Ever wonder if you have a serious problem with binge eating?

In the Harvard Mental Health Letter, I read a feature article
about the treatment of bulimia and binge eating.

Bulimia is defined as 2 or more episodes of binge eating
(consuming a large amount of food in 2 hours or less) at least
twice a week for 3 months. These episodes may be followed by
vomiting or purging (with laxatives or diuretics) and may
alternate with fasting and compulsive exercising.

People who suffer from bulimia often view this behavior as a
shameful secret.

Binge Eating Disorder (binging that is not followed by vomiting,
fasting or exercise) has gotten more attention recently since it
is being considered for inclusion as a psychiatric diagnosis.

The criteria are tentatively listed as “a condition that causes
serious distress with at least 3 of the following symptoms
occurring at least 2 days a week for 6 months:

â?¢eating very fast â?¢eating until uncomfortably full â?¢eating when
not hungry â?¢eating alone â?¢feeling disgusted or guilty afterward

Since most of the population has probably engaged in these
eating behaviors at one time or another, I guess it comes down
to the frequency and severity of the problem.

You can be a binge eater, but you would have to be binging quite
regularly to be considered to have Binge Eating Disorder.

Many people engage in some of these behaviors all the time.
People who live alone often eat alone.

And while eating when you aren’t hungry is not the most
satisfying experience, sometimes it is just an ingrained habit.

You do not have to be overweight to be a binge eater.

Many people with binge eating problems think they are overweight
or are worried that they will become seriously overweight.

Dieting does not necessarily stop the binging and is often
viewed as being part of the problem rather than the solution.

The body resists dieting by slowing metabolism and increasing
appetite, commonly accompanied by an intense preoccupation with
food, more binging, anxiety and depression.

If you are struggling with bulimia or severe binge eating
problems, seek help and get the support you deserve.

Don’t keep it a secret.

You do not need to be heroic and suffer alone.

If you engage in some of the binge eating behaviors, join the
club and keep reading . . .

You can learn to change all of these behaviors, even mild to
moderate binge eating by listening to your body, eating
mindfully and being kind to yourself.

Here’s to getting the help you need, Carol

What is an Anxiety Disorder?

â??Anxiety disorderâ? is a term that covers many different types of nervous conditions that cause anxiousness, feelings of fear or other unwanted, counterproductive or irrational feelings. These feelings of anxiety can be due to a particular phobia, to a particular event or happening earlier in life, or may be due to pathological (medical) uneasiness. There may be no warning of the onset of your anxiety disorders. They can be sudden, or develop gradually over many years and such events are likely to cause profound disturbance of the suffererâ??s normal daily routine. In the 21st Century, the occurrence of anxiety disorders is assuming alarming proportions. They afflict more than forty million American adults. Many adolescents, and even children, also develop these disorders. Most patients are seriously affected, with the disorder(s) affecting them for several months, or even years. You may suffer frequent bouts of fear, concern, or apprehension of some worrying event.

Why Do People Get Anxiety Disorders?

Many factors may contribute to the occurrence of anxiety disorders. There is not just one cause for all anxiety disorders. They may occur as the result of a combination of many different factors.

Those factors may include:

Childhood events: Disturbing and traumatic events in childhood, such as child abuse, loss of parents, separation from family, accident or illness, can leave a lasting effect on the mind. Even having been bullied, embarrassed, or made fun of at school can produce lasting anxieties that manifest into a serious anxiety disorder later in life.

Genetic: Parents with anxiety disorder can pass it on to, or cause their children to be more likely to suffer from this type of condition, because of genetic factors or the environment that they provide in the family home.

Stress and Trauma: Stressful, traumatic events can contribute to anxiety disorders. Domestic violence, rape (or other forms of sexual molestation), physical assault, death of a family member or loss due to natural disasters like floods or earthquakes, leaves a person feeling helpless. This feeling of powerlessness leads to fear and resultant anxiousness.

Substance abuse: Alcoholism and drug addiction may contribute to anxiety disorders in some people. And, not surprisingly, most alcoholics and drug addicts had some sort of disorder before they became addicted. The addictive substance was a coping mechanism for a time against the anxious, out of control feelings.

