Eating Disorder: Types, Causes, Signs, Treatment, Prevention in Children, Teens & Adults

Many people don't know what's an eating disorder and how dangerous It may be. If you are struggling with an eating disorder or if you are the one who wants to help someone with this problem, visit EDReferral.com. It is an eating disorder referral and informational centre, where you can find a lot of helpful information, such as symptoms of eating disorders, tips on how to prevent eating disorders, or methods of treating eating disorders.

Don’t visit websites that support or worship anorexia and bulimia, as this is definitely one of the methods of treating eating disorders. These sites are run by people who want to find some reasons and excuses to continue going down their destructive way. The “support” they offer is dangerous and will only slow down your recovery.

If you have a binge eating disorder, or one type of the other common eating disorders you were dieting for a long time, you may have befriend a lot of people who are into diets (online or offline). Try to communicate less with them, at least during the most difficult period for you to find your way back to normal diet.

If you really want to recover, it would be better to throw out your scale like right now. You don't need those numbers anymore, as you will learn to love yourself and your body without relating it with your weight. Throwing out the scale is probably a beneficial eating disorder treatment, aside from the others.

If you were dieting for too long, it can be psychologically hard to get back to a normal diet, because you were treating food as an enemy. Some of your friends enjoy eating for sure, so if you wonder how to overcome an eating disorder on your own (without doctors), try to spend more time with her or him and eat together. In some time, you will get a normal attitude to food again and you won't need an eating disorder treatment.

If you don't know how to overcome an eating disorder on your own, try meditating. Meditation can help you understand your body. It is helpful for any eating disorder as you will become mindful and you will understand when you want to eat and what you want to eat.

You can find the best meditation technique of meditation for you here on SolutionsBay.

If you are not sure how to define eating disorder, the answer is the following - eating disorders are mental disorders defined by abnormal eating habits that negatively affect a person's health. Here is the list with descriptions of the most known eating disorders, where you can recognise your problem:

• Binge eating disorder (BED) — eating a large amount of food (snacks, etc.) in a short period of time;
• Anorexia — eating very little and therefore having a low body weight (in the most of the cases, but not always);
• Bulimia — eating a lot and then trying to rid of the food;
• Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder — when consumption of certain foods is limited and based on the food's appearance, smell, taste, texture, or a past negative experience with the food.

"Inner Harvest: Daily Meditations for Recovery from Eating Disorders" is a wonderful book that offers 366 meditation methods for recovery after eating disorders, regardless of the eating disorder causes. This book has a lot of inspired and thankful comments on Amazon.

Depression and eating disorders may be closely connected and often, eating disorders may result from a depressive state. Learning to love yourself is the best way to get rid of any type of eating disorder, forever. Ask your friends and loved ones about what they love in you and you will be surprised how many honest and wonderful things people think about you. Also, you will be surprised that most of these things are not even closely connected to your look.

Start loving yourself today and your condition will improve. This will help you a lot in life, not only with different types of eating disorders, but with many others, including the consequences of binge eating disorder.

There are many causes of eating disorders, but one of the major causes is yourself. But, "yourself" can also heal your disorder. As one way of eating disorder recovery, think of everything you like about yourself. Are you kind? Grateful? Creative? Funny? Talented in something? What in your opinion people love in you? What skills do you have? Don't forget to think about bad qualities that you don't have.

It will help you to understand that there are a lot of things to love in you and that your body and face are not the most important in that list.

Is it possible for you to return to your destructive habits during the holidays or exam week (i.e. an eating disorder relapse)? If it is, as a way to prevent it, know your triggers and plan how to deal with them, as the effects of eating disorders are not good for your health. For example, you could go to therapist more often or ask for extra support from someone you trust.

If you wonder how to recover from an eating disorder, consider taking probiotics, as after long dieting your gut microflora might have become very poor. To make it stronger, take probiotics and after a while, your organism will be able to take more from the food you eat and your appetite will become better as well. You can get probiotics in any pharmacy store in your area.

