Eating disorder (ED ) is a topic that is becoming more popular every year. On the one hand, this indicates a growing awareness of the problem, but on the other hand, a large number of people continue to face various types of disorders.
Today, we are beginning to understand how much mental health affects the quality of our lives, including our relationship with food . Therefore, together with Svitlana Sereda , a psychologist and specialist in the topic of RCP, we decided to talk about mental health and addiction to food, as well as analyze the methods of treatment of eating disorders.
The direction in which Svitlana works allows the client to separate the real self from the disease by establishing contact with emotions and the body. To understand the mechanisms that provoke such adaptation, the reasons why it was formed and to form strong self-reliance.
What is RHP? The first steps to awareness
An important first step is to recognize that eating disorders (EDs) are a group of mental disorders. If we turn to the definition of the term "disorder", we can find the following definitions:
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Lack of agreement, unity in someone's actions, deeds.
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Violation of mental balance.
RCP is the adaptation of the psyche to the environment in which the individual was formed and lives. This adaptation occurs without our conscious participation.
The main types of RCP: What you should know
Among the main types of RCP, the following are distinguished:
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anorexia,
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bulimia
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compulsive overeating
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and less discussed, but no less common – orthorexia. Orthorexia is an obsession with healthy eating.
The last type is often confused with a real healthy diet, which excludes obsession. People with orthorexia are often thought of as having good willpower.
For people with BPD, food becomes a tool through which they experience emotions, satisfy needs, and survive current life circumstances through avoidance, purging, or overeating.
7 signs of eating behavior that indicate the manifestation of the disorder
- Obsession with food. Thoughts about food, diet and the effects on your body take up most of your time.
- Division of products into "good" and "bad".
- You allow yourself to eat only "good" foods and feel guilty for eating anything outside of them.
- You eat according to the schedule , not according to the feeling of hunger.
- You do not feel or respond to satiety .
- You praise yourself if you ate less than planned.
- You have certain rituals related to food.
How does eating disorder manifest itself in different areas of life?
It is a mistake to think that RCP manifests itself only in relation to food. In fact, this disorder affects other aspects of life and can manifest as:
- Refusal of activities and meetings that may affect your regime and diet, isolation, feelings of loneliness and misunderstanding.
- Low self-esteem due to lack of contact with one's own feelings.
- Difficulty in building relationships due to lack of self-acceptance.
- Postponing your goals because you feel you don't deserve it yet.
- Rituals around the appearance that are felt as a necessity, and their non-fulfillment causes anxiety.
- Sport is like punishment and coercion, without permission to feel tired.
- The ideal self you strive for and the real self you hide.
- A rare feeling of self-satisfaction.
What to do if you have symptoms of RCP?
If at least half of the criteria described above are characteristic of you, you should familiarize yourself with the topic of RCP more deeply and start working on self-acceptance. The disease and symptoms can worsen over time, taking up more and more space in your life. Therapy can help you deal with these issues.
Which doctor treats RCP and what does the therapy look like?
It is important that the therapy is aimed at emotional and behavioral aspects. This will help you discover the real reasons why food has become your main way to cope with emotional stress, to abandon diets and restrictive eating behaviors that only increase binge eating.
It is important that you work with a psychotherapist who understands the essence of RCP and a psychiatrist (especially if there is a co-occurring mental disorder such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, and alcohol or drug addiction).
Useful literature for those who want to establish a relationship with themselves and food
Books about RCP will help you learn more about the necessary information and feel supported . Such books help to better understand the nature of disorders, their causes and consequences, as well as to recognize alarming symptoms. Often, reading a book can be the first step to recovery and turning to a specialist.
- "The Rebellion of the Body" , Alice Miller.
- "More than a body. Your body is a tool, not an ornament" , Lexi Kite and Lindsay Kite.
- "Women, Food and God" , Janine Ross.
- "Brave Girl Eats: One Family's Struggle with Anorexia" by Harriet Brown.
- Books by Susie Orbach, including "Fat is a Feminist Problem" .
- "False Bodies, True Selves " , Nicole Schneckenberg.
Ideal parameters, diets and the influence of society on women
Separately, it is worth getting acquainted with the work of Naomi R. Woolf is an American writer and political consultant , including her book The Beauty Myth: Stereotypes Against Women. With her publication in 1991, Naomi acquired the status of the most prominent representative of 3rd wave feminism. The book became a bestseller and was translated into many languages of the world. Here are some of her famous sayings:
"A culture fixated on female thinness is an obsession not with beauty, but with female submissiveness. Dietary culture is history's most powerful tool for women's suppression: a population in silent madness is easily manipulated. <…> The appeal of thinness in the eyes of society lies not in how it affects our bodies, but in what it does to our minds. Actually, it is not thinness that is appreciated - it is only a symptom, but female hunger: it is attractive because it narrows the horizons of thinking" (Wolf, 1991).
"Diet is the most effective political sedative in women's history" (Wolf, 1991).
"Thinness and dieting became a major concern of Western women around 1920, when they gained the right to vote" (Wolf, 1991).
"Now the average model weighs 23% less than the average woman, and a generation ago this figure was only 8%. Models, actresses or dancers are worse than 95% of the population. Is it any wonder that 90% of women now think they weigh too much?” (Wolf, 1991).
Conclusion: the most important things to get rid of RCP
Understanding and accepting yourself is the key to improving your relationship with food and mental health. It is of primary importance to pay attention to yourself, your condition, sensations and feelings, to notice the symptoms of RCP and start worrying about yourself in time. Do not neglect to seek help from specialists and loved ones if you feel you need it. And also use educational materials to understand how the human psyche works and the basis of eating disorders.
If you are interested in the topic of balanced, healthy nutrition, youth and health. Then we advise you to familiarize yourself with other articles on our blog, written by Ukrainian specialists.
