Research has shown that excessive exposure to social media can contribute to mental health issues and dissatisfaction with body image, which each fuel one another. 

With billions of social media users worldwide, the effects of these platforms and technology on our mental health can be felt on a global scale. 

The positives we can take from social media

First, the positives—social media can positively impact our body image, with millions of fitness, food, and wellness accounts providing inspiration and aspirational content. Through these lenses, users can maintain their healthy lifestyles and take a positive view of their bodies. 

With an increasing number of body-positive accounts to follow who will advocate for a healthier perspective on how we look, social media users can benefit from a different perspective on their body image. 

Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have the potential to empower people to stay healthy. Since most platforms have made eating-disorder-specific keywords such as “anorexia”, “bulimia”, and “thinspiration” unsearchable, helping to provide a healthier representation. 

By their very design, social channels are online communities where people can engage with other like-minded people and share ideas or opinions, fostering a diverse conversation on topics such as mental health and body image. 

How social media can influence poor mental health

Unfortunately, excessive consumption of seemingly perfect bodies and unfaltering diets can take its toll on our mental health and even lead to disordered eating. 

Social media can impact our emotions in various ways, making us feel anxious or depressed, angry or frustrated at the lives of people we see on social media channels. 

Over time, this can lead to unrealistic expectations of how our bodies should look and this can cause unhealthy eating habits. “You might have obsessive thoughts about food or reach for a certain type of meal when you’re feeling sad or unsure of something. For some, unhealthy eating behaviors are focused more on weight and body image than the feelings associated with eating”, says Olivia Marcellino, VP of Research at Recovery.com. 

It’s important to remember that social media is filled with people presenting a highlight reel of their lives, and this includes the way they present images of themselves. 

Photoshop, filters, and editing tools make it possible to completely reinvent ourselves into perfect images, which can make for impossible standards to reach and feel as though we’re in a constant state of comparison. 

Social media can make us feel as though we have a personal connection to the people we follow, and it can make it much easier to be influenced by the content we view every day.

This continual state of dissatisfaction can impact our mental health in other ways, too, lowering our self-esteem and increasing the likelihood of depression. 

Studies have even shown that increased use of social media can influence poor sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and depression in young adults, as well as feelings of loneliness and isolation. The price paid for access to social media, in many cases, is our mental health and an unhealthy view of our own body image. 

Combatting the effects of social media on mental health

By taking a proactive approach to how we use social media, it is possible to counteract the negative effects it can have on our body image and mental health. As with anything in life, balance is key. 

Take a break from social media for a while so you can refocus and rid your mind of the negative feelings scrolling through accounts can have. This might be for a few hours when you notice your emotions are dipping, or it might be stepping back for a few weeks to gain perspective and regroup. 

It’s also important to regularly assess who you’re following and why. Do you notice that after viewing content from a certain account, you feel angry, upset, or envious? It could be that these types of accounts aren’t having a positive effect, and it’s time to unfollow them. 

Social media should be fun and uplifting, so make a habit of going through your accounts every so often to ensure that the people you’re following are producing content that’s inspiring you and putting you in a better mood, not bringing you down. 

We’re social beings and we want to forge connections with others, so use social media for the purpose it was intended and find a community that supports you. 

Follow body-positive accounts, get involved with conversations online that promote positive mental health and join groups that support one another and lift people up. It can help to shift your mindset of what an ‘ideal’ body type can look like and do wonders for making you feel good about yourself and those around you.

Sometimes, it’s not possible to alleviate the impact social media can have without professional help, particularly if the outcome of negative social media usage has resulted in disordered eating. When our mental health has been poor for some time, getting out of that mindset can be tough. But there are options, from counselling and therapy sessions to prescription medication and more, which can help us get back to a healthier perspective. 

Final thoughts

Social media certainly has its plus points – it can help us foster connections with people from all over the world and view issues and topics from different perspectives. But it has a dark side, and we need to be cautious of how we use social media channels and how often in order to protect our mental health and stave off issues. 

Whether it’s being careful who we follow, paying attention to how long we’re scrolling every day, or seeking help and support when we can feel our mental health slipping, there are ways to combat the negative impact that social media can have and focus on the positives instead.

Photo via Unsplash: Becca Tapert

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Sophie Bishop

Research shows that many children who experience adversity are amazingly resilient.

Why do some children who experience trauma adapt and overcome, while others suffer long-term consequences that hold them back in life? Researchers from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University found that “no matter the source of hardship, the single most common factor for children who ended up doing well is having the support of at least one stable and committed relationship with a parent, caregiver, or other adult.”

As the daughter of a mentally ill mother, I endured multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). For me, my brother, Alec, six years older, functioned as the supportive adult in my life—even when we were both still kids. Once when I was 2, Alec stopped my mother from inflicting serious physical abuse.  Another time, when I was 14 and hospitalized for anorexia, he walked me over to a mirror and said, “Look at you. You’re a skeleton. You’re going to die if you don’t eat.” I knew he loved me, and I decided I didn’t want to die.

Throughout the years, Alec tossed me the lifelines I needed to surmount adversity.

According to the Center on the Developing Child, one way to understand resilience is to envision a seesaw: “Protective experiences and adaptive skills on one side counterbalance significant adversity on the other. Resilience is evident when a child’s health and development are tipped in a positive direction, even when a heavy load of factors is stacked on the negative side.” (For a better understanding of this process, you can play Tipping the Scales: The Resilience Game on the Center on the Developing Child website. As explained on the website, the interactive feature is designed to help us learn how the choices we make can help children and the community as a whole become more resilient in the face of serious challenges.)

Some of Center on the Developing Child’s central findings on resilience include:

• “Resilience requires supportive relationships and opportunities for skill-building. Relationships help children develop key capacities—such as the ability to plan, monitor, and regulate behavior, and adapt to changing circumstances—that better enable them to respond to adversity when they face it.”
• “Resilience results from a dynamic interaction between internal predispositions and external experiences. Children who do well in the face of significant hardship typically show some degree of natural resistance to adversity and strong relationships with the important adults in their family and community.”  This adds a new dimension to the “nature vs. nurture” issue. As it turns out, the ability of kids to develop healthy brains and resilience depends on both. Interaction between genes and the environment helps shape human development. The emerging field of epigenetics has found that “early experiences can determine how genes are turned on and off—and even whether some are expressed at all,” which influences behavior, health, and capacity for resilience. Another way to look at it: environmental experiences can determine whether certain markers on genes are activated.
• “The capabilities that underlie resilience can be strengthened at any age . . . What happens early may matter most, but it is never too late to build resilience.”

The Special Case of Highly Sensitive Kids

It may seem counterintuitive, but kids who are damaged the most may rebound the fastest. As reported by the Center on the Developing Child, the heightened sensitivity that makes some children fold in the face of adversity may help them rebound faster than other children when help is available.

No Resilience Gene

There is no such thing as a “resilience gene.” As noted by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, contrary to what some people think, it’s a misconception that “individual grit” or “some in-born, heroic strength of character can triumph over calamity.” That’s the stuff of movies. As resilience science tells us, kids overcome adversity by having supportive relationships with adults, exposure to positive experiences, and opportunities to develop effective coping skills.

(My book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids, is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback versions. My website is www.Alicekenny.com)

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Alice Kenny

I am the author of Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. My book combines memoir with research. My credentials include contributing articles to a Philadelphia daily newspaper on psychological, medical, family, and career issues. I was also an editor at a daily newspaper in Atlantic City. I live near a small seaside town in New Jersey with my husband Jack and our rescue dog, Maxie.

www.alicekenny.com

If you are the son or daughter of a parent with a mental illness, and you felt abandonment, depression, loneliness, or anger as a child or teen, you are not alone. Experts agree that children of mentally ill parents are prone to experiencing these feelings.

Michelle D. Sherman, Ph.D., ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. She is the co-author of I’m Not Alone: A Teen’s Guide to Living with a Parent Who Has a Mental Illness. “Although each childhood experience is unique,” Sherman says, “children of parents living with a mental illness often feel confusion, embarrassment, shame, fear, and anger. They may ask themselves, ‘Why can’t I bring my friends over? Am I going to be like this? Is it [my parent’s mental illness] contagious? Will my mother or father ever get better?’

“At the same time, many children experience a hope that their parents will get better through treatment, and pride when they see their parents are trying to get better.”

While some kids of mentally ill parents experience anger, for me anger was an alien emotion. To feel anger, I would have had to think that I deserved to be treated better.

Undoubtedly, some times are crazier than others. “Sometimes, parents living with an SMI [Serious Mental Illness] ‘act out’ in confusing, upsetting ways, such as during times of active psychosis . . . Parents living with mood disorders may struggle with suicidal thinking and behavior, which can be very distressing. When parents act out in these ways, children may experience their parents as hostile, scary, out of control, and unpredictable. In turn, the children feel anxious, ashamed, sad, and angry,” notes Sherman.

Most definitely, I viewed my mother as hostile, scary, out of control, and unpredictable. Coming home from school, when I turned the knob to open the screen door of our front porch, I could count on my mother to be in some sort of foul mood before long. I just couldn’t predict what would set off an explosion.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Surgeon General of California, shares in her book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, that when she was growing up her mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Burke Harris reveals that every day after school she never knew if she was “coming home to happy Mom or scary Mom.”

“In our house,” she says, “times of intense anxiety and stress were interwoven with moments of love and joy.”

Child & Family Connections (CFC), a non-profit organization that helps families living with mental illness through peer-informed education, advocacy, and support, maintains that most parents with mental illnesses “are caring, capable, and committed to their children.” CFC’s programs are designed to help parents with mental illnesses build happy, healthy lives for their families.

Nonetheless, research points to the many risks children of parents with mental illness face.

It’s not uncommon for children of mentally ill parents to feel alone, ignored, or isolated. Experts say that often much of the family’s attention is directed toward the mentally ill parent, and the other parent/family members in the home become preoccupied with managing the illness. In my family’s case, everyone simply placated my mother in the misguided belief that it would make living conditions better or at least easier. It didn’t.

As noted by Sherman in “Reaching Out to Children of Parents with Mental Illness,” an article that appeared in Social Work Today, research shows that a parent living with SMI may detach (intentionally or unintentionally) from their child. Sherman explains that parents with SMI—particularly those with post-traumatic stress disorder—can develop emotional numbing, which can interfere with the parent’s ability to engage in everyday activities with their child. “Confused by the parental unavailability, children often feel uncared for, unloved, left out, and lonely. Children may also blame themselves for the change in their parent,” Sherman comments.

In my family, I was the one who became emotionally numb. As a teenager, I developed anorexia. The eating disorder allowed me to detach not only from my mother but from the world as a whole.

As reported in “Children of People with Serious Mental Illness,” published in Social Work Today, researchers have identified common themes running through the lives of children of mentally ill parents: “difficult and confusing parental relationships; feelings of abandonment; ‘parentification,’ or the need to take on the parenting role; feelings of isolation; lack of understanding and support from nonrelatives; difficulty trusting others; inability to maintain relationships; grief; low self-esteem; and depression.”

I can attest to these findings. I grew up to be fearful, a chronic worrier with low self-confidence.

Inability to trust has marred my personal relationships. I learned early on not to trust anyone. If someone did something nice, they had an ulterior motive. I learned not to expect anything good. Happiness was tenuous. If the best happened, the worst was sure to follow. In later years, I gave expression to grief. I grieved the absence of childhood, as have many other children of parents with a mental illness.

My brother Alec, six years older than me, experienced parentification. As I was growing up, Alec functioned as an adult in the household. Not only did he do the family laundry with my dad for years, but he also made school lunches for me, my sister, Patty, and my brother, Joe, until we were old enough to take turns slapping lunchmeat or tuna fish between slices of bread.

“Don’t you remember,” he once asked me when I was in my fifties, “the two years when mom didn’t leave her bedroom?” The fact is, I didn’t. Many memories from my childhood went down a black hole or simply dissipated.

“Some youths are given excessive responsibilities such as childcare for younger siblings, household chores, and even managing the parent’s behavior and medications . . . It’s important for kids to … just have fun,” Sherman says. Sherman compiled a list of ten concrete things that children of mentally ill parents need. Number six on the list resonated with me: “Kids need to be able to be kids.”

(The above article is an excerpt from my book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids, which is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback versions. I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members. You can reach me at www.Alicekenny.com)

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Alice Kenny

I am the author of Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. My book combines memoir with research. My credentials include contributing articles to a Philadelphia daily newspaper on psychological, medical, family, and career issues. I was also an editor at a daily newspaper in Atlantic City. I live near a small seaside town in New Jersey with my husband Jack and our rescue dog, Maxie.

www.alicekenny.com

(The article below is an excerpt from my book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.)

