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See Also
See Again
© Shutterstock
0 / 31 Fotos
Not so rare
- Eating disorders may not be so common as other psychiatric conditions, but they are far more common than you might think.
© Shutterstock
1 / 31 Fotos
Statistics
- Research shows that globally, around 10% of people will experience an eating disorder during some point in their lifetime.
© Shutterstock
2 / 31 Fotos
Perspective
- This means that while you may not have experienced an eating disorder yourself, it is likely that you know more than one other person who has.
© Shutterstock
3 / 31 Fotos
The problem statement
- Eating disorders may be common, but there are still some fundamental misconceptions about them that make them notoriously difficult to treat.
© Shutterstock
4 / 31 Fotos
Definitions
- So ,what exactly is an eating disorder? The term covers a range of conditions that are characterized by certain harmful eating behaviors.
© Shutterstock
5 / 31 Fotos
Example behaviors - These behaviors include restricting calories, eating excessive amounts of food and then purging through vomiting, taking laxatives, and exercising excessively.
© iStock
6 / 31 Fotos
Anorexia - A person with an eating disorder may exhibit any one or any combination of these behaviors. People with anorexia, for example, normally restrict their food intake.
© Shutterstock
7 / 31 Fotos
Bulimia
- Bulimia nervosa, by contrast, is normally characterized by binge eating and then eliminating, or purging, the calories later by vomiting.
© Shutterstock
8 / 31 Fotos
Important - It is these behaviors and these behaviors alone that characterize eating disorders. You cannot tell by someone’s weight whether they are living with an eating disorder.
© Shutterstock
9 / 31 Fotos
Common misconception - In fact, this is one of the popular misconceptions that make eating disorders so slippery and difficult to treat. People tend to think that eating disorders always make people super thin.
© Shutterstock
10 / 31 Fotos
Medically healthy - The truth is, however, that people with a weight that would be classed by a medical professional as ‘healthy’ can also have an eating disorder.
© Shutterstock
11 / 31 Fotos
Complications - It is even possible that someone of a healthy weight can have a severe eating disorder that causes them serious long-term health complications.
© Shutterstock
12 / 31 Fotos
Another misconception
- Another misconception about eating disorders is that we can get rid of them by changing our eating patterns. That is to say, by eating differently.
© Shutterstock
13 / 31 Fotos
Psychiatric condition
- The reason this does not help is that, fundamentally, eating disorders are psychiatric conditions. From what we know, sufferers tend to have a skewed self-perception.
© Shutterstock
14 / 31 Fotos
Overly self-critical
- People who develop eating disorders tend to be severely critical of themselves. When asked, they can normally name many self-perceived flaws.
© Shutterstock
15 / 31 Fotos
Internal chaos
- One theory is that they may use their eating habits to try and gain a sense of control because they have an internal sense of chaos.
© Shutterstock
16 / 31 Fotos
The cause
- Experts are not sure what exactly causes eating disorders, either. It is likely that there are a number of genetic and environmental factors at play.
© Shutterstock
17 / 31 Fotos
Contributing factors - Certain psychological factors such as perfectionism and body image dissatisfaction appear to be relevant, as do other mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.
© Shutterstock
18 / 31 Fotos
Further contributing factor
- Social factors, too, seem to bear some relevance. These might include internalized weight stigma, exposure to bullying, and limited social networks.
© Shutterstock
19 / 31 Fotos
People affected
- Eating disorders are more commonly associated with women, but people of all genders can be affected.
© Shutterstock
20 / 31 Fotos
Teenagers
- The fact that these disorders deeply affect the development of a person’s identity and self-image makes individuals particularly vulnerable to developing them as teenagers.
© Shutterstock
21 / 31 Fotos
Treatment
- Eating disorders may be notoriously difficult to treat, but there are options out there. Many people who receive treatment for an eating disorder make a full recovery.
© Shutterstock
22 / 31 Fotos
The sad truth
- Treatment is more likely to succeed if the disorder is caught early, but unfortunately less than 50% of people suffering with an eating disorder will actually seek treatment.
© Shutterstock
23 / 31 Fotos
Actual treatment
- In terms of the actual treatment, there are lots of options out there. Eating disorders have a complex effect on both the body and the mind.
© Shutterstock
24 / 31 Fotos
Combination of methods - Treatment therefore normally involves a combination of nutritional counseling and monitoring, psychotherapy, and sometimes medication.
© Shutterstock
25 / 31 Fotos
Combination of methods - For most eating disorders, there are evidence-based psychotherapy treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and family-based therapy.
© Shutterstock
26 / 31 Fotos
Talk therapies
- The talk therapies help people build the skills to handle the underlying psychological problems that caused their eating disorder to develop.
© Shutterstock
27 / 31 Fotos
Current research
- In some cases, patients do not respond to traditional treatment. Researchers are therefore investigating other treatments, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation.
© Shutterstock
28 / 31 Fotos
Potentially life-saving
- The success of treatment for eating disorders does vary, but it’s important to remember that proper treatment can be life-saving in serious cases.
© Shutterstock
29 / 31 Fotos
All in all
- Eating disorders can be very destructive to those who suffer from them and those around them. Debunking the myths around eating disorders helps to erode stigma, improving access to treatment. Sources: (TED) See also: The warning signs of an eating disorder
© Shutterstock
30 / 31 Fotos
© Shutterstock
0 / 31 Fotos
Not so rare
- Eating disorders may not be so common as other psychiatric conditions, but they are far more common than you might think.
