EDs are the only mental illness involving food – something that all people need and all people use consciously. EDs can also be created – you hear about “wannarexics”, the people that starve themselves to lose weight for prom or something like that, but wannarexics can end up with actual, full-blown EDs because the change in eating patterns can end up changing hormone and chemical production in the body, which can lead to an actual ED (along with depression, OCD and anxiety in some cases).
I think EDs are well-known, too, compared with other mental illnesses. We hear and read a lot about EDs in the news and magazines, but not so much about other mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depersonalization disorder and bipolar depression.
Eating disorders are a lot easier to diagnose and measure, IMHO. In the DSM criteria for Anorexia, two of the four criteria are things that can be measured or counted. The other two criteria are very easy to find. Bipolar, on the other hand, is a lot more difficult to diagnose.
They involve eating.
References :
It is my opinion that eating disorders are on the anxiety spectrum.
References :
EDs are the only mental illness involving food – something that all people need and all people use consciously. EDs can also be created – you hear about “wannarexics”, the people that starve themselves to lose weight for prom or something like that, but wannarexics can end up with actual, full-blown EDs because the change in eating patterns can end up changing hormone and chemical production in the body, which can lead to an actual ED (along with depression, OCD and anxiety in some cases).
I think EDs are well-known, too, compared with other mental illnesses. We hear and read a lot about EDs in the news and magazines, but not so much about other mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depersonalization disorder and bipolar depression.
Eating disorders are a lot easier to diagnose and measure, IMHO. In the DSM criteria for Anorexia, two of the four criteria are things that can be measured or counted. The other two criteria are very easy to find. Bipolar, on the other hand, is a lot more difficult to diagnose.
References :