It’s not as if you wake up one day and say, “I’m going to be anorexic. I’m going to shrink away and dwindle down to nothing.” The disorder takes hold with Svengali power, and it steals the very life out of you. Oddly enough, it’s as if the disorder consumes you even though you are consuming next to nothing.

I realize now that I was anorexic by age 14. I remember walking home from high school and thinking, “All I had to eat today was an apple. That’s 60 calories.” I felt confident I could keep my calorie count low for the day. I was in an almost-trance as I walked past the school. I was there, but somehow outside of myself at the same time.

Another day, I was walking home along a busy avenue. Most people never commented on my emaciation. But three girls on the opposite side of the street started pointing at me and laughing. For a fleeting moment, I felt freakish, but I shrugged them off.

As I became thinner and thinner, I became immersed in a world of escapism. I insulated myself from my mother’s beatings and put-downs. I continued to go to school and do homework, but the switch had been thrown to automatic. I was functioning, yet detached. I shut down. Emotionally, I flatlined. Anorexia was my way of dealing with the insanity around me.

I exercised compulsively. I would ride my bike up and down a steep hill in the neighborhood. I pushed myself. I was tired, but I kept pedaling like a hyperactive hamster spinning a wheel in its cage.

****

    Back then—some 50 years ago–people didn’t know much about anorexia. I don’t think most doctors were trained to recognize it.

Eventually, I was hospitalized because of my weight loss. I had dwindled down to 72 pounds on my 5′4″ frame. Little did I know the damage the disease was wreaking on my developing body. I wasn’t menstruating, and I was completely flat-chested. Physically, the disease ravaged me.

Every morning I was weighed by the nurses. My doctor visited every couple of days. Other than that, not much happened.

All of a sudden one afternoon, I realized I couldn’t talk. I was slurring my words. I don’t remember who I was talking to—a nurse or an aide, but she didn’t seem to notice. When I was alone, I tried to talk, and my slurring got worse. I couldn’t enunciate, and my tongue felt thick and large like a slow-moving slug.

Something was wrong. Was I losing my mind?

I decided to call my mother because I had no one else to turn to. I believe I developed anorexia as a result of the abuse inflicted by my mentally ill mother.

Numerous studies have found that children of parents with mental illness are at greater risk for psychiatric disorders compared to children whose parents are not mentally ill. Research shows that between 25-50% of these children will experience some level of psychiatric disorder in their lifetimes.

There was no phone in my room. I managed to sneak down the hallway to the payphone. I made the call. “Mom,” I said, “I can’t talk. Thomething’th wrong.” All the words came out like mush.

I don’t remember her response. I shuffled furtively back to my room.

As it turned out, I had been given a sedative overdose. Apparently, my body weight hadn’t been correctly factored into the dosage. I had no idea I was being sedated.

For a frightening period, I had thought I was going mad. On the other hand, I wouldn’t concede to insanity. In a way, anorexia is a sane response to crazy surroundings when life is out of control – in my case, an environment where a mother is incapable of loving and the only constant is the unpredictability of her behavior and her propensity for unprovoked rages.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “Most experts now believe that eating disorders are caused by people attempting to cope with overwhelming feelings and painful emotions by controlling food. Unfortunately, this will eventually damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem and sense of control.”

Somehow, I already knew this. Nonetheless, I must have been quite an oddity. I remember a gawking group of medical students surrounding my hospital bed as the doctor used the term “anorexia” to describe my condition. I had never heard the term before.

At one point, I managed to read my chart. In actuality, the chart didn’t reveal all that much. I was starving myself. That much I already knew.

****

    My brother Alec saved my life. He came to visit me one day in the hospital. He took my hand and walked me over to the mirror in my room. “Look at you. You’re a skeleton. You’re going to die if you don’t eat.” I knew he loved me and didn’t want me to die. At that moment, I realized I didn’t want to either.

****

    It never occurred to me that I should have received therapy or psychiatric treatment. I was on my own once I was released from the hospital.

****

References:

Lisa J. Slominski, “The Effects of Parental Mental Illness on Children: Pathways to Risk to Resilience from Infancy to Adulthood,” (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 2010). Slominski cited research from: W. Beardslee, E.M. Versage, and T.R.G. Gladstone, “Children of Affectively Ill Parents: A Review of the Past 10 Years,” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 37 no. 11 (1998): 1134–1141.

“Eating Disorders,” National Alliance on Mental Illness, accessed January 7, 2019, http://nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-conditions/eating-disorders

About the Author:

Alice M. Kenny

My pen name is Alice M. Kenny.  I am a Philadelphia-born journalist. I’ve contributed freelance articles to a Philadelphia newspaper on medical, family, social, and psychological issues. Early in my writing career, I was an editor of a daily newspaper in Atlantic City. I live near a small seaside town in New Jersey with my husband Jack and our rescue dog, Maxie.  My book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids, is available on Amazon. You can reach me at www.alicekenny.com

Guest Post Disclaimer: Any and all information shared in this guest blog post is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this blog post, nor any content on CPTSDfoundation.org, is a supplement for or supersedes the relationship and direction of your medical or mental health providers. Thoughts, ideas, or opinions expressed by the writer of this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of CPTSD Foundation. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Full Disclaimer.

Alice Kenny

I am the author of Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. My book combines memoir with research. My credentials include contributing articles to a Philadelphia daily newspaper on psychological, medical, family, and career issues. I was also an editor at a daily newspaper in Atlantic City. I live near a small seaside town in New Jersey with my husband Jack and our rescue dog, Maxie.

www.alicekenny.com

The Problem

There are at least 30 million people who live with an eating disorder in the United States alone. Indeed, 10 million males will experience an ED at some point in their lives, but because of the stigma attached to both what is considered having a “women’s problem” and reaching out for psychological help, most will never seek help. Even the personnel that serve in the U.S. military are not immune as 4% of the men who serve were found in a study to have an eating disorder (McNulty 1997).

To make the problem even clearer, here are a few more riveting and disturbing statistics.

Most experts agree that 20% to 25% of the total number of people living with an eating disorder are male. However, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders estimates the figure to be even larger with 25% to 40% of males forming an eating disorder sometime in their lifetime.

Why Don’t We Hear About Male Victims of EDs?

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorder’s website is full of vital information about eating disorders and males. They state that the male victims we know about who live with an ED are actually only a small fraction of what is out there. This is because until recently eating disorders in men has not received any attention for many reasons including the following:

• Professional bias against men having an eating disorder leads to males being diagnosed with an ED much less often than females.
• Male victims of EDs are excluded from most eating disorder treatment centers.
• The DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the bible of the psychiatric world until the release of the DSM-V left men out of the diagnostic criteria for EDs
• Research on eating disorders has traditionally only been on women, not men.

