ED's helping you go through emotional conflicts

Text from http://www.eatingdisorderfoundation.org/

Eating Disorders are not just about food and weight. They are an attempt to use food intake and weight control to manage emotional conflicts that actually have little or nothing to do with food or weight. Eating disorders do not occur in an otherwise satisfied, productive, and emotionally healthy person. People with eating disorders are struggling with a number of emotional problems. This may be a hard concept to accept. Many people with eating disorders appear to be functioning at a high level, such as enjoying success with school or work. Often, the only problem appears to be with eating. However, healthier eating habits or stronger willpower are not the missing ingredients that will make the problem disappear.


AN EATING DISORDER IS AN EXTERNAL SOLUTION TO INNER TURMOIL.


Psychological Factors that can contribute to Eating Disorders:
Low self-esteem
Feelings of inadequacy or lack of control in life
Depression, anxiety, anger, or loneliness

Interpersonal Factors that Can Contribute to Eating Disorders:
Troubled family and personal relationships
Difficulty expressing emotions and feelings
History of being teased or ridiculed based on size or weight
History of physical or sexual abuse
Social Factors that Can Contribute to Eating Disorders:
Cultural pressures that glorify "thinness" and place value on obtaining the "perfect body"
Narrow definitions of beauty that include only women and men of specific body weights and shapes
Cultural norms that value people on the basis of physical appearance and not inner qualities and strengths

Other Factors that can contribute to Eating Disorders:
Scientists are still researching possible biochemical or biological causes of eating disorders. In some individuals with eating disorders, certain chemicals in the brain that control hunger, appetite, and digestion have been found to be imbalanced. The exact meaning and implications of these imbalances remains under investigation. Eating disorders are complex conditions that can arise from a variety of potential causes. Once started, however, they can create a self-perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction.