10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are mental disorders involving the act of eating. They typically involve starvation diets, purging, and excessive fasting. The most prominent eating disorder is anorexia nervosa, but there are also binge-eating disorders and bulimia nervosa. Since it is a mental disorder, the mental features are also the symptoms, as it is a sign of having the problem. Not eating is also the most common symptom of an eating disorder, even binge-eating. Most eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa, are comorbid with other mental disorders. The most common case of comorbidity is an eating disorder being present with another eating disorder. While an eating disorder sounds like a first-world problem, it is still something significant worthy of consideration. These are the 10 worst symptoms of eating disorders.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
1. Starvation
While starvation may seem like a simple feature of the disease, it is not. The dangerous act of starving yourself is one of the symptoms. The lack of eating does not necessarily come from a lack of appetite but a fear of gaining weight. The desire is to be skinny and to maintain it, which happens in the case of these disorders. While it may not always be the case that starvation is key, it is certainly one of the worst symptoms. There are other disorders like bulimia that literally like to have their cake and eat it too. This usually happens alongside anorexia, where a person compulsively vomits out their food. The worst and most well-known case of an eating disorder is anorexia, so this is the main guideline here. Although, even with anorexia, the struggler is not always starving themselves.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
2. Anxiety
To truly have anorexia, you must also have a low bodyfat percentage. The mindset can be there, and this is what truly counts, but the amount of weight you carry says a lot too. There is a constant fear of gaining weight and how you look to others. Some people may even develop other problems with self-esteem, including body dysmorphic disorder alongside their eating disorder. The fact that someone with disorder is constantly thinking inward, they will have a hard time socializing. Even when an anorexic is by themselves, they will still struggle with this. To isolate oneself means that you are also limiting yourself, causing further problems with anxiety and fear. Over time, this fear and mitigation becomes something you get used to, but it only makes it worse; the constant restriction and distraction leads to fear.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
3. Depression
Someone with anorexia nervosa will no doubt deal with a great amount of anxiety. Those who struggle with an eating disorder, especially anorexia, can and will often struggle with depression as well. Feeling as though there is nothing you can do and constantly worrying about your weight. This, along with not being able to do many enjoyable activities, creates a depressing environment. Many people with anorexia think that they are fat, but this is because of their mental picture being offset in their head. The fear of becoming ill or even dying from starvation comes to mind too, as they avoid nutrition entirely. Since many of these fears are entirely rational thoughts, it can lead to a state of dread. When this happens, it is a sticky situation of eating and gaining weight or starving and staying miserable.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
4. Self-Harm
Learning how to properly maintain a healthy diet and mindset is very important. This is the thing that most people who have an eating disorder have problems with. The unhealthy lifestyle and mindset can lead to depression and anxiety. If there is no escape, the only way to offset the pain can be self-harm. Self-harm is very common among those who have eating disorders. The very act of not eating for so long to the point of being a twig has a massive impact on one’s health. In addition to this, people with weight struggles such as this will also cut or burn themselves. This is when the disorder begins to get out of control. It can lead to suicidal behavior and create a very harmful self-image. Any kind of self-harm is possible, but it serves no function but to make everything worse than before.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
5. Visual Distortions
Many of those struggling with anorexia had difficulties with weight before. Maybe they were picked on in school or their parents neglected them too much. There may have been a state of overeating in the past that they are trying to compensate for. Because of this, a struggler’s mind is always about making sure that they are not fat. This does not stop them from seeing that image in the mirror though. Their perception and nitpicky attention to detail makes it worse. Their expectations are through the roof, making the whole situation worse. It will never be enough, and this will cause them to be even skinnier than they can imagine. Every eating disorder involves some degree of visual distortion and starvation factor. The worst of them as a standalone disorder is anorexia, but even binge-eating disorder is prone.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
6. Flipflopping
There is no doubting the impact of losing weight on the body. When you are avoiding eating no matter what, it can cause incredible strain on your body. If you are not used to something like fasting, this can create a lot of stress your body is not prepared for. People with this problem can also end up eating too much when they finally give in. While this is not necessarily a symptom, it is a very common reaction to those who have anorexia. Some people will do this every time they eat and cause weight fluctuations. This kind of back and forth can lead to significant health problems with blood pressure and sugar. Given the food that is eaten in the process, the problem only becomes worse. The mindset is bad, but the overall health impact is worse, causing the sufferer to not eat again, except for binge-eaters.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
7. Physical Liabilities
As mentioned above, having to deal with constant duress because of contradictory desires is tough. The physical side effects as a whole are even worse than you can image. Eating disorders can destroy your metabolism, fertility, and even your hair growth and thickness. If someone is suffering with extensive anorexia from a young age, they can stunt their growth. Since someone is causing this problem themselves, it is even harder to believe the pain it comes from. There are even people who die of heart issues due to the hypotension they can cause. If you are vomiting from bulimia, this can lead to a deterioration of the lining in your throat, causing throat cancer. You can end up with a distended abdomen, too. This is without mentioning the chronic fatigue and lack of nutrition causing further mental instabilities.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
8. Interoception
If someone used to be overweight, it is generally an overreaction to not eat because of something this insignificant. While it is better to avoid being overweight for health reasons, it should not be a big deal for others. The problem is that anorexia and BDD can cause problems looking at older pictures too. There is something called interoception that happens to be the problem. When a person feels fat, it is because they are only seeing this in themselves. The feeling comes from the perception that they fat, injured, and unhealthy. This ends up distorting their overall perception of what they actually look like. A person with anorexia or the like is highly susceptible to physical stimulus, which may have been there to begin with. What a sufferer feels themselves to be is far worse than their actual appearance.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
9. Severe Solitude
It has already been stated that having anorexia or some other disorder can cause and is caused by anxiety. The side effect of this and other factors can lead to solitude. The solitude has multiple layers to it that involve several other symptoms. The same way a person with an eating disorder will not always be skinny, they will not always hide. Regardless of this, it can speak to just how ill they are in dealing with the problem. If a person is so ashamed of themselves that they cannot leave the house, it is bad. The sad part is that sufferers are aware of how this disease is making their lives worse. They cannot do anything about it because their mind will not allow it. Significant mood swings can also occur along with the shame of their symptoms and perceived fatness.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
10. Insomnia
If you are struggling with a problem in your life, the frustration can recede a little with a nap. The problem is that hunger and other negative symptoms can make it impossible to sleep. Eating disorders are notorious for causing the sufferer severe problems with the ability to rest. Even though someone with anorexia or bulimia will exercise to no end, this will not stop them for staying awake. This causes mood swings and makes the obsessive thinking over calories even worse. The inability to sleep causes further stress and even stunts the ability for the person to lose weight. More and more struggle continues, causing emotional dysregulation as a whole. Along with the fact that you cannot eat, think about not being able to sleep and going completely insane. This is in fact the worst thing of all.
10 Worst Symptoms of Eating Disorders
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