There are many different types of eating disorders. But all eating disorders have two things in common: the way people deal with food is just as disturbed as their perception of their own body. The thoughts of those affected very often revolve around their body and figure. Many of them do not feel comfortable with their appearance or even find themselves ugly. But the topic of "food" is also almost always at the center of attention. Affected persons restrict their eating behavior excessively, control it permanently or lose control over it.
The most common eating disorders are:
There are many different types of eating disorders. But all eating disorders have two things in common: the way people deal with food is just as disturbed as their perception of their own body. The thoughts of those affected very often revolve around their body and figure. Many of them do not feel comfortable with their appearance or even find themselves ugly. But the topic of "food" is also almost always at the center of attention. Affected persons restrict their eating behavior excessively, control it permanently or lose control over it.
The most common eating disorders are:
This eating disorder is characterized primarily by a greatly reduced food intake. Affected People have the goal of reducing their weight or at least not gaining weight. They are intensively concerned with their diet, design their own dietary rules and avoid foods with many calories, carbohydrates or fat. Often they also do an extremely large amount or intensive sport in order to get closer to their supposed body ideal. Because this behavior often leads to "success" – at least for a short time – and weight is lost quickly, the affected persons maintain this behavior. A disturbed perception of their own body in those affected leads to them not realizing how much they are losing weight and that this weight loss is no longer healthy – even if they are already underweight. The fact that they are getting closer to their ideal body image often gives affected persons a sense of pride. This behavior then often becomes a ritual for them, and at the same time they develop a strong compulsion to control or perfectionism, in which everything revolves around the topic of "food" and/or "sport". Gaining weight again would mean to them that their plan had failed and they had failed. That is why affected persons are usually very afraid of gaining weight again.
The heavy weight loss is very dangerous for our body and can lead to permanent damage. Many affected persons ignore this danger, as well as the fact that they have an eating disorder. Even when the risks of their behavior are explained to them, many sufferers stick to it.
In this eating disorder, too, affected persons aim to eat as few calories as possible to avoid gaining weight. The eating behavior and perception of one's own body is similar to that of anorexia: foods with few calories, carbohydrates and fat are eaten preferentially. However, sufferers of bulimia nervosa are unable to maintain this diet, and they experience regular eating attacks – also called "binge eating“ – in which they eat many times the usual amount within a short period of time. To prevent them from gaining weight, those affected often use medications such as laxatives or emetics following the binge, or cause themselves to vomit so that the ingested food can leave the body unprocessed. This is also intended to stop the resulting feelings of guilt that affected persons experience when they do not stick to their diet ideas. Sometimes bulimia develops from a previous bout of anorexia, but it can also develop from the beginning without the symptoms of anorexia.
Usually, these eating episodes take place secretly so that they are not noticed by any outside person. Affected persons often feel great shame and resolve not to give in to the eating attacks – but cannot prevent them from occurring again and again. That is why it often happens that relatives do not notice for a long time that a friend or family member has bulimia.
Affected individuals feed their bodies an excessive amount of food and thus calories, which sometimes leads to severe obesity. But the body's organs can also suffer from this excessive eating and become ill. One speaks of a binge-eating disorder when the binge eating episodes – in which significantly too much is eaten within a short period of time – occur at least once a week, and for at least three months. Often, those affected have the feeling of losing control and suffer greatly from the excess weight, which becomes increasingly severe with longer duration of the eating disorder. The habitual eating behavior cannot simply be discarded, for which the affected persons cannot do anything, since it is an eating addiction. Especially overweight people are often told that they have no discipline or that they themselves are to blame for their situation – but this is not true! Due to the pressure from outside and the pressure that the affected persons put on themselves, it seems to be the only possibility for them that they have to lose weight by starving themselves, which only aggravates the eating disorder. This pressure also means that affected individuals often feel ashamed and do not dare to talk to anyone about their disordered eating behavior. Without professional help and the support of friends and family, however, it is difficult to break out of this eating behavior.
The development of an eating disorder can have many reasons, but in most cases, several causes interact to lead to the disease. Therefore, the disease cannot always be traced back to a specific reason or event. An eating disorder often starts with the fact that we want to conform to a certain ideal of beauty – which usually has to do with being slim. Young people in particular often take their cues from people they admire on social media or other media, and whose lifestyles they are shown every day. The photos that show these personalities are heavily edited or staged and usually do not correspond to reality – yet they trigger an urge in us to compare ourselves to them and emulate their appearance. We want to optimize ourselves to be like the people we admire – and this often causes us to want to lose weight and start dieting.