Some people think that eating disorders are not a big deal, but it's not true. Eating disorders need to be treated seriously, otherwise, they can spoil your life and the lives of people who love you. So if you feel that you might have an eating disorder, you'd better find a good psychologist in your area or online and consult with them. They will help you define eating disorder, i.e. what causes it, and eliminate it.

Unfortunately, many people are unaware what is an eating disorder and they tend to judge the people who have this disorder. If you have a disorder where you eat everything, or any other type of disorder, try the intuitive eating method. This is a method that works great for any eating disorder if you really want to get rid of it. This method of eating will normalize your attitude towards food, i.e. you won't be dieting or have forbidden foods (that you are not supposed to eat) and you will be healthy again.

You may visit the official site of the team behind Intuitiveeating and their online community, where you can find more information.

A good eating disorder medication, if you want to help a person with an ED, is to divert their attention on other things, instead of on food, because they already have some troubles with food and they know it. So, it'd be better if you focus on other things from your or the person's personal life (which may be a good therapy for eating disorders), because in this way you may help them think less about food.

If the person is too obsessed with food, that may indicate that the person needs professional help.

Dating a girl with an eating disorder (or a boy), or you have a friend with this disorder? The video below may help you, and them, fight against this disorder.

"Life Without Ed" is a book written in a very unusual way, in which eating disorder is compared to a bad relationship. It is great for people with different eating disorder types and it also has sections for people who want to help their friends with this problem. Basically, it serves as a therapy for eating disorders.

If you wonder how to fight against binge eating disorder and other eating disorders, consider checking the "How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too" book. This is a book that will teach you how to stop dieting and binge eating and to be your best self, without taking antidepressants for binge eating disorder. This book has around 500 appreciative and happy reviews on Amazon.

If your child has a binge eating disorder, or any other eating disorder, check your own attitudes about food, weight and body image, first. Think about how you are affected by body-image pressures and how you could affect your child with them. Then talk to your child to learn more about the reason behind the disorder.

Note: The wisest course of action would be taking your child to a doctor as an eating disorders treatment may be needed.

The answers to what is an eating disorder and how to prevent eating disorders can sometimes be difficult. Basically, one of the symptoms of eating disorders is insatiable hunger. Perhaps the eating disorder you have is connected with emotions, not with a physical need. Here are some things that will help you in recognising emotional hunger:

• it comes on suddenly;
• it craves specific foods that are related to happy moments in your head;
• it often leads to mindless eating (with normal hunger you always feel when to stop);
• it isn’t satisfied once you’re full;
• you can't feel it in your stomach, but only in your thoughts;
• it often leads to regret, guilt, or shame.

Once you feel this kind of hunger, try to divert your thoughts to something interesting.

What causes binge eating disorder is difficult to tell. There may be a physical cause or an emotional one. It is hard to notice how much you eat when you are doing something else while eating, e.g. watching TV or browsing the internet, etc. Actually, this way you can't even feel the taste of the food you eat. As a form of self help for binge eating disorder, let having a meal or snack be an independent process, as it should help you avoid binge eating.

What can you do to avoid an eating disorder is a frequent question. The answer is simple - be happy for what you are. This is a good therapy for eating disorders. Instead of searching for "imperfections" while looking at yourself in the mirror, recognize the things you like about your look. If you’re distracted by the things you don't like, remind yourself that nobody’s perfect and the celebrities you could see somewhere in a magazine or on TV are always photoshopped.

Note: It may be wise for you to consult a doctor, too, as they are more experienced with diagnosing eating disorders and resolving them.

A form of self-help for binge eating disorder, or any other eating disorder includes filling your life with positive activities. Make time for activities that bring you pleasure and joy. Try something you’ve always wanted to do but never resolved to, learn something new, make up a new hobby, volunteer somewhere, etc. The fuller your life is, the fewer thoughts you'll have about your weight and eating. Also, you may try watching an eating disorder documentary which may inspire you.

"The Bulimia Help Method: A Revolutionary New Approach That Works" is an excellent book, especially if you have a bulimia eating disorder. It contains easy practical steps (and eating disorders treatment options) that should help you recover from bulimia.

