Eating Disorders Essay Example

Feeding and Eating Disorders

It is well-known that American Psychiatric Association issued the 5th edition of the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ in 2013. The above mentioned publication explains and particularizes all of the prognostic and symptomatic criteria for different mental disorders, involving all feeding and eating disorders. In fact, the 4th edition of the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ contained a diagnosing with a title ‘eating disorder: not otherwise specified’ or also known ED-NOS (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Nevertheless, the fifth edition widens the frame of the diagnosing predicament and supersedes the category with the fresh entitlements, including ‘other specified feeding or eating disorders’ and ‘unspecified feeding or eating disorders’ (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Persons who have various eating disorders may individually diverge in a number of different ways, even when they are able to assert that both of them have the identical eating disorder diagnosis (Striegel-Moore, Wonderlich, Walsh, & Mitchell, 2011). For instance, individuals with anorexia, may allot nervosity concerning consumption and may pose serious limitations on the food, which they are and are not permitted to consume (Cooperman, 2008). Such dissimilarities are ordinary, as all people are individuals, and their causes for doing something or comporting in a particular way have a tendency to differentiate. However, there are cases when the dissimilarities are so marginal that they put the individual in a completely distinct diagnostic predicament. Therefore, people with such transfigurations may be diagnosed with eating or feeding disorder (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009).

The majority of eating disorders dealt with in the society are atypical and not typical. Any eating disorder is considered to be atypical in a case when it has characteristics and attributes, which amply bear semblance of the typical form; for example, of typical anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Cooperman, 2008). Nevertheless, the atypical format does not converge the detailed diagnostic criteria of either case.

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The paper analyzes specified feeding and eating disorders together with unspecified feeding and eating disorders and provide major symptoms, problems and possible treatment to each case.

The symptoms may be as following:

• Firstly, an individual’s weight might just above the prognostic and symptomatic threshold utilized for anorexia nervosa (Morris, 2008).
• Secondly, a person might frequently meet with the problem of binge eating and refining (including the process of vomiting or enforced bowel motion) (Striegel-Moore et al., 2011).
• Thirdly, a person might be extremely over-concerned with his/ her weight, body image and shape.
• Fourthly, women should understand that they face atypical eating and feeding disorder in a case when their body mass index is lower the 17.5, while menstruation still transpires (Cooperman, 2008).

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder

Such a category contributes to covering all eating and feeding disorders known to provoke “clinically significant distress” (Morris, 2008). As a matter of fact, they do not presently coincide with the criteria of any other feeding or eating disorder, incorporating binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, or noncontact/ confined food intake disorder (Morris, 2008).

A number of eating and feeding disorders fall under this category, including atypical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, purging disorder, and night eating syndrome (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

• Firstly, it goes about atypical Anorexia Nervosa. This eating and feeding disorder concerns a person, who demonstrates all signs of the typical anorexia, however, a person has not currently lost a substantive amount of weight (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
• The next one is Bulimia Nervosa. This eating and feeding disorder applies to the cases when all criteria of the typical bulimia are presented, but the surfeit and compensative conduct appear less than the indispensable one time per week or have been appearing for less than three months.
• Binge Eating Disorder demonstrates the fact that all of the typical criteria for binge-eating disorder are presented excepting the fact that occurs less than one time a week or has been appearing for a shorter period of time, than three months.
• Purging Disorder is homogeneous with bulimia nervosa due to the fact that an individual utilized inadequate conducts, including self-constrained disgorging, abuse of cathartics and diuretic medications or extreme level of exercising (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, a person is not engaged in binge eating.
• Finally, Night Eating Syndrome appears when a person suffers from superfluous food consumption or binge eating, however, this has to appear only upon awakening from sleep (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). As a matter of fact, a person might consume a general mass of the esculent intake in the period of nighttime hours.

According to the data presented by U.S. National Library of Medicine, there are peculiar notes and seals which an individual has to display in order to get a diagnosis of anorexia.

1. First of all, it goes about the anxiety of weight gain (Kirkpatrick & Calwell, 2004).
2. Secondly, it is a denial to keep and preserve the weight standards at 85% of the estimated norm (Cooperman, 2008).
3. Third, it goes about an awry body image.
4. And fourthly, it is a shortage of at least three menstrual cycles, in case when an individual is a female.

No one can be really certain concerning the reasons, which cause various eating and feeding disorders. It is believed that dating disorders might be provoked by oppression and restlessness. This might be the method to deal with all uncontrollable feelings and sensations (Morris, 2008).

Thus, in this case, eating is something an individual can manage and have some control over. However, the situation changes when eating starts to control an individual. A number of researchers consider that eating disorders are provoked by the current culture, which has the main accent on the fact of being slim and appealing. The culture stresses the images of thin and skinny models appearing all around the media. The culture points to the improbability of unnaturally thin Barbie dolls, which girls see all their childhood and grow up playing with them and the image of slim beautifulness (Cooperman, 2008). Other researchers consider that eating disorders are provoked by childhood abuse. There might be a correlation between these two facts, however, it is obvious that not all children who were abused evolve various eating disorders. Moreover, certainly not all individuals who evolve different feeding and eating disorders were abused being children. Thus, no one knows for sure the genuine reason behind the development of eating and feeding disorders (Morris, 2008).