Another trigger can be the loss of control in other areas of life. Affected persons then have the feeling of being at the mercy of everything and losing their grip. However, food intake is still something they can consciously control and manage – even if they no longer have control in other areas.
As with other mental disorders, biological or genetic causes can play a role in the development of eating disorders. In addition, there are many other individual aspects that can influence the development. These include, for example, problems within the family or among friends, or an experience that overwhelms us. Often it is also the pressure to perform that gives us the feeling that we have to constantly optimize ourselves – including our bodies. If we then have a false image of an "optimal" body, the desire for optimization can quickly turn into an eating disorder.
Many eating disorders start small. For example, many affected persons start with a normal diet to reduce their weight. When they have their first successes – what in this case means lose weight – a feeling of reward also sets in. So they remember: dieting leads to success. This success motivates them to continue in order to have even more success. Over time, the measures usually become more extreme: the amount of food is significantly reduced and, in addition, many affected persons begin to exercise to enhance the effect of weight loss. After some time, they become accustomed to the newly learned eating behavior and the new perception of their own body and can no longer discard these behavior patterns.
In binge-eating disorder, affected persons often no longer have a sense of when they are full. Feelings then fluctuate between feelings of happiness that eating as a reward is good for them and feelings of shame that they have eaten too much. The longer the disorder lasts, the more strongly they feel the desire to stop overeating – but this is usually not possible. People suffering from binge eating disorder often withdraw further and further, do less and meet less with the people who are important to them. As a result, sufferers spend more time alone, making binge eating episodes more frequent.
Eating disorders – if they last for a long time – can also have severe consequences for the body and the psyche.
Malnutrition leads to muscle atrophy, bouts of weakness, brittle bones and, in the worst cases, even death. Repeated vomiting can damage the esophagus and teeth. In addition, in both cases, the immune system is weakened because the body can no longer absorb enough nutrients.
Obesity – which is often caused by binge eating disorder – can lead to problems with the heart or circulation. In addition, prolonged obesity can lead to diabetes, problems with bones and joints, and severe fatigue.
Often, eating disorders cause affected persons to withdraw from their friends, family and other social contacts. They also neglect hobbies and interests that were previously important to them. Affected persons may also develop other mental illnesses – such as depression, anxiety disorders or obsessive-compulsive disorders – that further impair and burden them.
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that can and must be treated. For outsiders, friends or family, however, eating disorders are difficult to recognize and often cannot be distinguished from "normal" dieting.
The most common type of treatment is psychotherapy. This aims to re-learn healthy eating behavior and to maintain it. However, the reasons for the disturbed eating behavior should also be treated, and sometimes the social environment or the family is also involved for this purpose. Such therapy can be carried out in a clinic (inpatient), day clinic (day patient) or in the home environment with regular treatment appointments (outpatient). However, it is often best if eating disorders are treated during a stay in a clinic. Here, the trained, unhealthy eating behavior can be best addressed, because those affected often find it very difficult to break away from it on their own. In the clinic, for example, in the case of anorexia, slow but controlled care is taken to ensure that the necessary calories are consumed so that an approximate normal weight and thus a better quality of life can be achieved. Medication can also be used to support the therapy and, for example, help to ensure that "extreme" sporting activities – through which the urge is felt to go on and on and achieve more and more – are approached somewhat more calmly and no longer in such a way that the person affected harms her or himself.
You have decided to seek help for yourself or someone close, and you ask yourself where to find support? Firstly: You should know that there are many different points of possible contact and various professionals to work with. It is important to first find out which path individually suits best.
This is why a good first step is to talk to your general practitioner. As with a therapist, because of the pledge of secrecy, everything you tell them remains confidential and will not leave the room you are in. Of course, you may also bring a friend of a family member.
It is also possible to turn directly to a psychotherapist. Here you get tips on how to get an appointment.
You want an impression of which contact points are the right ones for you or the person close to you? Here we explain, which professionals are best suited for which specific problem.
If you need further support on your way toward therapy, or if you want to keep anonymous while first talking to someone, here you will find links for points of contact in your area and trustworthy people to talk to.