Unfortunately, there aren't very explicit warning signs of eating disorders, which can be tricky. Luckily, eating disorders can be overcome when one really wants to. "8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder" will help you recover from many types of eating disorder. It is very interesting, smart and easy to read.

Unfortunately, there are many types of eating disorder and one can't tell which the most common eating disorder is. Since the warning signs of eating disorders are not very explicit, consider checking yourself for eating disorders by an online screening of NEDA. It is easy and it won't take more than 15 minutes to take it.

BEDAOnline is a special site for people with binge eating disorder and the ones who want to help them. You can find there a lot of interesting and helpful information, instead of taking binge eating disorder medication, only.

One of the most important aspects of controlling binge eating, instead of taking binge eating disorder medication, is to find another way to control stress and other devastating feelings, without using food.

You can find some tips about reducing stress here, on SolutionBay.

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and for a good reason - to power up your metabolism in the morning. As a way of overcoming an eating disorder, have balanced breakfast lunch and dinner, and always eat some healthy snacks in between. Stick to scheduled meal times and you will have much fewer reasons for binge eating at the end of the day.

If you have an eating disorder where you never feel full and you skip meals, consider putting an end to this bad habit. Skipping any meal during the day can bring you to binge eating in the evening. So better always eat on time, which is the best eating disorder medication.

If you have an eating disorder where you never feel full and you are dieting, consider putting an end to the diet, as it is one of the binge eating disorder causes. The deprivation and hunger caused by dieting can trigger food cravings and the urge to eat more. Instead of dieting, focus on balanced eating. Find nutritious foods that you like, and eat only until you feel satisfied, not uncomfortably stuffed. Avoid banning certain foods as this can make you crave them even more.

Unfortunately, the effects of eating disorders are not good for one's health and they can do harm rather than good. If you are looking for binge eating disorder treatment (or for another eating disorder) and you don't want to take antidepressants for binge eating disorder (or for another eating disorder), consider reading the "Healing Your Hungry Heart" book, written by the psychotherapist Joanna Poppink. 

The programme, as described in it, includes journaling, meditations, exercises, quizzes, and resources to support and speed the eating disorder recovery process.

The full name of this book is "Brain over Binge: Why I Was Bulimic, Why Conventional Therapy Didn't Work, and How I Recovered for Good" and it speaks for itself. It reveals what's an eating disorder, what causes binge eating disorder and binge eating disorder treatment methods. The same applies to bulimia, i.e. bulimia eating disorder, causes, symptoms and treatment.

It will be great for people who want to recover from binge eating disorder or bulimia, but don't know how.

“You” statements like, “You need to eat.” Or, “You actions are irresponsible,” is one of the "what not to say to someone with an eating disorder" things, because there are many eating disorder causes, including some emotional. Rather than that, use “I” statements. For example: “I’m concerned about you because I haven't seen you eating for too long.” Or, “it makes me afraid to hear you vomiting.”

Note: You can also recommend them watching an eating disorder documentary to hear different, mostly inspiring, stories from other people.

Do everything for promoting self-esteem in your child in intellectual, athletic, and social endeavours. Give boys and girls equal possibilities and support. A many-sided sense of self and stable self-esteem are the best remedies to all types of eating disorders, especially to binge eating disorder in children.

If you are dating someone with an eating disorder, e.g. dating a girl with an eating disorder (or a boy), or if you know such a person that has any of the types of eating disorders (e.g. binge, bulimia, anorexia, etc.), consider watching the video below, which will help you understand what they are going through and how to approach them.

Eating disorders symptoms and treatments may vary from one person to another, but, in both cases one way to fight against eating disorders is making a shopping list. Make a shopping list and stick to it in a grocery store to avoid impulse buying when you’re shopping. Consider the health value of every item you add to your list. Avoid processed foods and crisps. 

If you skip any of your daily meals, you may be so impatient to get anything in your stomach that your first priority is filling the void instead of enjoying your food. So always control your hunger and eat when you feel it, but it's not too hard yet.