Atypical Anorexia Nervosa

Such a disorder complies a number of characteristics of typical anorexia nervosa, however, the overall clinical picture of a person does not exculpate the typical disorder diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). For example, one of the major symptoms, such as amenorrhoea, which stands for the absenteeism of menstrual period, together with the fear of becoming fat, might be missing in the appearance of the noticeable weight loss and weight-diminishing conduct (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009). Despite the fact that individuals with atypical anorexia might have little distinctive formats of the eating and feeding disorder, they do have a mental illness, which means that these individuals require assistance to be able to heal. These problems are not on the list of issues, which have a tendency to fix on their own (Cooperman, 2008). In addition, atypical formats of the disorder are just as essential and solid as in the case of an ordinary format of the disease. Individuals with atypical anorexia will require assistance to learn how to manage their strong desires in order to limit their consumption. Thus, they will require assistance in handling mental exertion and pressure (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009).

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Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa, which is commonly invited bulimia, is considered to be demure, potentially life-hazardous eating and feeding disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals, who have bulimia, may furtively debauch, while consuming huge quantities of food, and later refine, attempting to liquidate the additional calories in an extremely harmful and injurious unhealthy way (Morris, 2008). There are several major symptoms of bulimia nervosa. To start off with, it is a deficiency of manage and control over eating. Next, it is incapacity to cease eating. At this point, it goes about a person consuming food up until the moment of physical inconvenience and ache. Moreover, it goes about the desire of a person to eat in privacy, transforming the process of eating in a secret operation (Cooperman, 2008). What is more, it is the desire to consume outstandingly huge quantities of food having no apparent alteration in weight levels. And finally, it is a tendency to alternate between overfeeding and abstaining from food (Cooperman, 2008).

Bulimia may be classified in two categories:

• Refining bulimia. A person self-enforces disgorging or abuse cathartics, diuretic medicines or clysters after debauching on a regular basis.
• Non-refining bulimia. A person utilized other ways to liquidate calories and impede the gaining of weight. These methods include abstaining from food, stern dieting or immoderate exercising (Morris, 2008).

Nevertheless, these conducts frequently overlay, and the endeavor of a person to eliminated additional calories is typically appealed to as refining. People who have bulimia are usually obsessed with their weight and body shape, and might estimate and umpire themselves strictly and outrageously for their self-recognized disadvantages (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009). Due to the fact that everything is connected with self-image and not food as such, bulimia may be intricate to outdo. Nevertheless, efficient therapy and treatment can assist a person to feel better concerning oneself, opt more robust eating schemes and invert solid sequel. Bulimia is considered to be a complex and synthetical emotional problem. Therefore, it has to be treated by doctor in order to help to recover from alternating consuming schemes and negative influences of bulimia provoked life-style (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009).

Binge-Eating Disorder

Binge-eating disorder is a solid feeding and eating disorder, which is characterized by the fact that a person often consumes outstandingly huge quantities of food (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It is obvious that practically each person overfeeds from time to time, especially during some holiday meals. However, in a case of a number of people, overfeeding goes too far and reaches the line of binge-eating disorder, thus, overfeeding becomes an ordinate incident, typically done secretly (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009). When a person has binge-eating disorder, he/she may be seriously low-spirited concerning engorging and desire to stop overfeeding. Nevertheless, they feel such a constraint that they are unable to object to the impulses and pursue the process of binge eating (Morris, 2008). Binge-eating disorder can be classified according to a number of signs and symptoms. Firstly, people who have binge eating disorder are humbled and abashed of their consuming habits, therefore, they frequently attempt to conceal their symptoms and consume food secretly. In fact, many binge eaters have problems with extra weigh, but some of them are of ordinary weight standards. Secondly, people feel incapacity to cease eating or control and manage food that they are consuming. Thirdly, they have a tendency to rapidly eat huge quantities of food. Fourthly, they consume food even when they feel that they are full. Fifthly, people who suffer from a disorder feel stress or pressure, an can only be alleviated with the help of eating (Morris, 2008).

In fact, binge eating causes a broad multitude of physical, emotive, and societal issues. Those people who have binge eating disorder account for higher number of various health cases, pressures, sleeplessness, and suicidal ideas on a contrary to people, who have no eating disorder. In fact, doldrums, various concerns, and substance abuse are typical side effects. However, the most distinct influence of binge eating disorder stands for the gaining of weight. With the time, coercive overfeeding typically provokes the appearing of obesity (Cooperman, 2008). In addition, obesity, in turn, leads to multiple medical sequels, incorporating particular types of cancer, elevated levels of cholesterol, heart disease, sleep apnea, gastrointestinal issues, gallbladder disease, etc. Thus, the disorder has to be treated with the doctor assistance in order to help to recover from alternating consuming schemes and negative influences of bulimia provoked life-style (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009).