Medical ailments: Certain disorders, like eating or sleeping disorders, depression and other nervous ailments, may contribute to more anxiety disorders, and possible medical problems. These disorders do not allow the body to function normally. Without proper sleep or nutrition, anyone is likely to become very anxious.

Personality: Whether a person is born with low self-esteem or develops it in later life, they are likely to become anxious.

Social and Economic Issues: Believe it or not, the rich are not immune to anxiety, peer pressure and stress. Life is stressful at all levels of human society. Being poor gives you may put more pressure on you â?? just to survive and try to improve your situation for yourself and your family.

Brain abnormalities: Medications prescribed to alleviate symptoms of some ailments can sometimes affect the chemical balance in the brain and cause an anxiety disorder. Allergic reactions to certain medicines might also lead to an anxiety disorder.

Treatments

There are innumerable therapies and treatments available for anxiety disorders. Certain drugs may help to provide some relief or even the possibility of a complete cure in some cases. Some patients have had good results when the advice of their personal medical doctor was combined with various cognitive therapies (forms of psychotherapy that are based on the belief that the way we think may have a positive or negative effect on they way we feel and deal with our life experiences.) You can become a stronger and more effective person by developing an optimistic attitude and learning to accept the tragedies of life. Additional knowledge can be gathered from many different sources, like the Internet, books, magazines and journals. Increasing your knowledge about your condition can be a very important factor in keeping most anxiety disorders at bay.

Anorexia is an illness that comes with loss of weight, physical and emotional problems. It is not a bad thing to lose weight but the affected persons lose too much weight and their lives are put into danger.

Besides this clear loss of weight anorexia can be recognized after some habits these patients have: they keep a diet for a long time, they always feel fat and are afraid of eating, they throw up and use laxatives and they practice sports too much.

Their body gets affected also. They will develop amenorrhea, meaning a lack of menstruation, they will lose hair, the breasts will shrink, and their skin will get dried and will get cold and blue. The heart will suffer, giving cardiac arrhythmias. Insomnia might also appear along with constipation, osteoporosis and low blood pressure.

In most of the cases mood changes will develop. The patient will feel depressed, impatient, will be much more nervous as before and some might even try to suicide.

In very young girls, puberty can be delayed by anorexia. The menstruation will fail to come and the breasts will not grow. If anorexia affects males, the level of testosterone might decrease, and provisional impotency will install.

Anorexia often begins sneaking. You take on a diet, because you want to loose weight, and when you do so, you start having a feeling that you can control your life. You might become addicted to that sense of control, and try to do more things, to keep proving your competence in a various shape of things. Because you succeeded to starve in order to loose weight, you might experience a raise of your self-esteem.

If people develop anorexia, it is often seen the fact that they have great emotional pain, they have a negative imagine about themselves, a dark perspective about their qualities.

They need to have the acceptance of the other people; they cannot have rest until they get this belief, even if this makes them feel uncomfortable. Living and guiding yourself after this concept has bad repercussions, you turn yourself from a healthy person into a sick one.

First, when you take on a diet, you see that you loose weight, and that will make you have a very fine perspective about yourself. You will think you look beautiful, and will have a great feeling, because our society is obsessed about thinness and the fact of being a thin person is assimilated with being a beautiful person.

The second step that follows is the idea that you permanently need to improve your aspect. You will try to do more in this way, and you might become obsessed of the idea of loosing weight. Your body is more and more devoided of the nutrients it needs, it cannot function normally in these conditions.

If others see that something is wrong with you, and tell you to eat more, you will deny your problem. You will say that everything is just fine, and you will deny the fact that you are tired and need more food.

Anorexia is an illness that can be fatal. With medical treatment, it can be reversible, and you can become again a healthy person. It will not be easy, it is quite hard to change your wrong eating habits and way of thinking, but with patience, counseling and typical treatment, you will get well, and this is a real reward for the will of defeating anorexia.

Hi~ I’m finally back from treatment! yay! I’ve missed you all so much! Sorry that the sound is way off

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