Orthorexia: When Healthfood Can Kill

I bet you’ve never heard of Orthorexia Nervosa before. Well I din’t until my friend brought up an article he read on it. Orthorexia is essentially an eating disorder where the sufferer becomes so attached to eating healthy that they turn any healthy diet into a sort of religion.

The problem with the Orthorexic is that he or she is so strict that they end up breaking their diet forcing them to become more extreme in return until they move onto another diet. Those suffering from Orthorexia typically cannot tolerate the “lower” eating habits of others and tend to eat by themselves and even try not to socialize with others, although in the beginning this may not be the case since they still have hopes of “converting” others to their world view. All in all there has only been one recorded case of death by orthorexia, but it still ill-boding as it is an eating disorder on the rise.

The inner pain of letting go to my eating disorder

There is always a chance that you’ll miss it,

my therapist had said to me, referring to the possibility that the attention I garnered through my eating disorder would leave a void inside draggin me back to the bowels of anorexia. So far I have felt pain. Pain at time lost and time spent being someone I know I am not, but miss it…NO WAY.

Eating Disorders and Depression

Many people have jumped on the bandwagon about social pressure being a cause for eating disorders.  I reject that.  I believe it can exacerbate the problem but not cause it.  I believe that most eating disorder sufferers that I talk to are depressed (I was one of them) and use food and their relationship to it as an escape from their depression.

Eating Disorders: One Vomit Too Much

I never liked vommiting when I was a kid, but began to experiment with it due to my anorexia.  It’s hard to explain why us anorexic vomit.  Some I know enjoy it.  It is a sense of relief for them.  The rationalist vomit inorder to keep their weight down.

I for have had vomitted one time too many and know it is time to stop.  Vomitting just isn’t fun anymore.

Anorexic Struggles

For me it has always been a struggle, an inner war that has waged between the two me’s.  On one hand there is the fun, happy, and joyous me and on the hand there is the solitary, depressed, and scared of being fat me.  These two personalities are dueling with eachother, constantly vieing for control.  I admit I am an anorexic and struggle with it daily.

Feeling Great!

I feel great today. I went out for an early walk and then I planning on going to vote as soon as I am done with this post.  Oh you ask who? Why isn’t everyone voting Obama?

EDNOS

EDNOS always seemed like a strange name for an eating disorders, but when you explore a little more  you begin to realize that no other name makes as much sense.  EDNOS stands for Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified.  Essentially EDNOS are eating disorders that have some symptoms of a a known eating disorder, but not all of them.  For example, someone might have body image issues, but can maintain their body weight despite the obvious distaste for food.

EDNOS makes it very hard to figure out if it really is a eating disorder affecting the person or not and it is this reason which makes them so dangerous.

Bulimia Treatment: CBT

CBT or Cognitive Behavior Treatment is probably one of the most successful ways to treat bulimia.  Although it has become a fairly common treatment I though I would post a link to an article about CBT anyway.

Orthorexia Video

Here is a personal account of orthorexia:

Eating Disorder: Compulsive Overeating Disorder

Compulsive Overeating Disorder can be discribed as bulimia without the purging.  Those with a compulsive overeating disorder binge all the time, often to the point where their stomoch hurts.  Although many gain a tremdous amount of weight, their weight gain is a source of puzzlement for onlookers sice they rarely eat in public.  Compulsive overeating disorder is a major contributor of obesity in the Western world.