There are many different types of eating disorders. But all eating disorders have two things in common: the way people deal with food is just as disturbed as their perception of their own body. The thoughts of those affected very often revolve around their body and figure. Many of them do not feel comfortable with their appearance or even find themselves ugly. But the topic of "food" is also almost always at the center of attention. Affected persons restrict their eating behavior excessively, control it permanently or lose control over it.
The most common eating disorders are:
There are many different types of eating disorders. But all eating disorders have two things in common: the way people deal with food is just as disturbed as their perception of their own body. The thoughts of those affected very often revolve around their body and figure. Many of them do not feel comfortable with their appearance or even find themselves ugly. But the topic of "food" is also almost always at the center of attention. Affected persons restrict their eating behavior excessively, control it permanently or lose control over it.
The most common eating disorders are:
This eating disorder is characterized primarily by a greatly reduced food intake. Affected People have the goal of reducing their weight or at least not gaining weight. They are intensively concerned with their diet, design their own dietary rules and avoid foods with many calories, carbohydrates or fat. Often they also do an extremely large amount or intensive sport in order to get closer to their supposed body ideal. Because this behavior often leads to "success" – at least for a short time – and weight is lost quickly, the affected persons maintain this behavior. A disturbed perception of their own body in those affected leads to them not realizing how much they are losing weight and that this weight loss is no longer healthy – even if they are already underweight. The fact that they are getting closer to their ideal body image often gives affected persons a sense of pride. This behavior then often becomes a ritual for them, and at the same time they develop a strong compulsion to control or perfectionism, in which everything revolves around the topic of "food" and/or "sport". Gaining weight again would mean to them that their plan had failed and they had failed. That is why affected persons are usually very afraid of gaining weight again.
The heavy weight loss is very dangerous for our body and can lead to permanent damage. Many affected persons ignore this danger, as well as the fact that they have an eating disorder. Even when the risks of their behavior are explained to them, many sufferers stick to it.
In this eating disorder, too, affected persons aim to eat as few calories as possible to avoid gaining weight. The eating behavior and perception of one's own body is similar to that of anorexia: foods with few calories, carbohydrates and fat are eaten preferentially. However, sufferers of bulimia nervosa are unable to maintain this diet, and they experience regular eating attacks – also called "binge eating“ – in which they eat many times the usual amount within a short period of time. To prevent them from gaining weight, those affected often use medications such as laxatives or emetics following the binge, or cause themselves to vomit so that the ingested food can leave the body unprocessed. This is also intended to stop the resulting feelings of guilt that affected persons experience when they do not stick to their diet ideas. Sometimes bulimia develops from a previous bout of anorexia, but it can also develop from the beginning without the symptoms of anorexia.
Usually, these eating episodes take place secretly so that they are not noticed by any outside person. Affected persons often feel great shame and resolve not to give in to the eating attacks – but cannot prevent them from occurring again and again. That is why it often happens that relatives do not notice for a long time that a friend or family member has bulimia.
Affected individuals feed their bodies an excessive amount of food and thus calories, which sometimes leads to severe obesity. But the body's organs can also suffer from this excessive eating and become ill. One speaks of a binge-eating disorder when the binge eating episodes – in which significantly too much is eaten within a short period of time – occur at least once a week, and for at least three months. Often, those affected have the feeling of losing control and suffer greatly from the excess weight, which becomes increasingly severe with longer duration of the eating disorder. The habitual eating behavior cannot simply be discarded, for which the affected persons cannot do anything, since it is an eating addiction. Especially overweight people are often told that they have no discipline or that they themselves are to blame for their situation – but this is not true! Due to the pressure from outside and the pressure that the affected persons put on themselves, it seems to be the only possibility for them that they have to lose weight by starving themselves, which only aggravates the eating disorder. This pressure also means that affected individuals often feel ashamed and do not dare to talk to anyone about their disordered eating behavior. Without professional help and the support of friends and family, however, it is difficult to break out of this eating behavior.
The development of an eating disorder can have many reasons, but in most cases, several causes interact to lead to the disease. Therefore, the disease cannot always be traced back to a specific reason or event. An eating disorder often starts with the fact that we want to conform to a certain ideal of beauty – which usually has to do with being slim. Young people in particular often take their cues from people they admire on social media or other media, and whose lifestyles they are shown every day. The photos that show these personalities are heavily edited or staged and usually do not correspond to reality – yet they trigger an urge in us to compare ourselves to them and emulate their appearance. We want to optimize ourselves to be like the people we admire – and this often causes us to want to lose weight and start dieting.
