Healthy eating, a healthy attitude towards and our relationship with, food, all play an important role in our overall health. However, many of us use food as a coping mechanism. When we are emotionally stressed, we tend to either over or under eat. Normally this behaviour is short lived but sometimes, this ‘disordered eating’ can become a dangerous habit and lead to an eating disorder. If this sounds familiar to you, you should seek advice and share your concerns with someone you can trust.
Eating disorders are usually as a result of many factors as opposed to one certain thing. Low self-esteem, poor body image, feeling left out, unhappiness at home or school, problems at work, bereavement or some major emotional trauma can all lead to the feeling of being unable to cope. This feeling of lack of control is thought to be the major reason for an eating disorder to take hold. Where there is a lack of control in other areas of their life, those people can control their food intake, their weight and their image. However, this control is mistaken and often short-lived, as it is the eating disorder that has the control over the person, not the other way around. What was once a physical condition becomes a psychological one and a lot more complex to cure than by simply eating well again. Sufferers typically have a distorted view of their body image, thinking that they are fat when they are extremely thin, they become quite introverted, and often display anger or sneaky behaviour around food and to those who may point out that they are losing too much weight.
Anyone can develop an eating disorder, regardless of age, sex, cultural or racial background, although the people most likely to be affected tend to be young women, particularly between the ages of 15-25. It is not unusual, however, for an eating disorder to appear in middle age, or for a male to develop and eating disorder.
Even the attitude of other family members towards food can have an impact. A key person - a parent or relative may unwittingly influence other family members through his or her attitude to food. In situations where there are high academic expectations, family issues or social pressures, you may focus on food and eating as a way of coping with these stresses.
For more information on eating disorders, please contact Ireland's eating disorder association, Bodywhys.
Emma Buckley B.Sc
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