How To Tell Whether or Not You Have a Minor Eating Disorder
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that can have a negative impact on your physical and emotional health.Women are more likely to develop eating disorders in the teen or early adult years due to an excessive focus on their body image and weight.If you learn about different types of eating disorders, you can get a sense of whether or not you have a minor eating disorder.You may have one of these disorders.Only a qualified and licensed mental health professional can make an official diagnosis.
Step 1: You can learn about anchovy nervosa.
People with anorexia nervosa tend to have an intense fear of gaining weight and can have warped views of their body image due to their low body weight.Excess exercise might be part of efforts to reduce weight.Vomiting after eating.Laxatives are used to lose weight.
Step 2: Learn about the eating disorders.
People with bulimia nervosa have episodes of binge eating at least once a week for three months and may report a lack of control over their eating behaviors.You eat much more quickly than most people if you have three or more of the following.You feel uncomfortable when you eat until you are full.You feel guilty about your eating behavior.When you don't feel hungry, you eat a lot.You don't eat in public because you are embarrassed by how much you eat.
Step 3: Be aware of binge eating disorder.
People with binge eating disorder eat and feel guilty about it, just like people with bulimia nervosa.People with binge eating disorder don't purge.People with binge eating feel like they don't have control over their food intake behavior.
Step 4: You can learn about other eating disorders.
There are other kinds of eating disorders.If you learn about them, you can compare your behavior to the disorder to see if you have one.People with pica habitually eat non-food items such as hair, clothing, dirt, or soap.It is a disorder of dominance.People with rumination disorder eat a lot of food.This isn't due to a medical condition or the behavior associated with another eating disorder, such as purging.There is no nausea or gagging associated with food.ARFID is an avoidance/resistant food intake disorder.People with ARFID show an apparent lack of interest in eating food, which leads to insufficient calories and nutrition concerns.
Step 5: Do you like the way you look?
An excessive focus on one's body image and weight is a common contributor to eating disorders.Ask yourself if you like the way that you look.People with eating disorders can have a warped perception of how their body looks, because they don't like things about their bodies.It is important to ask yourself what you think about your own body, and not just give a measurement such as how much you weigh.
Step 6: How often do you check your weight?
Do you weigh yourself?If you want to keep track of how healthy you are, weighing yourself is a good way to do that.It is possible that you have an eating disorder if you continually weigh yourself more than once a day.
Step 7: Take into account your clothing.
Do you often cover the area that you are uncomfortable with?People with eating disorders may try to cover up what they don't like about themselves by wearing baggier clothes or touching their excess fat.To figure out how common these behaviors are, keep a journal on you, write down the time and make an entry whenever you do one of them.
Step 8: How do you deal with stress?
Is there a lot of stress in your life?People who work a lot or have a busy life are more likely to have an eating disorder.People try to deal with stress by eating a lot.If this is true to you, try to manage your stress in healthier ways, such as by getting moderate amounts of exercise, getting plenty of sleep, talking to friends and family about your stressors, and/or through meditation.
Step 9: Ask if you fit the profile of an eating disorder.
Do you think you might have an eating disorder in either a minor or major form?If you suspect you have an eating disorder, you need to see a licensed mental health professional.
Step 10: There is a licensed mental health professional.
Only a licensed mental health professional can diagnose an eating disorder.If you don't have a "major" eating disorder, you may be diagnosed with Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (NOS), or with Unspecified Feeding and Eating Disorders (UFED), which are clinically significant disorders that fail to meet the criteria.If you think you have been misdiagnosed, it's a good idea to see a doctor to rule out other possible causes of your weight gain or loss.
Step 11: Seek treatment.
If you're diagnosed with an eating disorder, it's a good idea to ask your doctor about your treatment options.Treatment is often a team-based approach that involves a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and education on nutrition and may include: Medical providers to monitor your health.Mental health workers.A group of people who work in nutrition.