To be sure, men and boys who form an eating disorder have many strikes against them.

Eating Disorders Present Differently in Males vs. Females

The National Eating Disorder Association states that while women with eating disorders are primarily concerned with the thin appearance of their bodies, males are typically characterized as having a drive for masculinity.

This male preoccupation with trying to look more manly can lead to disordered eating and excessive exercising. In fact, studies show that more than 90% of adolescent boys exercise predominantly to increase their muscle mass or tone and 66% change their diets to change how they look. Unfortunately, the same study also showed that 15% of adolescent males begin using steroids to enhance their muscular look (Raevuori, et. al., 2014).

Now researchers are discovering evidence that suggests that males disordered eating behaviors are increasing quicker rate than females and male EDs are equally as severe as females.

Clearly, eating disorders in males cannot and should not be considered rare but instead be taken very seriously.

Muscle Dysmorphia

To understand what is going on in the minds of men when it comes to eating disorders, one must first understand muscle dysmorphia.

Muscle Dysmorphia is a form of body dysmorphia where males become obsessed with gaining a muscular physique. Males experiencing this phenomenon will often go to great lengths to improve upon what they see in the mirror as an inferior body.

Some males see themselves as inferior to others and live with the delusion that their body is too small or skinny when, in reality, the person has already built up acceptable muscular mass.

This misconception along with the rigors expected of males in sports can lead to the abuse of steroids and binge eating. If on the other hand, the male sees themselves as being too heavy they may form anorexia and exercise excessively in an attempt to fit in with their peers.

Society’s Role In Eating Disorders in Males

Today’s society places undue stress on males to be brave and stoic even in the face of a major health challenge. Just like females are expected to be thin and beautiful, we often expect men to have large muscles and a stereotypical macho physique.

The toll these stresses and expectations have on boys and men plays a huge role in the formation and the deadliness of eating disorders. Not only do boys and men learn to hate their own bodies, but they also begin to take unnecessary risks to shape and mold them into society’s ideal.

The expectations we pressure males with is even more evident in teenage boys. They live in fear of being inadequate anyway due to puberty and look to other males for how they should look and act. Unfortunately, what they observe has been passed on from other insecure boys leading to misinformation about what a man should look like.

Indeed, males, like females, are dying for perfection they can never achieve. It is time for society to back off and allow both males and females to look at their bodies not with disdain, but with the respect they deserve.

The Delusion of Perfection

It is not just society that puts pressure on males to strive for perfection, the media plays an enormous role in warping the male mind as to what is the perfect body. Daily young men are bombarded with bodybuilding magazines and pictures of movie stars looking sleek and muscular. Never mind the fact that most of the pictures are touched up to make the actor appear more masculine than he is in real life.

Because young men and boys do not yet have a defined sense of self they might seek out external sources to shape their identity. Here is where societal expectations and the media come together offering the delusion and illusion that of what the perfect male looks like.

The present research has shown a link between self-concept, self-esteem, body image and self-worth a worrisome and dangerous combination (Vartanian, 2009). The preoccupation with having the perfect male body leaves men and boys struggling to “bulk up” leading to 25% of normal males believing they are underweight and 90% of teenage boys exercising excessively.

Treatment for Males Living with an Eating Disorder

There are numerous studies that suggest the risk of death for males living with an eating disorder is higher than it is for females so early intervention is vital.

Finding treatment when you are a male with an eating disorder is difficult at best and impossible at worst. This is because most eating disorder clinics are set up to handle female victims, not male.

However, this fact will improve as society begins to recognize through advocacy efforts that men and boys are just as likely to fall prey to an eating disorder as women and girls.

Treatment is not and can not be the same for everyone. For any person, there are many elements that come into play such as heredity and cultural factors. Treatment must consist of a gender-sensitive approach recognizing the differences between each man or boy.

Nutritional treatment and intervention are vital to helping males heal from an eating disorder. Men and boys who have anorexia nervosa have low levels of testosterone and vitamin D meaning supplementation is important.  Psychological counseling is also highly recommended to address the emotional difficulties those males who have fallen victim to body dysmorphia. It is critical also to include close supervision by a medical professional to monitor the progress of the male and to watch out for the physical effects of having an ED.

Never Give Up Hope

Males living with an eating disorder often respond well to treatment even if the disorder has become chronic in nature. There are no magic pills or potions that will make a male feel better about themselves, and healing takes time.

However, one should never, ever give up hope. Eating disorders are insidious killers that can be put at bay by restructuring how boys and men see themselves. To be sure, there is no such thing as the perfect alpha male. The pictures and movies lie about how stars and models look and it is guaranteed that the men pictured feel a sense of discontent with their bodies too.

Having questions and emotions about how one looks is totally normal. Everyone wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror, and wonders if they are handsome/pretty.

One does not need to be “buff” or have the “perfect” physique to be a man. What makes a man is what they treat other people. If a boy or man treats others with respect and dignity, that is the mark of a true man.

If you or someone you know is living with an eating disorder please, reach out to your doctor or someone you can trust and get help. You are much too important to lose to the tragedy of an eating disorder.

The National Eating Disorders Association Helpline

The National Eating Disorders Association offers a helpline for support, resources, and treatment options. The helpline hours are Monday – Thursday from 11 AM to 9 PM ET, and Friday from 11 AM to 5 PM ET.

If you call during hours when they are not available to answer the phone, please leave a message for them and they will contact you back ASAP. The number is:

(800) 931-2237

If you would rather chat online with someone, you can go to the following website and do so.

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline

Additional Resource: Academic Success Guide for People Affected by Eating Disorders
https://www.educationdegree.com/resources/eating-disorders

References

McNulty, P. A. F. (1997). Prevalence and contributing factors of eating disorder behaviors in active duty Navy men. Military Medicine, 162(11), 753-758.

Raevuori, A., Keski-Rahkonen, A., & Hoek, H. W. (2014). A review of eating disorders in males. Current opinion in psychiatry, 27(6), 426-430.

Vartanian, L. R. (2009). When the body defines the self: Self-concept clarity, internalization, and body image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 94-126.

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com

Two Types of Nervosa, What’s the Link?

The term Nervosa means “lack of appetite” which is misleading but close to what happens when a person forms anorexia or bulimia.

The Relationship Between Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa has been targeted for research to find a way to end the suffering of those who experience them. Both disorders are not well-understood and strike women during adolescence. However, men are also affected by eating disorders and we shall tackle that subject in piece four of this series.

Both anorexia and bulimia have similar puzzling symptoms. Among them are:

• Body image distortions
• Denial of emaciation
• Resistance to treatment
• Binge-purge behaviors
• Perfectionism
• Mental discomfort or suffering
• A reduced ability to experience pleasure

Both Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have high mortality rates with anorexia having the highest death rate of any other psychiatric disorder.

The Neurotransmitters Involved in Eating Disorders

This section was covered in piece two of this series on eating disorders, but it is so important it will appear in this one also.

Changes in brain chemicals also may play a role in eating disorders. Some of these changes involve the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.

Dopamine is known as the pleasure chemical and it helps humans by allowing them to feel satisfaction and joy. However, anorexia has been associated with an over-production of dopamine that leads to anxiety, and the ability to do unpleasant things such as not eating. Dopamine is also indicated as a culprit in the other eating disorders as well (Broft et. al., 2012) (Bello & Hainal, 2010).

Serotonin is responsible for, other things, mood, sleep, and feeling hungry. Research has discovered that people currently in the throes of anorexia nervosa have significantly lower levels of serotonin in their cerebrospinal fluid than those who do not (Kaye et. al., 1991).

Tryptophan. A study found that the amino acid tryptophan a vital building block for serotonin is depleted in people living with an eating disorder. These researchers gave 22 women, 10 who had an eating disorder and 12 who did not, an amino acid mixture without tryptophan and then a mixture containing tryptophan.

When the women with a history or eating disorders took the mixture without tryptophan they experienced dysphoria, increased body image problems, and a feeling of loss of control when they were eating (Smith, et. al., 1999).

The reason for the change is the relationship between tryptophan and serotonin. Without tryptophan, there is not enough serotonin circulating in the brain. This leads to all the problems listed above under heading serotonin.

Dysphoria and Chemicals as Possible Causes for Anorexia and Bulimia

In a paper written in 2007, the researchers described how considerable evidence suggests that altered serotonin levels in the brain can lead to “dysregulation of appetite, mood, and impulse control” (Kay, 2007).

In the paper, Kay reported that brain imaging studies done by other researchers have found disturbances in the 5-HT, molecules attached to metal atoms in the brain, are not functioning properly. This disturbance presents itself when people become ill with eating disorders and remain disturbed after a person has recovered from anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

It could also be that disturbances of the 5-HT via alterations of nerve activity by the delivery of stimuli such as chemical agents, predates the onset of an eating disorder. This means that someday when researchers know enough about these disturbances in the neurochemicals of the brain they may be able to not only catch it before it presents but also find ways to inhibit it from becoming a problem.

The paper went on to also state that the dysphoric (consistently down mood) temperament of some people may cause individuals to become vulnerable to forming a disturbed appetite. Restricting food can temporarily relieve the suffering of dysphoria, which usually begins in adolescence.

Puberty, Anorexia, and Bulimia

Another paper stated that the dysregulation mentioned in the above section about 5-TH dysregulation is related to female gonadal steroids or changes related to age. Stress increases the anxiety of the adolescent increasing their temperament that makes them lean toward having obsessions.

People who develop an eating disorder sometimes discover that by reducing their intake of food they can modulate their 5-TH function and thus temporarily lower their anxious mood. They then enter a horrendous cycle chasing the relief of their anxiety and dysphoria, in other words, they are self-medicating using their eating habits (Lam, et. al. 2017).

The problem is that malnutrition causes their brain dysregulation to recur meaning they remain in a dysphoric mood which triggers the cycle to repeat all over again.

Simply put, steroids released by the glands in puberty change and when added to the stress of being a teenager increases their tendency to obsess. Teens who begin restricting their intake of food may do so to relieve themselves of the horrible suffering of dysphoria. However, malnutrition and other effects of not eating triggers the brain into more dysregulation causing the cycle of increased dysphoria and binge, purge, or not eating to repeat.

The Genetic Component to Eating Disorders

Genetics may play a vital role in the formation of an eating disorder. It has been found in research that relatives of a person experiencing an eating disorder are 7-12 times likely to develop an eating disorder (Lilenfeld, et. al. 1998). Also, data from twin studies estimate that heredity accounts for 30-80% of eating disorders (Bulik, et. al., 2006).

A family history of major depressive disorder and OCD played a role in the formation of eating disorders as did anxiety disorders in family members.

To explain further is a family member has an eating disorder, then the adolescent in that family might develop one as well. This is because there might be a common thread of a family history of anxiety and major depression that exacerbates the chances that an adolescent will form an eating disorder.

It Is Not Hopeless   

Reading this information can be daunting and cause people to lose hope. However, that shouldn’t be the case.

Scientists are closer than ever before in understanding what happens in the brain of someone who is experiencing an eating disorder. They can see with fMRI and PET scan technology what regions of the brain play a part and through the examination of neurochemicals and neurotransmitters understand why people form EDs and how they might be combatted.

Yes, inheritance and having dysphoria in adolescence play vital roles in the formation of an eating disorder, but all is not lost.

One should never, ever give up. The disorder those with an eating disorder experience is not their fault, in fact, it is no one’s fault. People with eating disorders are not damaged, and they are not bad.

Like someone with family history and exposure to environmental chemicals might form cancer, victims of eating disorders brain chemistry changes plus inherited genes triggered an illness.

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” ~ Michelle Obama

References

Bello, N. T., & Hajnal, A. (2010). Dopamine and binge eating behaviors. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 97(1), 25-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.04.016

Broft, A., Shingleton, R., Kaufman, J., Liu, F., Kumar, D., Slifstein, M., … & Walsh, B. T. (2012). Striatal dopamine in bulimia nervosa: A pet imaging study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(5), 648-656. DOI: 10.1002/eat.20984

Kaye, W. H., Gwirtsman, H. E., George, D. T., & Ebert, M. H. (1991). Altered serotonin activity in anorexia nervosa after long-term weight restoration: does elevated cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level correlate with rigid and obsessive behavior? Archives of General Psychiatry, 48(6), 556. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810300068010

Bulik C.M., Sullivan P.F., Tozzi F., Furberg H., Lichtenstein P., Pedersen N.L. Prevalence, heritability, and prospective risk factors for anorexia nervosa. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 2006;63:305–312. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.63.3.305.

