience a different relationship with food that is considered unhealthy as it has a different effect on the body. Eating disorders are usually confined to just the female gender by society; however they are prominent in every gender, and there are alarmingly high rates within the LGBTQ+ community.

Different view of food connote a different eating plan or reliance. Some of these include:

Anorexia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa

Binge Eating Disorder

Pica

Rumination Disorder

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Other eating disorders (Purging Disorder, Night Eating Syndrome, Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED))

Coping strategies

As I have mentioned before, I am not a doctor and if you suspect you are suffereing from or are in fact suffering from one of these eating disorders, please seek professional health as I for one know that it is not something you can do by yourself. I spent years hiding this away from my friends and family and I feel so disheratened now that I didn't trust myself enough to tell them.

But, please feel free to contact me and talk through some things if you are not quite at that stage yet :)

Add comment

Comments

There are no comments yet.

0 votes

Here are the greater details of each of these eating disorders:

Anorexia Nervosa

This is due to a distorted view of onself, meaning that people who suffer from this perceive themselves to be overweight, even if they are dangerously underweight.

Suffers tend to show rituals consistent with obsessessive behaviour - such as constantly monitoring one's weight, avoiding certain types of foods and limiting their calory intake.

They also diverge in extreme weight loss activities such as the need to exercise excessively to burn off any calories they have consumed (even if they are lower than the healthy base value).

Bulimia Nervosa

Suffers consume large amounts of food or calories and are then overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt and a desire to lose weight, therefore they force the food out of their system. During a binge, most individuals have no control or memory of what they have eaten, thus triggering a feeling of guilt. This causes them to purge and relieve gut discomfort from their binge in order to make up for the calories they have previously consumed.

However, despite the symptoms and behaviour being simular to those who suffer from Anorexia Nervosa, suffers do not wish to lose weight, rather to maintain an optimum one - therefore, suffers usually maintain their weight in order to give them a sense of 'balance'.

Binge Eating Disorder

Sufferers demonstrate simular eating behaviours to those who suffer from Bulimia Nervosa, where one indulges in binges and feels no control or memory of what they have eaten. However, the major difference between these two disorders is that suffers do not indulge in purging activities to force the food out of their system. They instead live with the guilt and shame as they are afraid to lose the high that these foods give them.

I myself suffer from this and, due to many past traumas, see food as a comfort net and a safety; consuming these foods give me a high and a feeling of elation that makes me forget any troubles, past or present, and allows me to relax. But when that food starts to digest, the high diminishes and I feel the need to eat more to replicate the same original high.

Pica

Suffers crave the consumption of things that are not typically considered food (such as cornstarcg or soil). This is a disorder mainly prevalent in those with mental disabilties (such as depersonalisation or age regression episodes) and pregnant women. Depending on the craving, Pica may be fatal and leads to an increased risk of poisoning and nutrient deficiencies.

Rumination Disorder

Suffers indulge in regurgitation or spitting out of food after re-chewing and re-swallowing food. This behaviour occurs within the first 30 minutes following a meal, and is a voluntary action. If continued, it can be fatal and lead to severe malnutrition and weight loss. It can only be resolved by therapy.

ARFID

ARFID develops during infancy or early childhood and is equally common amoungst all genders and can continue into adulthood. Suffers experience disturbed eating due to lack of intrest in eating or distaste of certain smells/textures/colours or temperatures.

OSFED

This is the generalisation of all eating disorders outside of the previous 6, some of which include:

- Purging disorder (individuals who do not binge but indulge in purging activities (such as laxatives, excessive exercise or vomitting)).

- Nigh eating syndrome (those who eat excessive amount of food, often after awakening from sleep).