“I’m crying over a plate of dumplings.” How do people with eating disorders live?

There is a situation when a person begins to feel afraid of eating specific foods. An example is a case where eating grapes caused severe angioedema in a woman, as a result of which her friend, who was nearby, experienced a strong shock from the sight of what was happening, began to excessively limit herself in food and within a month lost 10 kilograms. However, she was not overweight at all. There are many such examples, but now let’s take the described story as a basis and try to derive ways to solve this problem.

Problems with food perception

Eating disorders are a group of psychogenic diseases accompanied by an inadequate attitude towards food, one’s body and physical activity.

The main indicator is a pathological relationship with food. In this case, a person may experience uncontrolled overeating or, conversely, refusal to eat. Another option is to eat only certain types of foods.

The most common types of the disorder are anorexia nervosa and bulimia. But there are other forms:

• psychogenic overeating;
• drankorexia - replacing food with alcohol;
• orthorexia – pathological desire for proper nutrition;
• nonspecific eating disorder;
• pregorexia – eating disorder in pregnant women;
• allotriophagy – absorption of inedible objects. These could be nails, soil, pieces of wood;
• selective nutrition - preference for a certain type of food. The selection criterion can be anything – shape, color, type. At the same time, other products are completely rejected.

Whatever the form of the disorder, it is accompanied by mental imbalance. The patient is in a state of anxiety, excitability or apathy, and is capable of falling into depression. In some cases, self-rejection is observed, that is, dissatisfaction with one’s body, as well as self-flagellation, for example, exhausting physical activity after a regular portion of food.

An inadequate relationship with food causes physiological problems. Among them are disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, urinary system, osteoporosis, anemia, vitamin deficiencies, and mineral deficiency. In severe cases, food pathologies cause irreversible processes in vital organs and lead to death.

Eating disorders are a problem primarily for women, and not only for young and middle-aged women. About 13% of them are women over 50. But men are also not protected from this scourge. It has been established that 35% of the stronger sex have such disorders.

Doctors' advice

Sitophobia is a serious disorder that must be treated promptly. The combination of drug treatment and psychotherapy gives a good result, noticeable after 1-2 months. Having achieved a reduction in the symptoms of the disorder, the psychotherapist gradually leads the patient to understand the need for a balanced and timely diet.

If a small child or teenager is faced with a problem, the parents’ task is not to criticize eating behavior, but to encourage the child. In other words, for every piece of solid food eaten, doctors recommend praising the child, and not reproaching him for eating so little.

It is almost impossible to overcome sittophobia on your own, since drug therapy plays an important role here. In this regard, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible, before the problem develops into a severe mental disorder.

What is the problem

Almost all experts are sure that the reason for such violations lies in the psychological state of a person. In his perception of himself, his attitudes and values. There is a physiological theory of the problem, but it is rather shaky.

According to her, an irrational attitude towards food is formed on the basis of impaired metabolism. Another problem is an imbalance of neurotransmitters, in particular serotonin.

Psychological factors play a decisive role. They are divided into several categories.

1. Comes from childhood . Research has found that girls raised in families with emotionally cold parents most often suffer from anorexia and bulimia. They themselves claimed that the relationship with both their father and mother was negative. The first was distinguished by restraint and emotionlessness towards his daughter, and the second was the dominant one in the family, with overprotection and a desire for perfection. In such a family, the girls did not find support or adequate understanding of their actions. Growing up, the child sought to please others and sought their approval. The thought of him doing the wrong thing or looking inappropriate causes anxiety and tension. Losing weight to the point of exhaustion in this case is the desire for perfection, for an ideal image. There is an assertion that anorexia, bulimia and, as a consequence, physical exhaustion are an attempt to escape into childhood, the presence of emotional dependence on a tyrannical mother and a problem in separation from the family, fear of acquiring the forms of an adult.
2. Social norms . Society dictates its ideals to us. In the modern world, the ideal of beauty, attractiveness and success is a slender, thin figure. Fatness tends to become a symbol of hostility, ugliness and ridicule. Because of this stereotypical thinking, many people put themselves through eating trials to the point of exhaustion and insanity. For example, Christina Richie was the owner of curvy figures until journalists began to make fun of her. After that, she saw a program about anorexia on TV and she herself became its hostage. Such dangerous experiments brought her to a rehabilitation center.
3. Heredity . It has been established that if one of the relatives suffered from eating disorders, then there is a possibility of passing this tendency on to descendants. Bulimia and anorexia are more than 50% hereditary.
4. Stress . Any traumatic events and changes in life are accompanied by emotional stress, worries, and their manifestations often involve eating habits. One person develops apathy and aversion to food. Others, on the contrary, eat away at their stress.