Frank, G. K., & Kaye, W. H. (2012). Current status of functional imaging in eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(6), 723-736.

Kaye, W. (2008). Neurobiology of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Physiology & behavior, 94(1), 121-135.

Kaye, W. H., Fudge, J. L., & Paulus, M. (2009). New insights into symptoms and neurocircuit function of anorexia nervosa. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(8), 573.

Lam, Y. Y., Maguire, S., Palacios, T., & Caterson, I. D. (2017). Are the gut bacteria telling us to eat or not to eat? Reviewing the role of gut microbiota in the etiology, disease progression and treatment of eating disorders. Nutrients, 9(6), 602.

Lilenfeld L.R., Kaye W.H., Greeno C.G., Merikangas K.R., Plotnicov K., Pollice C., Rao R., Strober M., Bulik C.M., Nagy L. A controlled family study of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: Psychiatric disorders in first-degree relatives and effects of proband comorbidity. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1998;55:603–610. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.55.7.603.

Riva, G. (2010). Neuroscience and Eating Disorders: The role of the medial temporal lobe. Nature Precedings, 1-1.

Riva, G. (2014). Out of my real body: cognitive neuroscience meets eating disorders. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 8, 236.

Riva, G. (2012). Neuroscience and eating disorders: The allocentric lock hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses, 78(2), 254-257.

Southgate, L., Tchanturia, K., & Treasure, J. (2005). Building a model of the etiology of eating disorders by translating experimental neuroscience into clinical practice. Journal of Mental Health, 14(6), 553-566.

Smith, K., Fairburn, C., &Cowen P. (1999). Symptomatic Relapse in Bulimia Nervosa Following Acute Tryptophan Depletion.  JAMA Psychiatry. 56(2), 171-176.

Van den Eynde, F., Suda, M., Broadbent, H., Guillaume, S., Van den Eynde, M., Steiger, H., … & Treasure, J. (2012). Structural magnetic resonance imaging in eating disorders: a systematic review of voxel‐based morphometry studies. European Eating Disorders Review, 20(2), 94-105.

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com

In this, the second piece in the series on eating disorders, we shall explore together the effects on the health of those living with disordered eating.

The Risk Factors For Forming an Eating Disorder

Today we are bombarded with messages telling us that dieting, and exercise, are good for us and will make us live longer. While there is no denying that this is true when done in moderation to improve health, what happens when something goes wrong and the drive to be healthy becomes something else altogether?

There are many risk factors that may cause an eating disorder to form, including:

Having a close relative with an eating disorder. Research has discovered that eating disorders are closely related to genetic mutations that are inheritable and passed from parent to child.

Having a history of see-saw dieting. Losing and gaining significant amounts of weight can also be a risk factor because the person may eventually fall into disordered eating.

Having type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes. Research has discovered that around one-fourth of women diagnosed with type one diabetes will develop an eating disorder. The most common is called diabulimia which involves skipping insulin injections. Missing insulin injections can be deadly.

Being a perfectionist. An incredibly strong risk factor for forming an ED is having self-oriented perfectionism. This disorder involves setting unrealistic expectations of oneself which can lead to disgust for oneself which in turn drives an eating disorder.

 Dissatisfaction with one’s body. While all of us are dissatisfied with how our body looks at times, people with eating disorders have a warped sense that their body is ugly.

History of an anxiety disorder. Having an anxiety disorder can be a driving force behind forming an eating disorder because of the sense of being out of control. An eating disorder offers a person who feels out of control an area in their lives where they feel they are in control.

Body Dysmorphism. Body dysmorphism is a mental health disorder where the person cannot stop thinking about perceived defects and flaws in their appearance. A perceived flaw, such as noticing weight gain in a mirror, can cause great distress even though the gain is normal and isn’t easily noticed by others. The embarrassment, shame, anxiety, and self-loathing are tragically debilitating and a driving force behind forming an eating disorder.

History of being bullied. Children who are bullied about the way they look, and their weight, grow into adults who feel self-loathing for their own bodies. This self-loathing can easily become the catalyst for an eating disorder.

The Bombardment by society of the “perfect body” image. Everywhere one turns there are magazines, television programs, and advertisements promoting the “perfect body” that can be gained if one will purchase or follow this diet or use that gadget. Society seems to be centered on the “perfect weight” and the “perfect image”. People who have eating disorders are often attempting to force themselves into the unrealistic mold societal forces have sold them.

A history of trauma. Having a trauma history is an enormous stimulus to forming an eating disorder, especially if the trauma involved sexual abuse. Survivors of childhood trauma or trauma in adulthood such as a sexual assault may drive the person to attempt to exert control over their bodies as a response to the helplessness they felt during the traumatic event.

The above list is not all-inclusive as there are many other risk factors for forming an eating disorder.

The Physical Causes of Eating Disorders

The mechanisms of what causes eating disorders are not well-understood, however, there are indications that genetic and biological problems are highly responsible for forming an ED.

Genetics. One such factor is linked genetically. Genetics are known to play a vital role in the formation of an increasing the likelihood of forming one 50-80% (Lutter, et. al. 2017). In fact, Lutter et. al. found that having an ultra-rare genetic mutation drastically increases forming an eating disorder.

Biological. Changes in brain chemicals also may play a role in eating disorders. Some of these changes involve the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.

Dopamine is known as the pleasure chemical and it helps humans by allowing them to feel satisfaction and joy. However, anorexia has been associated with an over-production of dopamine that leads to anxiety, and the ability to do unpleasant things such as not eating. Dopamine is also indicated as a culprit in the other eating disorders as well (Broft et. al., 2012) (Bello & Hainal, 2010).

Serotonin is responsible for, other things, mood, sleep, and feeling hungry. Research has discovered that people currently in the throes of anorexia nervosa have significantly lower levels of serotonin in their cerebrospinal fluid than those who do not (Kaye et. al., 1991).

A Breakdown of the Health Effects from Eating Disorders

The health effects of eating disorders are not as one might think, in the positive. After all, we are bombarded with messages telling us that exercise and weight loss will help us live longer. However, in eating disorders, this message becomes distorted in the minds of those who form them.

Eating disorders have many dire consequences to the body including gastrointestinal, neurological, endocrine, cardiovascular, and mortality changes.

Gastrointestinal Changes

Vomiting. Vomiting can wear down the esophagus or cause it to rupture which is a life-threatening occurrence. Vomiting can also lead to less threatening symptoms such as chronically sore throats and hoarseness. Both vomiting and abuse of laxatives will cause dehydration that can become serious if not enough fluids are drunk to replace those lost.

