The Financial Express
By Manun Thakur
The subjective assessment of one’s own body is known as body image. People who have a poor body image run the risk of suffering significant mental health problems. Understanding the many disorders connected to it is crucial to appreciate the significance of body image difficulties. Below, we go over the illnesses that have been studied over the years.
Wanting to meet society’s ideals for beauty is typically the catalyst for eating problems. When it comes to a disorder like a binge eating, it develops as a result of utilising food as an unhealthy coping technique. Similar to how some people use excessive drinking as a maladaptive coping strategy.
These types of disorders typically start in adolescence or early adulthood and put the person at risk for serious long-term health problems and, in the worst circumstances, even death. Disorders of the body, particularly eating disorders, are hereditary in nature. Expert advice and careful history-taking aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the diseases and any potential co-morbidities (i.e. anxiety, body dysmorphia, depression, etc.).
Eating disorders are more common than we think they are, they can not only affect a person’s body but, everyday life and relationships. Please reach out and seek help if you or anyone you know is going through this.
Eating disorders come in three different varieties and it is very important to identify what one individual is going through:
Anorexia nervosa – Those with anorexia starve themselves for extended periods of time and, when they do eat, carefully monitor their calorie intake. It starts out as a desire to keep weight under control and eventually develops into intense anxiety about food consumption, which is ultimately the root of maladaptive control over one’s food intake. If this disorder is not treated, the person could get malnourished and eventually die.
Bulimia Nervosa – After bingeing on food, the sufferer of bulimia purges their bodies by producing vomiting or using laxatives. They run the danger of developing severe dehydration, ongoing stomach problems, and heart conditions over time.
Binge Eating – In binge eating, excessive amounts of food is consumed over a short time. It is a maladaptive coping mechanism and is viewed as an emotional outlet. They often risk suffering from obesity and other health problems such as type 2 diabetes or stroke.
Consult a psychologist or other psychiatrist who will ask you to do homework, like keeping a food diary to review and identify triggers that cause you to binge eat, vomit, or other eating behaviours unhealthy.
(Manun Thakur is the MD of Veda Rehab and Wellness)
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