Angelina Jolie, with a height of 169 cm, weighed only 37 kg. According to her, constant stress pushed her to anorexia nervosa: the death of her mother, divorce from her husband, operations to remove the ovaries and breasts. The director of the film “Maleficent” forced her to return to a more or less normal weight. He set the condition for her to gain at least 10 kg in order for her to be approved for the role.

“I feel cramped within myself”

Photo: depositphotos/photographee.eu

Evgeniya, 52 years old

I increasingly catch myself thinking that life is cramped and uninteresting for me: my entire existence revolves around food. I am ready to eat always and everywhere, in huge quantities. Sometimes this makes me scared. There were times when I was only concerned about food, I forgot about my family and friends. I have an adult daughter, her father died in a car accident. And I died after the death of my husband. I had prolonged depression, I could sit on the couch and eat all day. I forgot about everything, even about my daughter - my mother took care of her.

I would eat my fill, then drink a glass of water, go to the toilet and make myself vomit.

For some time I went to sessions with a psychologist, I managed to climb out of this hole, but these bouts of gluttony are returning. I tried to watch my figure, sometimes I fought for the treasured kilograms using not the healthiest methods. The doctor diagnosed bulimia nervosa. I took a course at the Institute of Nutrition, went to hypnotic sessions, and as a result, some psychotherapist prescribed me antidepressants.

At some point I realized: “I don’t want to live like this anymore.” I changed my doctor and stopped taking the pills. I'm tired of just living and chewing my life. I eat right and exercise. In a year I lost 15 kilograms. And this is not the limit.

Antidepressants simply temporarily suppress the symptom. These are all attempts to reduce anxiety. As soon as a person stops taking the pills, the problem returns. If the patient cannot understand the situation on his own, experts recommend undergoing a course of psychotherapy or hypnotherapy - it all depends on the degree of anxiety.

Anorexia nervosa

It is the most common form of eating disorder, with 1 person dying from it every hour worldwide.
Anorexia is abstinence from eating, despite the vital need for it. It can be a consequence of metabolic and hormonal disorders, infections, and cancer.

When a person deliberately limits himself to food in order to lose weight, they speak of anorexia nervosa. As a rule, the disease often starts in adolescence.

Adolescence and adolescence are the most suggestible stages of development. Under the influence of social ideals, and often ridicule from their peers, girls subject themselves to torturous diets, while striving to acquire, as they claim, ideal forms. People who are overweight are especially susceptible to this.

A special personality type also provokes the disorder. Self-doubt, low self-esteem, perfectionism - these are the character traits that push teenagers to such a pathological step towards perfection.

The main criteria for diagnosing the disease are:

• reducing body weight by 15%, maintaining it within these limits;
• weight loss occurs due to a person’s intentional restriction of their diet;
• the use of additional means: diet pills, provoking vomiting, the use of diuretics and laxatives;
• obesity becomes an obsessive fear, and losing weight becomes an extremely valuable idea that occupies the entire consciousness;
• endocrine disorders. In women - absence of menstruation, in men - decreased potency and sexual desire.

With anorexia nervosa, a person experiences obvious changes in behavior. He is completely obsessed with the idea of ​​losing weight, reads relevant literature, watches TV programs, and carries on conversations exclusively on this topic.

The teenager refuses to share meals with his family and limits his communication with relatives. Spends hours in front of the mirror, looking at himself.

Even with obvious dystrophy, an anorexic patient expresses complete confidence in his completeness. He is in a depressed mood. Becomes aggressive, irritable. He has problems sleeping.

On the other hand, a person has a culinary interest. He prepares masterpieces for his loved ones, but doesn’t try them himself; he eats himself

Presumably, in very small portions, often on the go.