Gastroparesis. Gastroparesis means slowed digestion which can be caused by food restriction or purging via vomiting which interferes with stomach emptying and the absorption of nutrients. Gastroparesis can lead to stomach pain and bloating, blood sugar fluctuations, malnutrition, and a blocked intestine which is a life-threatening emergency.

Perforation and Rupture. Binge eating can cause a perforation of the bowel or stomach rupture Both are life-threatening conditions.

Nerve Damage. Abusing laxatives may damage the nerve endings in the bowels leaving them totally dependent on laxatives to evacuate feces from the body.

Pancreatitis. Inflammation of the pancreas is a serious side-effect of having an eating disorder. Pancreatitis is extremely painful and if not caught and treated early, it can lead to systemic infection and can be fatal.

Neurological Changes

Obsessions and Loss of Concentration. Dieting, fasting, and starvation leave the brain without enough energy leading to obsessions about food and difficulties with concentrating. These effects happen because the brain consumes up to one-fifth of the calories taken in and used by the human body.

Neuron Disconnections. Neurons, also known as brain cells, require insulation around them called myelin. Without myelin, the electrical signals from neuron to neuron is cut off or at least greatly restricted. Without adequate ingestion of fats in the diet, the insulation cannot form or be healthy when it does. This damage leads to numbness, tingling, and perhaps long-term neural damage.

Neurons also require electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride to send signals from the brain to the body. Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea causes an imbalance in electrolytes that can lead to muscle cramps and seizures.

Endocrine System Changes

Falling Hormone Levels. The human body needs hormones to function in many areas. Without enough intake of fat and calories, hormone levels fall. These hormones include; estrogen, testosterone (aka sex hormones), and thyroxine (the list is not all-inclusive).

A fall in sex hormones will cause menstruation to begin, become irregular or stop altogether. Also, a lowered level of sex hormones will significantly increase the risk of bone loss (osteoporosis) and the risk of breaking or fracturing a bone.

Type 2 Diabetes. Binge eating can increase the chances that a person’s body will become resistant to insulin because insulin is dependent on carbohydrates to give the body energy.

Hypothermia. Without enough energy, core body temperature will drop leading to hypothermia (not enough body heat).

High Cholesterol. Starvation causes high cholesterol levels.

Cardiovascular Changes

Heart Failure. Eating too few calories means the body must breakdown its own tissues for fuel and muscles are some of the first organs to go. The most important muscle in the body is the heart. As the body digests the heart for fuel, it prevents the heart from pumping correctly resulting in lowered blood pressure and less circulation. Slowly the heart dies until heart failure results.

Purging by using vomiting or abusing laxatives depletes the body of electrolytes (see above). Potassium is vital in helping the heart to beat by aiding it in contracting. However, when one purges food they lose electrolytes causing the heart to fail. It is vital to note that drinking excessive amounts of fluids will also result in heart failure via the loss of electrolytes through urination.

Increased Risk of Death

Every 62 minutes one person dies from complications caused by an eating disorder. Did that surprise you?

Here are some more shocking statistics:

1 in 5 people living with anorexia nervosa die by suicide.

1 in 25 people living with bulimia nervosa die by suicide.

The National Death Index of the United States reports that:

The mortality rate for anorexia nervosa stands at 4% of those afflicted.

The mortality rate for bulimia nervosa is 3.9%.

The mortality rate for eating disorders not otherwise specified is 5.2%.

The bottom line, eating disorders can be killers.

Some Hope-Filled Words For You

The suffering caused by all types of eating disorders is beyond measure. However, one does not need to become a statistic. By seeking and getting the proper help, many people have overcome the challenges of eating disorders and gone on to live healthy and productive lives.

The first step to surviving and thriving after an eating disorder has formed is to recognize and admit to yourself that you have disordered eating patterns. The next step is to reach out to someone who can help.

Having a mental health condition such as an eating disorder is not be a death sentence. Remember that.

“Life is a journey and it’s about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are.”~ Kelly McGillis

“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” ~ Ray Bradbury

References

Arcelus, J., Mitchell, A. J., Wales, J., & Nielsen, S. (2011). Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a meta-analysis of 36 studies. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(7), 724-731.

Bello, N. T., & Hajnal, A. (2010). Dopamine and binge eating behaviors. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 97(1), 25-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.04.016

Broft, A., Shingleton, R., Kaufman, J., Liu, F., Kumar, D., Slifstein, M., … & Walsh, B. T. (2012). Striatal dopamine in bulimia nervosa: A pet imaging study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(5), 648-656. DOI: 10.1002/eat.20984

Kaye, W. H., Gwirtsman, H. E., George, D. T., & Ebert, M. H. (1991). Altered serotonin activity in anorexia nervosa after long-term weight restoration: does elevated cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level correlate with rigid and obsessive behavior? Archives of General Psychiatry, 48(6), 556. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810300068010

Lutter, M., Bahl, E., Hannah, C., Hofammann, D., Summer, A., Cui, H., McAdams, C.J., Michaelson, J. J., (2017). Novel and ultra-rare damaging variants in neuropeptide signaling are associated with disordered eating behaviors. PLOS ONE. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0181556

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com

Eating disorders affect millions of people of all ages and 25-40% (depending on the disorder) are men.

This article is the first in a series tackling the topic of eating disorders. This piece includes; what EDs are, what causes them, who is affected, and how they are related to complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

What are the Eating Disorders and Who Gets Them?

Anyone under the correct circumstances can develop an eating disorder whether it be eating too much or too little. A severe illness may be such a traumatic experience that in order to feel in control once more over one’s own life a person might use the control over their food. However, more commonly people who develop an eating disorder may have inherited it through genetics or suffered early in life at the hands of an abuser.

The answer to what are eating disorders may surprise you as some forms may seem ordinary. Eating disorders are among the top ten leading causes of disability among young women and anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of all the mental health disorders (Mathers, et. al., 2000). There are actually six types of eating disorders, however, the most common of disordered eating problems include bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder (Millar, et. al., 2005).

Bulimia Nervosa. Characterized by binge eating followed by forced vomiting, abuse of laxatives or diuretics and excessive exercising, bulimia nervosa affects both men and women. The protagonist is a fear of weight gain, profound unhappiness with his or her body size and shape. People diagnosed with bulimia nervosa have a cycle of binge eating then purging the food from their stomachs that is done in secrecy and that creates an intense feeling of shame, guilt, and lack of self-control. Some negative effects of bulimia nervosa include gastrointestinal problems, heart problems, and severe dehydration all conditions that can result in death.

