Eating Disorder

Lots of people have different eating habits. You might eat loads one day, be less hungry another day, or go through phases of wanting to eat more or less healthily. But that doesn’t mean you have an eating problem.

However, if you’re focussing a lot on controlling what or how much you eat, or if you have urges to eat and then make yourself sick, these are signs you could have a problem.

All kinds of things can cause eating problems. You might develop an eating problem when things don’t feel right in other parts of your life, especially if you’re feeling worried, stressed or feeling out of control. Images we see online and in the media can add to the feeling that we have to look a certain way, or be a certain weight which may not be healthy for our body.

• Losing appetite

  ---

• Eating when not hungry

  ---

• Obsessing about your body (e.g. being too fat, or not muscly enough)

  ---

• Eating only certain types of things or following fad diets

  ---

• Being afraid of gaining weight

  ---

• Dramatic weight loss or gain

  ---

• Making yourself sick

  ---

• No longer enjoying eating socially or leaving the table quickly (to be sick or hide food)

  ---

• Focusing on buying or cooking food for others

  ---

• Feeling secretive about eating

  ---

• Being secretive about/preoccupied with food

  ---

• Being self-conscious about eating in front of others

  ---

Eating disorders are serious mental health illnesses that involve significant disordered eating behaviour. Eating disorders aren’t just about food but about feelings. The behaviour can help someone feel more able to cope or help them to feel in control.

• Anorexia Nervosa: Where a person tries to keep their weight as low as possible by strictly controlling and limiting what they eat.

  ---

• Bulimia: Where a person overeats and then tries to avoid gaining weight by ‘purging’ for example, by being sick or taking laxatives.

  ---

• Binge Eating Disorder: Where a person feels they have to overeat through regular binges.

  ---

• Avoidant / Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

  ---

• Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)

  ---

Being able to control how much or what you eat might give you a feeling of control or order, but it can lead to more serious health issues.

Some eating problems can become serious mental health conditions that need professional help to diagnose and treat. In very serious cases and without the right kind of support and treatment, they can even cause death, which is why it is so important to speak to someone if you are struggling with your eating so that you can get the help you need to recover.

Talk to someone you trust, e.g. a parent, teacher, youth worker? This can be difficult, but it’s so important that you do. Talk to your GP. They can help to get you the support you need which might mean a referral in to CAMHS.