Eating Disorder or Disordered Eating?
Eating Disorder or Disordered Eating?
“My eating is sometimes out of control and I eat too much and feel miserable.” ~Client
This is a comment I often hear. Does this person have an eating disorder or just disordered eating?
Disordered Eating
Because the client (mentioned above) used the word “sometimes” as she described her eating, she probably falls into the category of disordered eating rather than eating disorder. It’s all a matter of degree.
As a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor who treats eating disorders, I would ask her some of the following questions:
How often would you say your eating is “out of control?”
Are you always thinking about food, eating, and/or body image?
Are you a public dieter and a private binger?
Do you binge several times a week? Daily?
When you feel stressed, anxious, depressed, or bored, do you go to food to self soothe? If so, how often does this happen?
Do you intensely exercise to make up for what you’ve eaten? If so, how often?
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are a mental illness and are listed in the DSM-V – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the US. I am most familiar (personally and professionally) and have the most expertise with Binge Eating Disorder.
"Many of the millions of heavy people have an eating disorder, which has the highest mortality rate of any mental health diagnosis, including depression. Binge eating, the most common eating disorder in the United States, affects over twenty-five million people." ~Stop Eating Your Heart Out, p. xv
The mental health description of binge eating disorder includes the following:
Eating a large amount of food in a short period of time
Lack of control over eating during the binge episode
Eating until uncomfortably full
Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
Eating much more rapidly than normal
Eating alone because you are embarrassed by how much you’re eating
Feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating
~Stop Eating Your Heart Out, p. 9-10
Getting help
Does food call you? Maybe it’s the ice cream in the freezer, the cookies in the cookie jar, or the fast food joint down the street?
If you find yourself anywhere along the spectrum from disordered eating to eating disorders, help is available, starting with:
Stop Eating Your Heart Out. I wrote this book to share my experience, strength, and hope. I briefly tell my story of living in the hell of a (binge) eating disorder and then offer tools and techniques that I used for my clients and myself.
STOP EATING YOUR HEART OUT Audio Book
The book is available in print and eBook format and is now available as an audiobook. Learn how you can get the audiobook for free by going to www.stopeatingyourheartout.com/audible.
“Follow the steps outlined in this book and your awakened self will have a new relationship with food and the way it fuels your body, mind, and spirit.” ~Sandy Peckinpah author, radio show host on KRXA AM Talk Radio. www.SandyPeckinpah.com
Therapy. I recommend seeking a therapist who not only understands eating disorders but also employs energy techniques that rewire the brain. Talk to your health care provider for recommendations.
Treatment. If you have an eating disorder, I hope you will investigate going to treatment – either inpatient or outpatient. Treatment has saved, changed, and improved a gazillion lives. Here in Tucson, I often recommend Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Center which employs a truly holistic approach.
Resources. There are many,many resources listed in Stop Eating Your Heart Out, ranging from self-help groups to online help to treatment facilities. For my up-to-date Resource list go to www.StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/resour...
Remember, no matter where you are on the disordered eating - eating disorder scale, you are not alone. Help is available. Get support now.
Many blessings,
Meryl
- See more at: http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
“My eating is sometimes out of control and I eat too much and feel miserable.” ~Client
This is a comment I often hear. Does this person have an eating disorder or just disordered eating?
Disordered Eating
Because the client (mentioned above) used the word “sometimes” as she described her eating, she probably falls into the category of disordered eating rather than eating disorder. It’s all a matter of degree.
As a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor who treats eating disorders, I would ask her some of the following questions:
How often would you say your eating is “out of control?”
Are you always thinking about food, eating, and/or body image?
Are you a public dieter and a private binger?
Do you binge several times a week? Daily?
When you feel stressed, anxious, depressed, or bored, do you go to food to self soothe? If so, how often does this happen?
Do you intensely exercise to make up for what you’ve eaten? If so, how often?
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are a mental illness and are listed in the DSM-V – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the US. I am most familiar (personally and professionally) and have the most expertise with Binge Eating Disorder.
"Many of the millions of heavy people have an eating disorder, which has the highest mortality rate of any mental health diagnosis, including depression. Binge eating, the most common eating disorder in the United States, affects over twenty-five million people." ~Stop Eating Your Heart Out, p. xv
The mental health description of binge eating disorder includes the following:
Eating a large amount of food in a short period of time
Lack of control over eating during the binge episode
Eating until uncomfortably full
Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
Eating much more rapidly than normal
Eating alone because you are embarrassed by how much you’re eating
Feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating
~Stop Eating Your Heart Out, p. 9-10
Getting help
Does food call you? Maybe it’s the ice cream in the freezer, the cookies in the cookie jar, or the fast food joint down the street?
If you find yourself anywhere along the spectrum from disordered eating to eating disorders, help is available, starting with:
Stop Eating Your Heart Out. I wrote this book to share my experience, strength, and hope. I briefly tell my story of living in the hell of a (binge) eating disorder and then offer tools and techniques that I used for my clients and myself.
STOP EATING YOUR HEART OUT Audio Book
The book is available in print and eBook format and is now available as an audiobook. Learn how you can get the audiobook for free by going to www.stopeatingyourheartout.com/audible.
“Follow the steps outlined in this book and your awakened self will have a new relationship with food and the way it fuels your body, mind, and spirit.” ~Sandy Peckinpah author, radio show host on KRXA AM Talk Radio. www.SandyPeckinpah.com
Therapy. I recommend seeking a therapist who not only understands eating disorders but also employs energy techniques that rewire the brain. Talk to your health care provider for recommendations.
Treatment. If you have an eating disorder, I hope you will investigate going to treatment – either inpatient or outpatient. Treatment has saved, changed, and improved a gazillion lives. Here in Tucson, I often recommend Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Center which employs a truly holistic approach.
Resources. There are many,many resources listed in Stop Eating Your Heart Out, ranging from self-help groups to online help to treatment facilities. For my up-to-date Resource list go to www.StopEatingYourHeartOut.com/resour...
Remember, no matter where you are on the disordered eating - eating disorder scale, you are not alone. Help is available. Get support now.
Many blessings,
Meryl
- See more at: http://stopeatingyourheartout.com/201...
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