Anorexia nervosa is a rather dangerous disease. Among its complications are arrhythmias, digestive disorders, and decreased thyroid function. Bones become brittle, increasing the risk of fractures. The brain decreases in size, and as a result, mental activity decreases. Mental disorders develop.

This violation has become a truly acute problem for modern society. The situation is aggravated by widespread propaganda, in particular on social networks.

A famous example is the case of two twin sisters. On one of the social networks, the girls organized their own group in which they published the progress of their weight loss experiment. One of them decided to reduce her weight to 35 kg. The outcome was tragic - she died in her sleep due to exhaustion. Before this, the girl, trying to commit suicide, jumped from the fourth floor, but survived. The reason for the suicide attempt was weight gain from 33 to 44 kg. The horror of the situation also lies in the fact that many, after death, girls admired her.

“I didn’t even immediately notice what I was eating”

Tatyana Sh. realized that something was wrong with her when she suddenly gained weight.

“I saw the changes in the mirror, but at first I thought that I probably just needed to eat less. And then I had a nervous breakdown and a psychotherapist diagnosed me with clinical depression. An additional diagnosis was “eating disorder,” which refers to compulsive overeating,” she says.

The cause was a neurobiochemical disorder due to a banal lack of sleep. Tatyana’s youngest son slept very poorly at night, and so did his mother. As a result, as the specialist explained to her, the girl woke up all the time in the deep sleep phase: her body did not rest.

Collage: Anna Lukyanova

“Roughly speaking, the supply of serotonin has been depleted. It stopped affecting my mood, and I tried to compensate for it with food. I ate all the time. When I found myself next to the refrigerator or something lying on the table, then, even if I was not hungry, I would eat until the last piece stood in my throat. I couldn't do anything about it. Moreover, I didn’t even immediately notice that I was eating, it became such a background, mechanical action that awareness came only after,” recalls Tatyana.

The “overeating diet” consisted mainly of fast food and sweets. The girl scolded herself very much for this, even tried to punish her: she bought sweets for her husband and children, and she just watched them eat.

“I felt very bad both morally and physically: on the one hand, I also wanted something tasty, on the other hand, I said to myself: “You’ve already gained so much from these tasty treats, so now sit and watch others eat what you love,” explains Tatiana.

It took the girl a year to cope with the problem: drug therapy prescribed by a psychotherapist made a big contribution to her recovery.

“Compulsive overeating is often based on a feeling of internal dissatisfaction, resentment, emptiness that you want to fill. In this context - food. But food does not give this feeling, and even more disappointment appears, which again “eats,” notes psychotherapist Anna Chernigova.

Bulimia

Bulimic disorder is also a very common eating disorder. Its owner is terribly afraid of gaining weight, and therefore closely monitors his weight.

The main difference between anorexia and bulimia is that patients with anorexia do not strive to maintain weight, but to reduce it, and impressively.

A patient with bulimia strives to keep his weight at a constant figure so that it does not creep up. People with normal body weight can suffer from bulimia.

In this disorder, the patient is besieged by bouts of gluttony. The person does not control himself; he eats everything. And then, in order not to gain weight, he tries to get rid of what he has eaten. To do this, he provokes vomiting, takes laxatives, or tortures himself with physical activity. The disorder may also occur without signs of overeating.

Such patients are very ashamed of their illness and try to hide it from the public.

The development of the disorder sometimes lasts for several years. This is due to the fact that its flow can be intermittent. That is, with moments of enlightenment, when a person does not feel the urge to overeat or get rid of what he has eaten.

Systematic intentional vomiting leads to tooth decay, burns of the esophagus, and stomach cramps. It also provokes increased activity of the salivary glands, which is why they increase in size and the face becomes puffy.

Popular singer Britney Spears suffered from bulimia. The disease overtook her at the age of 16, and she was diagnosed in a rehabilitation center, where the girl was treated for drug and alcohol addiction. Doctors noticed that the drugs did not work on the patient. It turned out that the reason for everything was vomiting, deliberately provoked due to the developed mental disorder - bulimia.

