Although clinicians (and medical professionals not specializing in eating disorders) often carry a lot of false beliefs about EDs, the publicis even worse. Way worse. The portrayal of eating disorders in the news contributes to the myriad of myths and misconceptions that surround EDs. O’Hara and Smith wanted to find out how exactly newspapers “contribute to shaping public perception of EDs.” 

It is awful when doctors are dismissive and ignorant, but it is even worse when you encounter these attitudes from your friends and family. When they not only don’t get it, they don’t want to get it. As O’Hara & Smith point out, this ignorance and “disconnect potentially prevents timely ED diagnosis and reinforces a stigma that limits treatment availability.”

While researchers and ED specialists increasingly understand that eating disorders are “caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors” (for example, evidence from twin studies suggests that genetic factors account for >50% of the risk for developing an ED), the public does not. 

Surveys of what the public thinks about eating disorders and those struggling with them are, well, nothing short of depressing. A real failure for all parties involved, the clinicians, researchers, journalists and media outlets.

A 2005 poll commissioned by NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) revealed that American adults think that dieting (66%), the media (64%) and family (52%) are the primary causes of eating disorders. And only 30% think there is any link between genetics and eating disorders.

Brits are no better: 35% feel that ED patients “could pull themselves together” and 33% think that they “are to blame”.

O’Hara & Smith point out that besides the causes of eating disorders (etiology), the public also tends to have the wrong ideas about the epidemiology and severity of EDs. They highlight a few areas where the public opinions are divergent from the medical consensus.  Read more

For much of the 30 years that bulimia has been recognized as a psychiatric disorder, experts have believed that unlike anorexia, bulimia was purely a psychological issue, and not also a physiological one. Bulimics were thought to be generally normal weight people who have an extreme phobia about weight gain.

 But recent research, published this month in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, has cast doubt on that assumption, and could serve as a motivational tool for bulimics struggling to recover. A study out of Drexel University in Philadelphia found that among two different sets of people studied, one over a period of 20 years and the other for two years, one surprisingly accurate indicator of how patients with bulimia will fare is the discrepancy between their past all-time high weight and their current weight. The larger that discrepancy, known as “weight suppression,” is, the more likely patients are to gain weight while their bulimia continues. Read more

http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/nutrition/

A wonderful resource of workbooks to help you with issues such as anxiety, assertiveness, depression, eds, improving self esteem, coping with bi polar,perfectionism, shyness, procrastination ( i’ll be reading that one!) , health anxiety aka hypochondria, shyness and worrying.  Definitely worth looking at.   

source: 

http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/consumers.cfm

Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part B 
Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part B: This information package follows on the Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part A, and provides some strategies and techniques to change the thinking patterns associated with disordered eating. This infopax is organised into modules that are designed to be worked through in sequence.  We recommend that you complete one module before going on to the next.  Each module includes information, worksheets, and suggested exercises or activities.

Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part A 
Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part A: This information package is designed to provide you with some information about disordered eating - how it develops, how it is maintained, and strategies to start to change the problem behaviours associated with disordered eating.  This infopax is organised into modules that are designed to be worked through in sequence.  We recommend that you complete one module before going on to the next. Each module contains information, worksheets, and suggested exercises or activities.

This is a really excellent resource please check it out

By Yong Lee, MD
Medical Director of Remuda Ranch
April 4, 2012

When we think of the medical stabilization of patients with eating disorders, we tend to focus on the immediate pressing concerns: abnormal cardiac function from blood chemistry imbalances that can lead to sudden death; gastro-intestinal bleeds from repeated vomiting; seizures from low blood sugar.  Once we stabilize the malnourished patient, we need to address long-term consequences of the eating disorder that may lead to dire consequences if unaddressed, particularly severe bone loss known as osteopenia in its earlier, less severe stage, and osteoporosis in its later more critical stage. Read more

What is Anorexia Nervosa?

Anorexia Nervosa is a serious and potentially life threatening mental illness. A person with Anorexia Nervosa has not made a ‘lifestyle choice’ to pursue a socially desirable thin body, they are actually very unwell and need help.

The reasons behind the development of Anorexia Nervosa will differ from person to person; known causes include genetic predisposition and a combination of environmental, social and cultural factors. For some people, restricting their food and weight can be a way of controlling areas of life that feel out of their control and their body image can come to define their entire sense of self worth. It can also be a way of expressing emotions that may feel too complex or frightening such as pain, stress or anxiety.

Restrictive dieting and excessive exercise can be contributing factors to the onset of Anorexia Nervosa. Women and girls with Anorexia Nervosa may use dieting behaviour in a bid to achieve a culturally constructed thin ideal whereas men may over exercise and control what they eat to achieve a muscular body.

While it is generally accepted that Anorexia Nervosa is more common in females across the ages (only 10% of sufferers are males), recent research suggests that amongst teenagers, the number of males with Anorexia Nervosa is rising, and in this age group, an equal number of males and females have been shown to meet full criteria for diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa.

What is Binge Eating Disorder (BED)?

Binge Eating Disorder is a serious mental illness characterised by regular episodes of binge eating. A person with Binge Eating Disorder will not use compensatory behaviours, such as self-induced vomiting or over-exercising after binge eating. Many people with Binge Eating Disorder are overweight or obese. Read more

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is a serious mental illness that requires treatment; it is not a lifestyle choice. Bulimia Nervosa is characterised by repeated episodes of  binge eating followed by compensatory behaviours.