Eating Disorders Blog

Many people have trouble understanding anorexia. The solution can seem so simple - just eat! But, as many health experts know, anorexia is more complex than a simple choice or even a behavior. In the words of Marilyn Clark, a registered nurse and counselor with a small Canadian eating disorders treatment provider, "an eating disorder is not a behavior; it's an illness, an emotional illness." In other words, expecting an individual who suffers from anorexia to simply eat is like asking an individual with clinical depression to simply be happy. What people need to understand, Clark believes, is that "underneath all eating disorders is emotional turmoil." (Source: www.brantfordexpositor.ca)

Labels: anorexia, emotions, mental-illness

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A globally significant study, which began in 1985, concerning the behavior of teenagers suffering from anorexia nervosa has been published in both the British Journal of Psychiatry and the International Journal of Eating Disorders. This is the only study of its kind and has provided valuable information to compare against widely accepted statistics about anorexia nervosa.

Elizabeth Wentz, Associate Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Sahlgrenska Academy, comments, "This study is unique in an international perspective. It is the only study in the world that reflects the natural course of anorexia nervosa in the population."

The results show that 39 percent of the study group "have at least one other psychiatric disorder, in addition to the eating disorder. The most common of these is obsessive compulsive disorder." This study contrasts with the accepted fatality rate of 1 in 5 for anorexics, as not a single test subject in this study has died.

One encouraging finding that emerged from the study related to pregnancy of the test subjects. Because infertility is a commonly accepted side effect of anorexia nervosa, it is surprising that there was no difference in the number of births between the test group and the control group. Childbirth also appeared to have a routinely positive influence on anorexics.

(Source: www.eurekalert.org)

Labels: anorexia, mental-illness

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People with bipolar disorder have higher rates of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorders, according to a new study from the University of Cincinnati. Their eating disorders also are more severe than average.

Bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression because it is characterized by cycles of mania and depression. About 5.7 million American adults are bipolar.

• Dr. Susan McElroy and her colleagues studied 875 people with bipolar disorders whose average age was 41 years old.
• More than 14 percent of the study subjects some eating disorder, with binge eating disorder being the most common.
• The 125 people in the study who suffered from both eating and bipolar disorders were more likely to have a family history of substance abuse, mood disorders, and to be women.
• Participants in the study who had anorexia tended to suffer from anxiety; those with bulimia were more likely to be overweight; and those with binge eating disorder were more likely to be obese.

"Substantial clinical and community data indicate that bipolar disorder co0iccyrs with substance abuse, anxiety, and impulse control disorders," Dr. McElroy said. "Another co- morbidity which has received far less systematic attention but which also may be important is that between bipolar disorders and eating disorders."

The study appears in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
 

Labels: mental-illness, bipolar

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment