Eating Disorders
Persons how suffer from an eating disorder represent heterogeneous
groups of individuals who have some forms of difficulty and preoccupation with food, as
well as symptoms such as preoccupation with weight and/or body shape, perfectionism and
excessive self-criticism, desire for the "perfect body", and what some describe
as a love/hate relationship with food.
College women are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders, and a surprising percentage
of women, and increasingly men, find themselves battling this secretive disorder.
For many persons, the initial motivation that starts the eating disorder is a
desire to loose weight, and in most cases, the person with the eating disorder views more
control over food, and concomitant loss of weight (focus on body shape), as the
"solution" to their problem. Often, however, this solution actually becomes a
very dangerous and intractable problem. For example, some bulimia nervosa victims often
develop a vicious cycle wherein the more they insist and pressure themselves into
developing the perfect body and perfect control (at all costs), the more they more they
struggle with the physiological needs and emotional desires for food. Severely
restricting food (starvation with it's physiological and psychological sequel) leads to
eventual overeating (termed binging), which instead of being enjoyable for long, only
promotes more guilt, shame, fear of losing control and the cycle starts over again.
Often, specific symptoms tend occur together to create a specific eating disorder. The primary eating disorders diagnosed by professionals include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge-eating disorder. Immediate treatment is recommended for these disorders as they carry with them a very real and substantial risk of serious, prolonged, or fatal physical repercussions. In addition to serious physical risks, many eating disordered individuals also suffer from related neurological or psychological problems. Persons with severe symptoms may need hospitalized to stabilize their medical condition before out-patient counseling begins. Even persons with less severe problems often benefit from counseling.
While they can and are sometimes are life threatening, eating disorders often also take
a serious toll on quality of life, relationships, self-esteem, and sense of
well-being. Sufferers often experience lack of trust in others, low self-esteem, and
depression. They often see themselves as unworthy to be loved, to have success or to
be happy, despite having the normal wants and needs that everyone else has.
Sometimes they feel that they cannot ask for what they need, though they may be quick to
help others meet those same needs. It has long been noted by many professionals that
eating disorders at their deeper levels are often not about food or weight. While
some people experience a brief period of problems with food, and then spontaneously
recover, many people find that the disorders do not remit without help. It
takes a great amount of courage to get help with an eating disorder, and many are slow to
seek help because the eating disorder is viewed as a necessary coping strategy more than
problem.
There are professionals on the University of North Texas campus
that are trained to help students with eating disorders. Feel free to contact
Counseling and Testing at UNT for help or for professional referrals on campus or in or
about Denton, Texas. The Counseling and Testing Center works closely with the Student
Health Center and our multidisciplinary M.E.A.N. team (Managing Eating and Nutrition), and
may be running a therapy group for persons with eating disorders. Please call if you
have questions or need information.
The following links are but a sample of the many sites that present much useful information.
These links can be beneficial for either persons with an eating disorder, for
people who care about them and for professionals: In no particular
order they are:
www.eating-disorders.com
www.edhelp.com
www.something-fishy.org
National Institute of Mental Health
site (with online pamphlet)
The Skinny (by Susie Thrumond)
This page maintained by Tim Lane Ph.D.
Last Updated: Nov 9, 2006