Purging Disorder

Purging disorder is known to be a freshly acknowledged disorder, which is characterized by the fact that people of ordinary or even below average weight refine after consuming food. This process is typically performed with the help of vomiting (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, there are several different refining methods from the above-mentioned, which incorporate the usage of cathartics in order to accelerate the movement of food within the digestive system, which allows less food to be absorbed by the organism; and the usage of diuretic medicines in order to eliminate the water weight from the organism. This disorder is different from bulimia nervosa due to the fact that people with bulimia debauch before the process of refining and purging. On the other hand, purging eating disorder does not give a desire to debauch (Morris, 2008). In addition, people with such an eating disorder as bulimia may also abstain from food and perform extensive exercising in order to remunerate for the huge quantities of food, which they consume, while people suffering from purging eating disorder do not do these things. It is considered that purging eating disorder might become more generic than anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa combined together (Cooperman, 2008).

Purging eating disorder may possess a lot of medical risks and hazards. In fact, they vary according to the refining and purging methods utilized by a person. The major hazards incorporate anemia, hypotension (which stands for the low blood pressure), electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, arrhythmia, stomach ulcers, broken blood vessels in eyes, thus decreased standard of visions, etc. (Kirkpatrick & Calwell, 2004). In addition, purging eating disorder causes concerns and doldrums. It is obvious that various concerns, stresses and doldrums can provoke purging eating disorder, which means that everything works both ways (Morris, 2008). Individuals who suffer from a purging disorder might become clinically oppressed and even suicidal in the ideas.

Due to the fact that purging disorder is a freshly acknowledged disorder, a particular therapy protocol has not been evolved. There is no certainty concerning the fact whether the treatment similar to the utilized bulimic victims will be efficient for individuals having purging eating disorder (Kirkpatrick & Calwell, 2004). Currently, the best advisable therapy goes about the fact that physician has to supervise any medical issues, which result from the disorder, and a dietician is supposed to assist with a robust and healthy eating frame and nutrition instructions, while a counselor has to teach robust coping capacities (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009).

Night Eating Syndrome

Night eating syndrome is considered to be a debilitating condition. In the case of such a disorder, a person eats minimum 25% of his/her calories at night on a regular basis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It actually means that a person considers that in the case when he/she does not eat a piece of cake or some food before going to bed, it will be impossible for him/her to relax and fall asleep (Kirkpatrick & Calwell, 2004). Night eating syndrome also stands for the fact that a person will wake up during the night with the feeling that the consumption of food will help to go back to sleep (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009). People with such a disorder may suffer from fatness, sleeplessness, doldrums, and stresses (Striegel-Moore et al., 2011). Nevertheless, this disorder is considered to be more prevailing than anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Morris, 2008). A person with night eating syndrome compulsively eats more than half of his/her caloric intake after eight o’clock in the evening on a daily basis. Unlike sleeping disorders, people suffering from night eating syndrome are completely awake and conversant of all eating occasions (Cooperman, 2008). The disorder is different from bingeing disorders due to the fact that portions consumed are commonly in a form of snacks and not large meals. Moreover, the disorder is divergent from bulimia nervosa, as there are no compensative or purging conducts in order to diminish the elevated calorie intake. Night eating syndrome may be treated differently from the previous disorders. The neurotransmitter serotonin is considered to play a crucial role for night eating syndrome. There are many facts, which demonstrate that therapy with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be helpful (Kirkpatrick & Calwell, 2004). The treatments can also include the establishment of a normal timetable, which will incorporate the process of gaining appropriate quantity of sleeping together with oppression supervision, assistance, instructing, and restricting the substances, which infringe sleeping, such as caffeine and alcohol (Golden, Peterson, & Kramer, 2009).

Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder

This category relates to cases, where symptoms intrinsic of a feeding and eating disorder, which cause clinically essential pressure or aggravation in societal, professional, or other essential spheres of practices, surpass but do not meet the complete criteria for any of the disorders in the feeding and eating disorders diagnostic classification (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The unspecified feeding and eating disorder category is utilized in the cases when the clinician decides not to frame the causes according to which the criteria are not met for a particular feeding and eating disorder. Therefore, the clinician requires additional and more sufficient data in order to make a complete or more specific diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Conclusion

There are specified and unspecified feeding and eating disorders. The current world provides us with a picture of slimness and skinniness as major constituent of beauty and attractiveness. People attempt to get rid of undesirable calories and additional weight in a number of ways. Nevertheless, anxiety and depression provoke people to suffer from a wide variety of disorders. Therefore, it is highly important to address the clinician who will help to change one’s life and to deal with a serious problem caused by low self-esteem.