Eating Disorders: Concerns with Food Purity, Effects on Pregnancy and how Post Traumatic Stress affects Eating Disorders

Anorexia is when you starve yourself to loose weight. Binge eating is characterized by eating a lot. Bulimia is when vomiting, laxatives and/or weight loss are used.  

Lets take a look at some articles from the National Eating Disorders Website....

Kratina, Karin. Orthorexia Nervosa. http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/orthorexia-nervosa

I selected one on Orthorexia and I found it very interesting since I know a lot of people who do it. It is interesting because I know some people who fast and eat very healthy and get upset because of their lifestyle. I have flipped in and out of this kind of lifestyle myself. I have been in religious organizations which taught some methods of fasting and said they were good. I know now how dangerous some of the fasts were (especially week long orange fasts) which may have been particularly unhealthy. Eating healthy is good, but some people have obsession over food and it becomes unhealthy. They think often about the food, its purity and quality as well as being very rigid.

There is self-punishment and self-esteem issues in regard to food. It can be dangerous physical, crowd out other things a person is doing and is interested in as well as causing social issues. Dr. Steven Bratman coined this term and it is not for an eating disorder officially but is very similar to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The obsession is about eating healthy though, not about thin-ness and weight loss. IT may at first be health motivated but it can also be motivated to prevent poor health, to control, for spirituality, for improving self-esteem, to try to attain thin-ness to get away from fears and to use food for identity creation.

There are a series of questions asking if you fulfill any of the criteria for this and how it affects control and self-esteem. The diet can actually be very unhealthy with self-imposed nutritional deficiencies. There are social problems that are more likely to be obvious than nutritional. Isolation because the food is what they plan their life around takes up much of the time and can no longer eat intuitively. They don’t know when to recognize they are hungry, determine the amount of food they need and how much it takes to get full and when they get full. They often find difficulties with diet due to the lack of natural eating. It can become consuming and make life difficult.

It can reduce the quality of life. If a healthy diet is taking a lot of time and attention in your life if you deviate and have self-esteem and guilt issues and use it to avoid life and keep you isolated, it is a problem. It is hard to recognize since the society presses for healthy eating and being thin. Motivation is hard to pin down since it has many sides. The orthorexic needs to admit there is a problem and determine how the obsession began. They then need to become flexible eating. They need to work through emotional issues. They need to be less dogmatic regarding food and eating.

It is not a condition a doctor will diagnose but can require professional help to address it. They need to recognize and understand eating health and that food does not make you a better person. They basing of self-esteem on diet quality is not rational. Identity needs to shift to a focus on the person who loves, works and is fun not “the person who eats healthy” and they will find that although food is important there are other things that are more important.

Pregnancy and Eating Disorders. http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/pregnancy-and-eating-disorders

Next, I read about Pregnancy and Eating disorders. A child needs the appropriate food for a fetus to be able to live and thrive to eventually be born and survive. The child needs the building blocks to make up the body. Eating disorders need to be taken care of to ensure the mother is psychologically and physical able to have and take care of a baby.

When a woman is pregnant, her body drains her to fuel the fetus. If there is not enough, the woman can become malnourished with causes serious health issues including exhaustion and depression. A woman can gain 25-35 pounds when pregnant which is important and can be scary to women with eating disorders. Some can do it as a “sacrifice” and do well and cope, while others become very depressed and most women fall in between.

Women and children are at risk. Women risk postpartum depression, nursing issues, labor issues, premature birth, depression during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, cardiac irregularities, dehydration and poor nutrition.

Children born underweight have poor development difficulties perinatal and feeding issues, respiratory issues, low birth weight for their age and premature birth. Eating disorders should be taken care of and women should have medical and psychological help and are considered at risk.

Women should be honest with health care providers, have extra appointments, talk to a nutritionist, take counseling, go to a support group and potentially take exercise class for perinatal. There are parenting skill, child development, childbirth and pregnancy classes that will be helpful. Weighing should be done but can be done without the mother monitoring by the doctor. Obsessive compulsive problems should be taken care of as well as severe depression. A schedule should be on the pregnancy schedule and therefore stressors should be reduced.

Brewerton, Timothy. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/trauma-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-and-eating-disorders

The final piece I read was on how trauma and post traumatic stress disorder affect eating disorders. Violence and other trauma can cause psychiatric disorders including eating disorders. Bulimic symptoms are particular common. Stress is overwhelming and can cause dysfunction, disease and distress. When there is too much stress it is traumatic which refers to event, experience and effects as defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. There are people who may be at more risk such as having psychological or biological and depression issues. Different people cope differently so for some people what is traumatic to one may not be traumatic to someone else.

There are two kinds of coping. Avoidant coping involves self punishment, self defeating and has a negative medical effect. Active coping involves problem solving and has better results medically. People with eating disorders are vulnerable to stress. There often have more than one disorder. They are more likely to think someone is thinking bad of them or see hostile or threats. They may be more anxious and fear loss of control. 

There are other issues that also may be involved with issues around change inhibition, anxiety, coherence, seeing the bit picture and sensitivity. Post Traumatic stress disorder is often involved nad include re-experiencing traumatic symptoms, hyperarousal symptoms, avoidance, symptoms and having mood or thinking issues when considering the traumatic event and it is chronic. Ten years after no treatment, those suffering still often have the disorder and may develop new ones. They are often used to numb trauma and reduce anxiety about he trauma. To be treated, they need to have both conditions treated. Therapy is necessary as is communicating and working with friends and medical individuals.

Work Cited

Kratina, Karin. Orthorexia Nervosa. http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/orthorexia-nervosa

Pregnancy and Eating Disorders. http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/pregnancy-and-eating-disorders

Brewerton, Timothy. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/trauma-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-and-eating-disorders