Some famous people who have come out as having been affected by bulimia nervosa include Paula Abdul, Dennis Quaid, Princess Diana, and Lady Gaga.

Anorexia Nervosa. People who are affected by anorexia nervosa will commonly have an obsessive fear of gaining weight and an unrealistic self-body image. Many will strictly limit the amount of food they eat and see themselves as overweight even when they do not weigh enough to remain healthy. Anorexia has many severely damaging effects including brain damage, organ failure, heart problems, infertility, and gone loss. Out of all the eating disorders, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate.

Some famous people who have admitted to having anorexia nervosa include Alanis Morissette and Elton John.

Binge Eating Disorder. People who are affected by binge eating disorder will often lose control over their eating. Binge eating disorder is different than bulimia nervosa in that there is no follow up of purging, exercise, or vomiting after eating copious amounts of food. Because of the excessive weight people with binge eating disorder gain, they are at high-risk for obesity driven problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

There have been no celebrities who come out into public stating they have binge eating disorder, but it is a fact that they must exist.

Eating Disorders as a Form of Self-Harm

Many are familiar with self-harm as being when someone cuts, burns or otherwise injures themselves not to die by suicide but to alleviate inner turmoil. However, few would recognize over or under eating and purging as part of that spectrum.

Unfortunately, eating disorders are a form of self-harm known as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) (Klonsky et. al. 2015). Up until the early 2000s NSSI was mostly ignored as a serious diagnosis even though it first appeared in the DSM-IV and thus has only recently received the attention it needs.

People who practice NSSI in eating disorders aren’t trying to die, although there is always the chance of this happening, they are simply trying to control their inner pain.

Eating Disorders and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

To understand the relationship between eating disorders and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), one must first understand the causes and effects of CPTSD.

CPTSD is the result of a prolonged series of abusive events often during childhood involving the child’s parent(s) or guardian(s). One of the symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder is emotional dysregulation which is also a symptom of the three eating disorders listed above. People living with CPTSD also have a negative self-image and the inability to cope with strong feelings such as anger or sadness.

The link between CPTSD and eating disorders has become well-established. Also, the correlations between eating disorders and complex post-traumatic stress disorder are a form of self-medicating to dull the overwhelming sense of powerlessness and hopelessness that many survivors feel. This sense of powerlessness is leftover from childhood when they were trapped in abusive situations from which they could not escape (Green, et. al. 2010).

Eating Disorders and Sexual Abuse

It was Dr. Vincent Felitti in 1985 who first noted the strong correlation between sexual abuse and eating disorders. At the time, he was the physician chief of Kaiser Permanente leading a weight loss clinic. Dr. Felitti noticed that for five years more than half of the people in his obesity clinic dropped out.

When confronted, it became obvious to the doctor that their decision to regain their weight was linked to feeling their body size shielding them from harm (Anda, Felitti, et. al. 2006).

Men and women survivors of sexual abuse who develop eating disorders often become adults but without help live in fear anchored solidly in the past. As children, they had no control over what happened to them and had no way of escaping the trauma they endured often in their own beds.

To keep from feeling the overwhelming sensations of hopelessness, abusing one’s own body becomes a way to exert control where they feel they have none. It is also true that in binge eating disorder women feel the copious size of their body will protect them from ever having to face a sexual abuser again even though the danger has long passed.

How To Know If You Have an Eating Disorder

As with any problem, recognizing you have one is the vital first step to recovery. Knowing the signs that one may have an eating disorder can help determine if or when one should get help.

Below are five of the leading warning signs that you may have an eating disorder.

1. Constantly Dieting by Eliminating Foods. Many people are forced to remove foods from their diet due to health problems. However, when one is constantly removing foods to gain control of their body it’s worth noting and watching closely.
2. Losing and Gaining Weight Quickly. When one has an eating disorder, it is difficult for their body to retain the nutrients it needs to maintain a healthy weight. To make matters worse, fluctuations in one’s weight can trigger people into further dieting because they are already dissatisfied with how they look.
3. Struggling to Eat in Front of Others. Having an eating disorder makes it difficult to engage in eating in a healthy way. This means people with Eds have a challenging time eating in public and feeling the need to eat in secret.
4. Ritualized Eating.  The need for control over one’s body of those who live with an eating disorder forces them to form routines and rituals around meals such as always, always starting with the salad and being upset if that ritualistic behavior is not followed to the point where one cannot eat without following the ritual.
5. Body Dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia is an obsession with perceived flaws in how you see your body size and shape. Body dysmorphia is often the leading trigger for eating disorders. One might look in the mirror and although they only weigh 100 pounds see themselves as huge and in desperate need to exercise, diet, and lose weight.

There is Hope

After reading a piece like this where it may seem one is stuck with a condition they did not create, it is important to infuse some hope.

Eating disorders are not something to feel guilty about any more than having a virus or cancer. They are medical emergencies that need to be dealt with before someone becomes so ill as to harm themselves further.

There is help available. To find a therapist or clinic near you that offers help for eating disorders you can follow this link to the National Eating Disorders Association where you can enter your location and search assistance near you.

Also, there is a Helpline for discussion about support, resources, and treatment options. This particular helpline is available Monday-Thursday from 11 am to 9 pm eastern time and Friday from 11 am to 5 pm eastern time. The phone number is (800) 931-2237.

Resources

Anda RF, Felitti VJ, Bremner JD, Walker JD, Whitfield C, Perry BD, et al. The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood. A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 2006;256(3):174–186.

Green, J. G., McLaughlin, K. A., Berglund, P. A., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication I: associations with the first onset of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of general psychiatry, 67(2), 113-123.

Klonsky, E. D., Victor, S. E., & Saffer, B. Y. (2014). Nonsuicidal self-injury: What we know, and what we need to know.

Mathers, C. D., Vos, E. T., Stevenson, C. E., & Begg, S. J. (2000). The Australian Burden of Disease Study: Measuring the loss of health from diseases, injuries and risk factors. Medical Journal of Australia, 172, 592–596.

Millar, H. R., Wardell, F., Vyvyan, J. P., Naji, S. A., Prescott, G. J., & Eagles, J. M. (2005). Anorexia nervosa mortality in Northeast Scotland, 1965–1999. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 753–757.

Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.

www.learnaboutdid.com