"I can't resist pizza"

Photo: depositphotos/Peteer

Igor, 24 years old

I have problems with being overweight. I admit it and even fight it, but I’m still not moving anywhere. All these restrictions, on the contrary, stimulate feelings of hunger, resentment and anger at the whole world. I feel like I've tried every diet possible, with no success.

While dieting I feel limited, resentful and deprived

I just love to eat delicious food. It seems to me that this is inherent in every person. Sometimes I eat a little more than normal, and because of my tendency to be overweight, I instantly gain weight. Recently I saw the number 125 on the scale. I started to panic, but sweets helped me get rid of it. I think that in my case the only solution is sports. I will never be able to give up my favorite pizza forever.

“Physical activity allows you to compensate for the pleasure that a person gets from overeating. Within 15 minutes after the first step, endorphins are released into the bloodstream with their opioid-like effects, that is, exactly the same as those that can be obtained from refined foods that bring joy. So the best pill for compulsive overeating is to just start moving,” explained nutritionist Margarita Koroleva.

Orthorex

Orthorexia is a pathological desire to eat exclusively healthy, wholesome foods. Such people are terribly afraid of products with GMOs, preservatives, and various biological additives. They do not accept store-bought meat; they strive to buy exclusively “village” products.

The second feature of such people is a feeling of superiority over others. A person is proud of his self-control, but takes others for a gray unprincipled mass.

Orthorex limits itself to many foods, depriving itself of useful nutrients.

And finally, another important feature of these patients is their obsession with sports. He occupies a leading place in their lives. For his sake, a person neglects social connections and various activities. Even if he is sick, he still continues to study. Sport for a person takes on a manic orientation. He can train for several hours, 2-3 times a day.

Scientists have calculated that the total number of hours of exercise should not exceed five per week. Anything more refers to obsessive training syndrome.

Alcohol diet

Or drankorexia is a psychogenic disorder in which food intake is replaced by alcohol for the purpose of weight loss. Adherents of this diet think like this: in large quantities, alcohol dulls the feeling of hunger, plus it improves your mood. It is worth mentioning how wrong they are and what are the real consequences of such “nutrition”:

• alcohol addiction - constant hunger forces you to increase the amount of alcoholic drinks;
• damage to vital organs;
• mental degradation;
• impaired interaction with other people;
• tendency towards antisocial behavior.

It should be noted that drankorexia combines manifestations of two disorders at once - alcoholism and anorexia. But, despite the serious consequences, this violation was never recognized as an official disorder.

Here's an example: a 17-year-old girl managed to lose more than half of her weight. While this process was taking place, her parents naively believed that she was intensely involved in sports. And only when their daughter began to experience pain in the liver area, she underwent examination. Then the reason for her amazing weight loss became clear.

Treatment of drankorexia involves combining several areas.

1. Removing toxic substances from the body through detoxification therapy.
2. Getting rid of alcohol addiction.
3. Consultation with a nutritionist to gradually include certain foods in the diet.

We are looking for the cause of fear

As you know, in any problem it is necessary, first of all, to look for the cause of its occurrence. In the case of the girl, the cause of her fear of food, which in scientific terminology is positioned as “cybophobia,” was the stress she experienced from seeing her friend suffer after she ate grapes. It is worth noting that in a stressful state, a person is especially susceptible emotionally, which became a supporting factor for the girl’s brain to create for itself the program “food is the enemy of health!”

Pregnancy and diet

One cannot ignore such a condition as pregorexia. It applies exclusively to pregnant women and consists of following strict diets and a strict training schedule even during pregnancy.

As a rule, it is very difficult for such a woman to accept the fact of her interesting position. Fearing weight gain, the appearance of edema and stretch marks, the expectant mother continues to restrict herself in food and exercise.

This disorder has its own risk group. As a rule, it includes women who previously, before pregnancy, suffered from psychogenic eating disorders, as well as suggestible individuals who follow approved standards.

The expectant mother must understand how such a lifestyle will affect her baby. Lack of nutrition will lead to underdevelopment of the fetus, because the baby does not receive vital nutrients.

ed elements. He faces anemia, dystrophy, and, probably, developmental abnormalities.

