Disorders

Last Updated on Monday, 15 March 2010 14:20

We use the term eating difficulties to refer to a wide continuum of women's and men's experience...

These can include a preoccupation with food, yo-yo dieting, poor body image, self induced starvation and vomiting, laxative abuse, eating past fullness and excessive exercising...

Included in this continuum are the eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia and compulsive eating. We believe it is useful to view these disorders as an extreme reflection of the anxiety which food and body size holds for many women and men in western society.

A pervasive feature of western society is the ideal of thinness for women and toned muscularity for men.
The pressure to achieve this ideal can cause us to focus totally on our body size and shape as a source of identity and self esteem. This engages many of us in a struggle with food, loss of control over eating, a distorted body image, fears about our health and depression.

Dieting is a common factor in the development of eating difficulties, however there is no single factor responsible for a person developing an eating difficulty.
[Copyright Kaz Cooke. Used by kind permission. www.kazcooke.com.au]             

Dieting often triggers the development of eating issues along with other factors such as:

Social pressure to be thin, low self esteem, unrealistically high expectations of self, stress, major life changes and abuse. Eating difficulties can continue to develop and become a means of coping with emotional issues, stress and anxiety.

With an eating issue you may:

Feel out of control around food.
Feel guilty about eating.
Find yourself continually on a diet.
Find yourself constantly thinking about eating or not eating.
Attempt to get rid of food by vomiting or taking laxatives.
Starve yourself for periods of time.
Exercise excessively.
Binge eat.
Think about hurting yourself.
Not be able to eat until you have exercised.
Feel that your body is never quite ‘right’.
Believe everything would be alright if only you had the ‘ideal’ figure.

If you are concerned about yourself or a friend or family member, it is important to access the right support for you.

Consider your responses to these questions:

Is this a problem for me a lot of the time?
What changes have I noticed lately?
Does this stop me from doing things I would otherwise do?
Does it cause me to feel bad about myself or put myself down?
Do I feel unable to talk to anyone about this?
Do I feel ashamed of this?
Does this isolate me from other people?
Does it diminish my quality of life?

If the answer is “yes” to one or more of these questions it may be time to seek help.

How to help a friend:

It is often worth remembering that an eating difficulty is not only a problem but also an attempted solution to a problem. It is useful to avoid thinking of them as 'just a plea for attention.’
In a private and relaxed setting talk to your friend in a calm and caring way about the things you have seen or felt that have caused you to worry.
Try not to get drawn into conversations about appearance, weight, diet and food.
Your support and caring will be really important to your friend. Be careful not to judge and blame.
If you are feeling helpless it doesn’t mean that you are not doing enough – it may be a sign that there is a real limit to what you can do to help your friend. If you are really concerned about their health, speak to someone you trust who is in a position to help. Let your friend know what you intend to do.

Where to go for help:

Talking with a trusted adult might be the first thing you want to do; it may be a teacher, guidance counsellor, parent, family friend, doctor etc. You could also call Youthline.

There are agencies working with eating difficulties and eating disorders. You may want to contact them for support, referral information or just to have a chat. There are other specialist agencies that you may be referred to by your doctor.

Eating Difficulties Education Network (EDEN)
(09) 378 9039
North Shore Women's Centre
(09) 444 4618
Eating Disorders Association
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(03) 3667725
0800 690233
Central Region Eating Disorder Services (CREDS)

(04) 461 6528 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE