Eating Disorders in Ireland: The Facts and How to Spot the Signs

Struggling with body image can be one of the toughest experiences faced by women today, with over 200,000 people in Ireland believed to be battling an eating disorder. With the development of celebrity culture, it can be increasingly difficult to maintain a realistic grasp of what is a 'normal' relationship with food and our bodies. However, while many of us would think that we have it all under control, Bodywhys believes that most eating disorders are not primarily about food and can effect anyone. The organisation states that an eating disorder is characterised by severe disturbances in eating behaviours and can often be seen as a way of coping with emotional distress, or as a symptom of underlying issues. Of course, the first step to overcoming a disorder is to get help and Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2014, which runs from February 24th to March 2, aims to reduce the prevalence of anorexia, bulimia, dieting and body image problems by promoting a better understanding of such conditions. What is an eating disorder? Eating disorders are characterised by a variety of disordered eating behaviours such as:

• Self-starvation - by fasting and/or food restriction
• Purging - by self-induced vomiting, over-exercising, or laxative abuse
• Bingeing - by consuming quantities of food beyond what the body needs to satisfy hunger

An eating disorder can be very destructive, both physically and emotionally, and people can get trapped into the destructive cycle of the eating disorder without knowing how to cope with it. It is not just about food and weight, but also about a person’s sense of who they are. Treatment of an eating disorder will require attention to both the physical and the psychological/emotional aspects of the person. How will I recognise if someone is suffering from a disorder? People experiencing an eating disorder may:

• have dieted
• have low self-esteem– though this may not be obvious, as people who develop eating disorders are often ‘high achievers’
• show a marked over-concern with body shape, weight and size, and an obsession with food
• see thinness as a magical solution to problems, while weight gain is feared
• have difficulty identifying and expressing their real needs
• view their body as larger than it actually is (distorted body image)
• have problems around control
• find it hard to talk about their feelings and to deal with conflict
• be depressed and may become isolated
• experience mood swings

Why do people suffer from eating disorders? There is no single cause that can explain why a person develops an eating disorder. The disorder often develops gradually as a response to an upset in a person’s life. This could be a traumatic event, a loss or major change in a person’s life, bullying, an overload of stress, and/or critical comments about weight or shape. Sometimes, it is not obvious what the trigger may have been. People who develop eating disorders tend to be overly concerned with meeting the standards and expectations of others, and are super-sensitive to other peoples’ feelings. This explains why eating disorders occur so often during adolescence when identity is an issue, the opinion of peers is so important, and parental expectations are resisted. Eating disorders do not start out as a conscious choice and are not a wilful form of ‘attention seeking’. How can I understand how they are feeling? Understanding that an eating disorder is a person’s coping mechanism helps those around the person to realise how frightening and difficult it is for the person to let it go as they recover. It is therefore important that family and friends have realistic expectations of the pace of progress recovery takes. For the person with an eating disorder, controlling food and the body is their way of relieving distress and achieving some degree of control over their life. For many complex reasons, an eating disorder provides them with a sense of safety. Once trapped within, people often feel they need to maintain it in order to survive. They don’t know who they are or how they could cope without it. Can someone recover from an eating disorder? Recovery begins with:

• a will to change
• an acknowledgement that the eating disorder is a problem
• working to build up a strong sense of self and a new, healthy way of coping that does not need the eating disorder to feel safe

Recovery requires working on underlying issues, building self-esteem, and learning to manage and express feelings, as well as addressing the physical and nutritional aspects of the disorder. It takes great courage and commitment and much sensitivity and patience is needed by those around them, if a person is to be successfully encouraged and supported on their journey towards recovery. However, people can and do get better. For further information, see www.bodywhys.ie or contact the Bodywhys Helpline on 1890 200 444.