In addition, the following paradox is quite possible: in pursuit of beauty, a woman will lose even what she has. She shares her scarce supply of essential nutrients in half with the baby, so not only the child’s body suffers, but hers too. The result is dull, useless hair, brittle nails, and sagging skin. That is why it is so necessary for the expectant mother to receive a complete set of all important nutritional elements, to eat properly and balanced.

During pregnancy, a woman can gain weight from 5 to 18 kg - it all depends on her initial weight and this is quite normal.

Compulsive eating disorder

In particular, this applies to overeating. It is manifested by uncontrollable consumption of food, but, unlike bulimia, without subsequent vomiting, taking laxatives and other similar substances. Gluttony becomes an obsessive action, from which the patient experiences suffering and remorse. It is more common in people aged 48–60 years.

The violation is accompanied by the following features:

• a person eats even if he is not hungry;
• food is absorbed very quickly;
• a person does not control the amount of food eaten. Sometimes caloric intake exceeds the usual figures by 10 times.

Since the patient eats very quickly, the feeling of fullness comes to him late. He eats food to the point of physical discomfort.

The person is very embarrassed about his illness and eats alone. And after such a feast he experiences a feeling of shame and self-hatred.

People suffering from this disorder are mostly overweight. But there are also quite normosthenic patients.

Typically, an attack of gluttony overcomes a person in moments of emotional stress, sadness, and depression. It can consume food for several hours.

Quite often, this condition originates from childhood, when parents encourage the child’s hefty appetite from an early age. They themselves offer him something tasty when, for example, the child is upset. And this pattern, that is, eating away stress and negative emotions, a person retains into adulthood.

It also happens that a patient goes on a diet for a long time, and then breaks down and starts eating a lot. Or the opposite option, when the appetite wakes up before the planned diet.

Often the cause of this compulsion is chronic stress or acute psychological trauma.

Heredity can also cause this disorder. This is due to three genes responsible for the feeling of fullness and stimulation of appetite. If their work is disrupted, then a person is not able to feel full in time after eating, and it is difficult for him to satisfy his appetite. Sometimes he doesn’t understand whether he wants to eat or not.

Naturally, such poor nutrition has a negative impact on the body’s condition, causing heart disease, diabetes, and breathing problems. Plus, such people are constantly in a bad mood, they are dissatisfied with themselves and systematically reproach themselves for such behavior. And this is fraught with the development of depression and other affective disorders.

“The most difficult thing is going to grandma’s”

I’m eight years old, and I’ve been crying over a plate of dumplings for two hours now.
I'd rather die than eat them. I hate to even look. Sometimes tears fall straight into the film-covered cold broth, and this makes it even more disgusting: it seems as if there is some kind of connection between my body and the minced meat peeking out from under the dough. My parents still think that I’m just too picky about food. Their favorite phrase: “If there was nothing to eat, I would immediately change my mind.” For a long time they believed that I would “outgrow my whims.” But I haven't outgrown it.

I am now thirty and have Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). I don't eat mixed. At all. I have never tried your usual salads, soups, pizza, sushi, burgers... This list can be listed endlessly, it’s easier to name what I can eat: rice, buckwheat, potatoes, poultry, nuts, fruits, some vegetables, sweets and some types of snacks. Everything is separate and it is advisable that the products in the plate do not come into contact with each other.

The most difficult thing for me is going to grandma’s house, having dinner with relatives or having dinner with a large company. There will always be a person enthusiastically thrusting a vinaigrette or roll under my nose: “This is very tasty, try at least a drop!” If my refusal is accepted the first time, luck is on my side. But more often than not, “no” only inflames the advisers, and then the whole week is ruined. At home I will definitely cry with disgust, and the memory will haunt me for several more days.

Anna Chernigova, psychotherapist

I was diagnosed a couple of years ago, but it didn’t come to therapy. I’m afraid of the result: I immediately imagine myself scooping Olivier out of the pan with a ladle without the slightest disgust, and I can barely restrain the urge to vomit.

“A person does not refuse to eat, he wants to eat under certain conditions. Such symptoms may be associated with a feeling of internal insecurity. This kind of ordering gives a person a sense of security, helps to cope with anxiety, the fear of experiencing emotions that will frustrate him,” explains psychotherapist Anna Chernigova.