© Shutterstock
1 / 31 Fotos
Statistics
- Research shows that globally, around 10% of people will experience an eating disorder during some point in their lifetime.
© Shutterstock
2 / 31 Fotos
Perspective
- This means that while you may not have experienced an eating disorder yourself, it is likely that you know more than one other person who has.
© Shutterstock
3 / 31 Fotos
The problem statement
- Eating disorders may be common, but there are still some fundamental misconceptions about them that make them notoriously difficult to treat.
© Shutterstock
4 / 31 Fotos
Definitions
- So ,what exactly is an eating disorder? The term covers a range of conditions that are characterized by certain harmful eating behaviors.
© Shutterstock
5 / 31 Fotos
Example behaviors - These behaviors include restricting calories, eating excessive amounts of food and then purging through vomiting, taking laxatives, and exercising excessively.
© iStock
6 / 31 Fotos
Anorexia - A person with an eating disorder may exhibit any one or any combination of these behaviors. People with anorexia, for example, normally restrict their food intake.
© Shutterstock
7 / 31 Fotos
Bulimia
- Bulimia nervosa, by contrast, is normally characterized by binge eating and then eliminating, or purging, the calories later by vomiting.
© Shutterstock
8 / 31 Fotos
Important - It is these behaviors and these behaviors alone that characterize eating disorders. You cannot tell by someone’s weight whether they are living with an eating disorder.
© Shutterstock
9 / 31 Fotos
Common misconception - In fact, this is one of the popular misconceptions that make eating disorders so slippery and difficult to treat. People tend to think that eating disorders always make people super thin.
© Shutterstock
10 / 31 Fotos
Medically healthy - The truth is, however, that people with a weight that would be classed by a medical professional as ‘healthy’ can also have an eating disorder.
© Shutterstock
11 / 31 Fotos
Complications - It is even possible that someone of a healthy weight can have a severe eating disorder that causes them serious long-term health complications.
© Shutterstock
12 / 31 Fotos
Another misconception
- Another misconception about eating disorders is that we can get rid of them by changing our eating patterns. That is to say, by eating differently.
© Shutterstock
13 / 31 Fotos
Psychiatric condition
- The reason this does not help is that, fundamentally, eating disorders are psychiatric conditions. From what we know, sufferers tend to have a skewed self-perception.
© Shutterstock
14 / 31 Fotos
Overly self-critical
- People who develop eating disorders tend to be severely critical of themselves. When asked, they can normally name many self-perceived flaws.
© Shutterstock
15 / 31 Fotos
Internal chaos
- One theory is that they may use their eating habits to try and gain a sense of control because they have an internal sense of chaos.
© Shutterstock
16 / 31 Fotos
The cause
- Experts are not sure what exactly causes eating disorders, either. It is likely that there are a number of genetic and environmental factors at play.
© Shutterstock
17 / 31 Fotos
Contributing factors - Certain psychological factors such as perfectionism and body image dissatisfaction appear to be relevant, as do other mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.
© Shutterstock
18 / 31 Fotos
Further contributing factor
- Social factors, too, seem to bear some relevance. These might include internalized weight stigma, exposure to bullying, and limited social networks.
© Shutterstock
19 / 31 Fotos
People affected
- Eating disorders are more commonly associated with women, but people of all genders can be affected.
© Shutterstock
20 / 31 Fotos
Teenagers
- The fact that these disorders deeply affect the development of a person’s identity and self-image makes individuals particularly vulnerable to developing them as teenagers.
© Shutterstock
21 / 31 Fotos
Treatment
- Eating disorders may be notoriously difficult to treat, but there are options out there. Many people who receive treatment for an eating disorder make a full recovery.
© Shutterstock
22 / 31 Fotos
The sad truth
- Treatment is more likely to succeed if the disorder is caught early, but unfortunately less than 50% of people suffering with an eating disorder will actually seek treatment.
© Shutterstock
23 / 31 Fotos
Actual treatment
- In terms of the actual treatment, there are lots of options out there. Eating disorders have a complex effect on both the body and the mind.
© Shutterstock
24 / 31 Fotos
Combination of methods - Treatment therefore normally involves a combination of nutritional counseling and monitoring, psychotherapy, and sometimes medication.
© Shutterstock
25 / 31 Fotos
Combination of methods - For most eating disorders, there are evidence-based psychotherapy treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and family-based therapy.
© Shutterstock
26 / 31 Fotos
Talk therapies
- The talk therapies help people build the skills to handle the underlying psychological problems that caused their eating disorder to develop.
© Shutterstock
27 / 31 Fotos
Current research
- In some cases, patients do not respond to traditional treatment. Researchers are therefore investigating other treatments, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation.
© Shutterstock
28 / 31 Fotos
Potentially life-saving
- The success of treatment for eating disorders does vary, but it’s important to remember that proper treatment can be life-saving in serious cases.
© Shutterstock
29 / 31 Fotos
All in all
- Eating disorders can be very destructive to those who suffer from them and those around them. Debunking the myths around eating disorders helps to erode stigma, improving access to treatment. Sources: (TED) See also: The warning signs of an eating disorder
© Shutterstock
30 / 31 Fotos
Why are eating disorders so difficult to treat?
Behaviors include restricting calories or eating excessive amounts of food
© Shutterstock
When it comes to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, they are far more common that we might think. In fact, it is estimated that 10% of the global population will suffer with an eating disorder at some point in their lives.
With such high numbers, our understanding of eating disorders is far from where it should be. In particular, there are a number of misconceptions about eating disorders that make them difficult to treat. To find out exactly what those are, click through this gallery.
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