In Anorexia Nervosa (AN) sufferers:
• Will try to keep their weight as low as possible by not eating and/or over-exercising
• Are likely to be medically underweight
• Will often experience themselves as fat which they find very distressing
• Might have obsessive or compulsive tendencies especially around food
In Bulimia Nervosa (BN) sufferers:
• Will binge eat (eat a large amount of food in a short time) and then ‘Purge’ (find a way to ‘get rid’ of the binged food. This might be through making themselves vomit, through using laxatives, or by using extreme exercise.
• May be very secretive about their behaviours and feel deeply ashamed of them
• May be any size or weight
• Are likely to see experience themselves as fat, which will be extremely distressing to them.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED), sufferers:
• Will eat very large amounts of food in short amounts of time
• May feel ‘out of control’ or ‘in a trance’ when binge eating and continue eating even when full
• Could live in a larger body (be overweight) or have a high BMI
• Feel extreme shame about their eating
Many more people may have other forms of Disordered Eating; sufferers may:
• Struggle with their relationship with food and weight and may experience great distress with some symptoms from AN, BN or BED (see OSFED)
• Experience obsessions or compulsions around food and eating (see orthorexia, ARFID)
• Struggle with eating a range of foods or with the texture or other aspects of food or the feeling of being full (see ARFID)
• Use food as a way to self-soothe or comfort themselves and then experience guilt or shame
ARFID – Avoidant or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
OSFED – Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder – used when someone may have some symptoms of another ED but does not fully match the medical criteria – this is still a serious mental illness
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