What Is It?
Below you’ll find information about clinical disordered eating that we sometimes hear about on Youth In BC.
Anorexia Nervosa:
When you lose a lot of weight because you’re hardly eating anything, and might over-exercise. You probably can’t or don’t admit how underweight you are. You may not initially look very thin, but may be far too thin to support your health. You can be so thin that every bone in your body shows, but still feel “fat”. When you feel fat it makes it hard to ask for help or hear advice from others because, to you, “fat” has come to mean “being bad”. You could also know that you are much too thin but don’t make changes because you’re so afraid of food and gaining weight. To you, this would represent losing control over yourself.
Bulimia Nervosa:
When you binge and purge. You eat out of control and then try to get rid of the calories. You fast, make yourself vomit, abuse laxatives, or exercise too much. These ways of purging harm your body and don’t help you accomplish what you want. Your weight may go up and down a lot.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED):
When you eat so much you’re uncomfortable, eat to comfort yourself, eat in secret, or keep eating as part of a meal or between meals. You feel a lot of shame or guilt about your eating. Binge eating is also called compulsive eating. It is not the same as bulimia because you do not usually try to get rid of the food you’ve eaten.
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specific (ED-NOS):
Individuals who experience a mix of anorexia, and/or bulimia, and/or binge-eating symptoms, but who don’t fall neatly into one of the medical categories, are said to have an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (ED-NOS). These individuals should also receive the help and resources provided to individuals who have a “neat” clinical diagnosis.
(Source: www.nedic.ca)