Warning Signs of Eating Disorders You Need to Look Out For

Out of all the psychological disorders today, what do you think could be the most fatal? If your guess is eating disorders, well, you absolutely got it right.

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that cause sufferers to lose their ability to control their eating habits. These illnesses have tremendous negative impact on both physical and emotional health of the person which eventually affects generally on how a person functions in various domains of a person’s life. Eating disorders generally are generally developed from an excessive focus to one’s body figure especially on weight that results from paranoia about body changes. Eating disorders can also stem out from major life events or even traumatic experiences the person encountered.

Eating disorders are usually developed during the adolescent age which is often carried along adulthood. It excludes no gender but these conditions mostly affect women. These psychological conditions are better to be diagnosed early than later when the condition becomes severe that it causes a negative impact on the patient’s life in general.

By learning about different types of eating disorders, you can get a sense of whether you experience symptoms that may lead to such disorders. However, it is better to have a proper diagnosis from a qualified and licensed mental health professional if you have initially suspect yourself or a loved one with eating disorders. Remember that early intervention can definitely save someone’s life by promoting recovery.

Here are some of the warning signs that you should look out for to detect possibilities of having eating disorders:

Behavioral Signs

• Constant or extreme dieting ( extreme urge to diet, cutting out food groups, constantly follows diet fads no matter how weird they get
• Binge eating
• Constant vomiting after consuming food
• Using Laxatives to vomit (frequent bathroom trips to vomit after eating)
• Compulsive exercise patterns or excessive workouts (even when injured, in rough weathers, having a strong urge to exercise no matter what
• Being too OC when preparing food (calories calculated every meal, being too picky and mindful of what and how much food to bring to the mouth, too much meal planning)
• Wearing baggy clothes to hide figure
• Being too conscious about the body especially when it comes to weight
• Denial of hunger

Physical Signs

• Evident loss in weight (can be excessive, rapid)
• Fainting and dizziness
• Getting cold easily
• Irregular menstrual periods ( or worse loss of mensuration for females)
• Frequent vomiting
• Fatigue

Psychological Signs

• Being too conscious to the point of increased preoccupation with body figure, weight, and appearance
• Intense fear of weight gain
• Over-sensitivity to criticism regarding the body especially on weight
• Over-sensitivity to food and anything that has to do with it
• Extreme dissatisfaction with body (saying they are this and that pertaining to body even when they are not)
• Low self-esteem
• Depression or anxiety especially on meal times
• Constant mood swings

It is important to know the warning signs of an eating disorder as theses may indicate whether you or someone is in the danger of developing one or if they already have. Warning signs are sometimes hard to notice or even detect. Some people who already have the symptoms do not usually know feel embarrassed about having it. Since these are psychological disorders, they may be hard to detect without proper observation and diagnosis.