Unlike a certain lifestyle choice, or a diet that didn’t go to plan, an Eating Disorder is a serious mental illness that can take various different forms and disrupt an individual’s everyday life. An eating disorder is characterised by eating or food, exercise and body weight or shape becoming an unhealthy preoccupation of someone’s daily life. There are also a number of different eating disorders, such as; Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, Bing eating disorder, and Other eating disorders. Many individuals living with an eating disorder don’t understand they are at risk, or if they do, they usually go to extreme lengths to hide signs of their behaviour.
Symptoms and warning signs of an eating disorder
Although the nature of eating disorders may differ, there are some symptoms that will often be quite similar. The general symptoms and behavioural warning signs can include the following (different symptoms can apply to different eating disorders):
Frequent or repetitive dieting
Excessive or compulsive exercise regimes
Changes in food preferences and refusing to eat certain foods
Developed patterns or obsessive rituals around food preparation and eating
Avoiding social situations involving food and avoidance eating meals
Extreme focus on body shape and weight
Change in clothing style
Suspicious behaviour around food
Evidence of binge eating, and/or vomiting or using laxatives excessively
Social withdrawal and not participating in things once enjoyed
Very slow and minimal eating, and always denying feeling hungry
Physical symptoms: sudden or frequent weight loss or changes, sensitivity to cold, loss or disturbance of menstrual cycle, signs of excessive vomiting, fainting, and feeling fatigue
Psychological symptoms: Strong preoccupation with weight or foo, intense fear of gaining weight, extreme negative or distorted body image, high anxiety around meal times, heightened sensitivity towards topics about weight, food or exercise habits, depression or anxiety, moodiness or irritability, low self-esteem, ‘black and white’ thinking style, feeling out of control regarding food behaviours
While recovering from and eating disorder, it is important and strongly encouraged to show self-compassion and to accept and celebrate who you are as a whole. The idea of self-compassion, with any mental illness, is to understand that you are suffering at this moment in time, but to be kind to yourself. This is probably easier said than done, right? it can be hard to practice self-compassion, especially when a mental illness is present. We have have listed 5 ways you can try to cultivate more self-compassion.
4 Ways to show self-compassion:
Take time for yourself: During this time do things you love, let yourself be in the moment and don’t hesitate to say no to work or social commitments for that dedicated time if you don’t feel up for it. Try read a book, watch a favourite tv show, go for mindful walk or just sit calmly for 5 minutes and meditate.
Reframe from negative thoughts: Whenever a negative thought would come to mind, try to think of something positive about that topic. For example, if a thought about being unattractive comes up, think about things that make you attractive, it could be a compliment you once received or a time you felt good about yourself, Basically, talk to yourself like you would to a friend. This takes some practice.
Stop comparing yourself to others: It’s so easy these days to look at someone and say ‘oh I wish I could have their flat stomach or their long legs’, especially with social media it’s so easy to find things you love about other people and find flaws in yourself. By accepting this is you and you are different to others, and everyone is different, can help you let room in to see yourself in a better light. Everyone has flaws - no one is perfect.
Focus on what your body can do, not what it looks like: Think about all the times your body walked or ran a long time, hiked or climbed a lot of stairs, swam in the ocean, or simply let you do the things you want to do. Praise your body and everything it let you achieve.
Eating Disorder new rebates:
As of the November 1st 2019, new Eating Disorder items have been introduced to support a model of best practice evidence-based care for individuals with an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating and other specified feed and eating disorders. This means that individuals with an eating disorder that are eligible for these rebates can receive a review after 20 sessions and receive up to 40 sessions of evidence-based eating disorder psychological treatment in a 12-month period. This new rebate system will hopefully provide individuals with an eating disorder hope for more structured and longer treatment to help with their treatment goals.
Our team at Melbourne Wellbeing Group thrives on promoting the mental health and wellbeing of people of all ages. If you or a loved one are struggling with an Eating Disorder, give us a call to make an appointment with one of our team of Psychologists