Another trigger can be the loss of control in other areas of life. Affected persons then have the feeling of being at the mercy of everything and losing their grip. However, food intake is still something they can consciously control and manage – even if they no longer have control in other areas.
As with other mental disorders, biological or genetic causes can play a role in the development of eating disorders. In addition, there are many other individual aspects that can influence the development. These include, for example, problems within the family or among friends, or an experience that overwhelms us. Often it is also the pressure to perform that gives us the feeling that we have to constantly optimize ourselves – including our bodies. If we then have a false image of an "optimal" body, the desire for optimization can quickly turn into an eating disorder.
Many eating disorders start small. For example, many affected persons start with a normal diet to reduce their weight. When they have their first successes – what in this case means lose weight – a feeling of reward also sets in. So they remember: dieting leads to success. This success motivates them to continue in order to have even more success. Over time, the measures usually become more extreme: the amount of food is significantly reduced and, in addition, many affected persons begin to exercise to enhance the effect of weight loss. After some time, they become accustomed to the newly learned eating behavior and the new perception of their own body and can no longer discard these behavior patterns.
In binge-eating disorder, affected persons often no longer have a sense of when they are full. Feelings then fluctuate between feelings of happiness that eating as a reward is good for them and feelings of shame that they have eaten too much. The longer the disorder lasts, the more strongly they feel the desire to stop overeating – but this is usually not possible. People suffering from binge eating disorder often withdraw further and further, do less and meet less with the people who are important to them. As a result, sufferers spend more time alone, making binge eating episodes more frequent.
Eating disorders – if they last for a long time – can also have severe consequences for the body and the psyche.
Malnutrition leads to muscle atrophy, bouts of weakness, brittle bones and, in the worst cases, even death. Repeated vomiting can damage the esophagus and teeth. In addition, in both cases, the immune system is weakened because the body can no longer absorb enough nutrients.
Obesity – which is often caused by binge eating disorder – can lead to problems with the heart or circulation. In addition, prolonged obesity can lead to diabetes, problems with bones and joints, and severe fatigue.
Often, eating disorders cause affected persons to withdraw from their friends, family and other social contacts. They also neglect hobbies and interests that were previously important to them. Affected persons may also develop other mental illnesses – such as depression, anxiety disorders or obsessive-compulsive disorders – that further impair and burden them.
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that can and must be treated. For outsiders, friends or family, however, eating disorders are difficult to recognize and often cannot be distinguished from "normal" dieting.
The most common type of treatment is psychotherapy. This aims to re-learn healthy eating behavior and to maintain it. However, the reasons for the disturbed eating behavior should also be treated, and sometimes the social environment or the family is also involved for this purpose. Such therapy can be carried out in a clinic (inpatient), day clinic (day patient) or in the home environment with regular treatment appointments (outpatient). However, it is often best if eating disorders are treated during a stay in a clinic. Here, the trained, unhealthy eating behavior can be best addressed, because those affected often find it very difficult to break away from it on their own. In the clinic, for example, in the case of anorexia, slow but controlled care is taken to ensure that the necessary calories are consumed so that an approximate normal weight and thus a better quality of life can be achieved. Medication can also be used to support the therapy and, for example, help to ensure that "extreme" sporting activities – through which the urge is felt to go on and on and achieve more and more – are approached somewhat more calmly and no longer in such a way that the person affected harms her or himself.
You have decided to seek help for yourself or someone close, and you ask yourself where to find support? Firstly: You should know that there are many different points of possible contact and various professionals to work with. It is important to first find out which path individually suits best.
This is why a good first step is to talk to your general practitioner. As with a therapist, because of the pledge of secrecy, everything you tell them remains confidential and will not leave the room you are in. Of course, you may also bring a friend of a family member.
It is also possible to turn directly to a psychotherapist. Here you get tips on how to get an appointment.
You want an impression of which contact points are the right ones for you or the person close to you? Here we explain, which professionals are best suited for which specific problem.
If you need further support on your way toward therapy, or if you want to keep anonymous while first talking to someone, here you will find links for points of contact in your area and trustworthy people to talk to.
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