Out of the many eating disorders, anorexia is one of the more difficult ones to recover from. If you have anorexia, you’ve learned to ignore your body’s hunger and fullness signals. So it is highly possible that you may not recognise them anymore. Your goal is to get back in touch with these body signs, so you will be able to eat as much as your body needs and understand what you want actually.

If you know or dating someone with an eating disorder and want to help them, reading "Wasted Updated Edition: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (P.S.)" can be very helpful. It is a well-written fiction book that describes the life of a girl with eating disorder. Better not to give it to the person with eating disorder as it can trigger some mental troubles while they are still suffering.

Considered one of the most dangerous eating disorders, anorexia should be treated as fast as possible. The best way to do it is to find a support group, where you can find other people who have suffered from this disease. You can search for one in your area or you can find a support group online. Share your thoughts and emotions with other people, as it will help you recover faster. Also, you can help some other people there with problems caused by anorexia that you already know how to solve, this way you will understand that you are on the right way and there is a progress.

There are many types and causes of eating disorders and it is difficult to tell which the most common eating disorder is. Anorexia may not be one of the very common ones, but it may be the most dangerous one. If you are recovering from it, feel free to watch the video below, to learn how to neutralize the effects of eating disorders.

The eating disorder anorexia is one of the most challenging ones to overcome. A good way to fight against a disorder is to hear the thoughts of someone who suffered the same disorder and managed to overcome it. So, if you want to bring "disordered eating" back into order, and are not sure how, feel free to watch the tips below.

If you were dieting for too long, your stomach shrank, so it's hard to eat a normal quantity of food for you. Don't torture yourself and add more food little by little every day or even every week. In some time, your stomach will get its normal size and you will have a normal appetite again.

You can take an online test on PsychologyToday for finding out what kind of eating disorder you might have. It will take approximately 20 minutes.

It is hard for children, especially girls, not to become anxious about their body with the modern pop culture. That includes everything from little girls being sold underwear that says “juicy” on the bottom to watching the Big Brother on TV, shows that are all about your body look, or what people injected into their lips, or what guy girls can get if they look sexy, etc.

If your child watches such shows (which is very likely), watch them with him or her and let them know how silly these shows are in a very simple and not nervous way. For example, you could say “God, this lady is absolutely obsessed with her behind, or her lips, or whatever. Isn’t that sad? What about her brain?”

Most popular reason for eating disorders in a wrong body image that pop culture gives to our children. So if you see that your child might have some troubles with eating behaviour, do everything for giving him or her a normal body image. Show them different beautiful people on the streets, tell them about the reasons that make people fall in love for each other and that they are not Barby and Ken bodies, etc.

There is a wonderful test on ChildMind that you can take for your child for getting to know if he or she has some kind of an eating disorder. It won't take too much time and it is very detailed.

If you are travelling somewhere, it is not easy to have your meals in usual time. For this reason, make sure that you take enough healthy snacks with you, so you won't get hungry during the trip and it will save you from binge eating when you come to the place.

You’re much more likely to eat more than you need if you have junk food, sweets and unhealthy snacks in the house. Exclude the temptation by clearing your fridge and closets of your favourite binge foods.

Exercise (in a healthy way) is great for your body and soul, it lifts depression, improves overall health and reduces stress. If you find exercises you really like and do them regularly it will boost your mood, which can help you to stop emotional eating.

"Intuitive Eating" is a book that will give you a healthy body image and peace with food, which is great for any eating disorder. It is written by two prominent nutritionists, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.

"Reclaiming Yourself from Binge Eating: A Step-By-Step Guide to Healing" is an amazing book for people who want to recover from binge eating disorder. It is easy to read and it offers effective and simple tips for quick and harmless rehabilitation.

It often happens that you can start binge eating just because you have nothing to do. So just don't give yourself any chances to get bored. Use your free time for walks, meeting with friends, reading, etc.

Good sleep is very important for your mental condition and also, if you're tired, you may want to keep eating for boosting your energy. Take a nap or go to bed earlier instead.

You can search for one in your area or you can find a support group online. Share your thoughts and emotions with other people, it will help you to recover faster. Also, you can help some other people there with problems of BED that you already know how to solve, this way you will understand that you are on the right way and there is a progress.

If someone decided to share their problems caused by eating disorder with you, try to listen without any judgement and make sure the person knows you care. If your friend or relative slips up on the road to recovery, remind them that it doesn’t mean they can’t quit their ED for good.

If someone tells you about their problems with eating behaviour, don't react with a phrase like "But you look normal!" and don't take their words unseriously because of their body. People with eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes.

Otherwise, you will strengthen their desire to be thin. If the person with ED says that he or she feels fat or wants to lose weight, don't say "You're not fat." Instead, suggest them to explore their fears about being fat, and what they think they can achieve by being thin. It will be much more helpful.

Remember that any eating disorder is often a sign of big stress, a try to control emotional discomfort and/or self-hate. Negative communication will only make it worse, so it's better for you to be supportive and kind in this situation.

Many children are trying to satisfy their parents and are afraid to disappoint them or to get punished, but if you try to manipulate with words like "If you won't eat with us, it will make me cry." they will eat, but it doesn't mean that your manipulation worked, it only made things worse. Because your child will be eating with you and then, probably, vomiting somewhere else, where you won't get to know about that.

So better be smart and supportive. Be a friend to your child, ask them why they act this way and try to discuss it.

Most of the people with ED are not self-esteemed and feel weak. So tell them how you love them and why they are so unique, inspire the person with your words and try to focus on their best characteristics that are not related to their body and look.

Think back to your childhood memories of food. Did your parents reward good behaviour with sweets or took you to an ice cream cafe when you after a dentist appointment? These emotionally based childhood eating habits often carry over into adulthood, so you eat these "mood boosting" food while binge eating.

Understand that any food can't make you happier and eat it only when you really want it and not because you are sad. When you are sad or stressed, try to find other ways to calm down like taking a bath or walking somewhere in a nature place, for example.

A small plate can be helpful for such case. Eat your small meal and then think to yourself if your stomach really needs some more. If it does, then add some more food. This way you will control the quantity of food you eat, so you won't have a binge eating.

It’s easier to feel the taste of food when your mouth isn’t full. Put down your fork/spoon between bites. It will help you to focus on the eating process, so you will easily understand when it's time to stop.

Don't hurry while eating. If you hurry you don't notice the taste and aroma of the food you eat, so you can eat much more than your body actually needs.

It will help you to get rid of any type of eating disorder. So here is the list of the things you need to do:

• Dress comfortably;
• when dressing, try to express yourself, not to impress others;
• stay away from the scale, your weight should never affect your self-esteem;
• do nice things for your body like getting a manicure or a massage, or anything else you will enjoy;
• stay active, do the exercises you  really like, it can be yoga, jogging or just walking in nature places.

Healthy eating is the eating your body needs, it's not dieting. Instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t eat, focus on tasty and healthy foods that will nutrify your body. Eat when you’re truly hungry, then stop when you’re full.

Strict rules about food and eating provoke anorexia and bulimia, so it’s necessary to change them to normal ones. For example, if you have a rule forbidding all sweets, change it to something not so hard. For example, you could say "I won't eat sweets every day" or "I will eat sweets twice a week".

Don't buy fashion magazines, try to spend as less time as possible with people who are dieting, avoid pro-ana and pro-mia web-pages, etc. If you are already in the situation that can trigger your disorder, remove yourself from it.

"The Body Image Workbook: An Eight-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks" is a book that will help you to recover from eating disorders, as it will teach you to love your body. After reading it you will feel more self-esteemed and confident.

You can search for one in your area or you can find a support group online. Share your thoughts and emotions with other people, it will help you to recover faster. Also, you can help some other people there with problems caused by bulimia that you already know how to solve, this way you will understand that you are on the right way and there is a progress.

Cognitive behavioural therapy can help you with your problem. So try to find a nice doctor in your area who will provide it for you.

Hypnotherapy may be used for curing ARFID. It will lessen the anxiety associated with food, so there is a big chance that you will be able to try and to eat more foods after it. So try to find a nice hypnotherapist in your area.

It will not be that easy fast, but each time you are going to eat, ask yourself if it's a real hunger or it's just a mental feeling that makes you want to eat. In some time of such practice you will easily understand when you need to eat and what you actually want to eat, so it will stop the attacks of binge eating.

Make a food diary where you will write what you eat, when, how is your mood and how you feel after eating. In some time of keeping such diary, you will find out some patterns that reveal the connection between your moods and binge eating.

It is very hard to fight eating disorders without any supporters. So don't be afraid to discuss your problem with people, even if they are not professionals, the most important is that they care about you. Tell them about your fight with eating disorder, about your emotions, falls and ups, so they will make it easier for you and you will recover faster.

Set a good example by eating healthily, regularly and not worrying about calories in food, exercising, managing stress without food, also eat something tasty and not so healthy from time to time and be happy about it. It will show the person with ED that food can be treated normally.

The person knows already about how his or her body looks. Even if you are trying to compliment them, comments about weight or appearance only strengthen their obsession with body image and weight.

You need to prepare answers for situations that will appear from time to time, because of your child's ED. You need to look smart, calm and supportive, so know what to say in standard cases. For example, know how you will respond when your child wants to skip meals or says he or she wants to eat alone, or when they get angry if someone eats their "special" food.

Help your child to find healthy ways to manage unpleasant feelings such as stress, anxiety, depression, etc. Remember that eating disorders are always a reaction to something stressful. So communicate with your child and find out how to make them happier.

When you try to discuss this problem with the individual for the first time, don't be surprised if they reject your expression of concern or even if they get angry. There is a lot of embarrassment and pain that goes hand in hand with eating disorders. It's also very important not to rush the person, otherwise, the things can get worse. So better understand that it will take time for the person to make changes.

There are a lot of treatment centres for people with eating disorders worldwide. You can find one for you through the page on EDReferral, which is an online informational centre for people with eating disorders and the ones who want to help them.

Feel every bite in your mouth while eating, think about the taste of food. This way you will feel the process of eating deeply and you will easily understand when you are full and it's time to stop. 

Chew thoroughly until you can taste the essence of the food. You have to chew each bite 20 to 40 times, depending on the food. You will be surprised how deep and complex taste each food has. This way you will feel deeply the whole process of having a meal, so it will stop you fro binge eating.

While having anorexia or bulimia you believed in the idea that life will be better and you will feel good if you lose more weight.

The first step in anorexia recovery is realising that your constant pursuit of thinness is out of your control and admitting the physical and emotional damage that you’ve suffered because of it.

"Answers to Anorexia: A Breakthrough Nutritional Treatment That Is Saving Lives" is a book that offers he first new medical treatment plan in 50 years for anorexia nervosa. It is written by psychiatrist and eating disorder expert, and it will give you a lot of inspirational ideas and tips for your recover.

The longer an eating disorder remains undiagnosed and untreated, the more difficult it will be to overcome later, so force your friend or relative, or loved one to see a health professional. This way you will help a lot.

Eating disorders are often a cry for help, and your loved one will appreciate knowing that you are concerned. But don't try to push on them or to control them too hard.

Don't criticise their eating habits, it will make things even worse. People with eating disorders are trying to be in control as they don't feel in control of their life. So better just try to be supportive and show them with your own easy attitude to food, how easy life could become without their ED.

If you say something like "Everything would be better if you just eat normally", it won't work and can make things even worse, because this way you show to the person with an ED that their problem isn't a big deal. Eating disorder is a serious mental problem that can't be solved so easily.

Once you can accept that the eating disorder is not anyone's fault, not yours, nor your child's, you will be able to act honestly and smart, instead of thinking what you "should" or "could" have done to avoid this.

It's hard to be supportive and helpful to a person with an ED if your know about this problem only from the multiple myths and stereotypes. So it's better to get to know more information about it, for a start read an article on WikiPedia.

If someone you know has/might have an eating disorder, point them to this page on Solutionbay and let they find some solutions for themselves.