Part 3

Causes

Eating Disorders are about feelings, not food.

Eating Disorders are not just about food and weight. They are an attempt
to use food intake and weight control to manage emotional conflicts that
actually have little or nothing to do with food or weight. Eating
disorders do not occur in an otherwise satisfied, productive, and
emotionally healthy person. People with eating disorders are struggling
with a number of emotional problems. This may be a hard concept to
accept. Many people with eating disorders appear to be functioning at a
high level, such as enjoying success with school or work. Often, the
only problem appears to be with eating. However, healthier eating habits
or stronger willpower are not the missing ingredients that will make the
problem disappear. AN EATING DISORDER IS AN EXTERNAL SOLUTION TO INNER
TURMOIL.
Psychological Factors that can contribute to Eating Disorders:
Low self-esteem
Feelings of inadequacy or lack of control in life
Depression, anxiety, anger, or loneliness
Interpersonal Factors that Can Contribute to Eating Disorders:
Troubled family and personal relationships
Difficulty expressing emotions and feelings
History of being teased or ridiculed based on size or weight
History of physical or sexual abuse

Social Factors that Can Contribute to Eating Disorders:
Cultural pressures that glorify "thinness" and place value on
obtaining the "perfect body"
Narrow definitions of beauty that include only women and men of
specific body weights and shapes
Cultural norms that value people on the basis of physical
appearance and not inner qualities and strengths.
Other Factors that can contribute to Eating Disorders:
Scientists are still researching possible biochemical or biological
causes of eating disorders. In some individuals with eating
disorders, certain chemicals in the brain that control hunger,
appetite, and digestion have been found to be imbalanced. The exact
meaning and implications of these imbalances remains under
investigation.
Eating disorders are complex conditions that can arise from a variety of
potential causes. Once started, however, they can create a self-
perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction.
Coping
The ideas below present some alternatives to patterns of eating
disordered behavior. Remember, changes make a difference, no matter how
small you believe those changes are.
If you feel the urge to binge, try taking a few moments (it may be
seconds at first) to identify feelings. You can still binge later -
remember you are simply trying to change the usual patterns of
behavior.
Get a journal where you can write your feelings throughout the day.
You may want to focus on meal times or even one meal at first.
If you are afraid of eating, make a list of "safe" foods for you.
Supply your home with these foods so that you are prepared to let
yourself eat.
Grow your support system. The point is to find safe people to help
you feel supported.
Start calling safe people. As you become more accustomed to making
calls, you will find yourself turning to others more easily.
If you live with someone, plan a discussion about your needs. There
may be changes the other person can make to help you.
Make a list of safe people with phone numbers. Carry the list with
you.
Get a list of feelings if you have difficulty identifying your
experience. Refer to the list throughout the day, especially meal
times.
Notice meal times and content. If you record your level of satiety,
urges to binge/restrict/purge, you may learn if there are foods
that trigger you or length of time between meals that triggers you.

Notice the way you speak to yourself about your food, body, or
behaviors. Begin to add positive statements, gradually letting go
of the negative. No eating disorder was ever cured through self-
blame.
Consider your spiritual life. Spirituality means different things
to different people. Find out what it means for you and start to
draw upon this part of you.
Do you let yourself have needs and limits in your work or personal
life? Holding back anger and resentment and stifling your needs
leads to self-punishment through more eating disordered behavior.
Find your voice. Practice with safe people. Start by telling them
you'd like to practice saying "NO" to them about something that
doesn't matter. Let yourself start in a comfortable way.
All eating disorders require professional help.
Prevention
What You Can Do to Help Prevent Eating Disorders
Basic Principles for the Prevention of Eating Disorders
Every family, group, and community is different in terms of what might
contribute to effective primary prevention. Thus, before we offer some
specific suggestions for the prevention of eating disorders, we
encourage you to consider adopting four principles that are generally
applicable to doing prevention work in your family, your community, and
your own life.
Eating disorders are serious and complex problems. Their expression,
causes, and treatment typically have physical, personal, and social
(i.e., familial) dimensions. Consequently, one should avoid thinking of
them in simplistic terms like "anorexia is just a plea for attention" or
"bulimia is just an addiction to food."

Prevention programs are not "just a women's problem" or "something for
the girls." Males who are preoccupied with shape and weight can also
develop disordered eating patterns as well as dangerous shape control
practices such as steroid use. Moreover, objectification and other forms
of mistreatment of women by men contribute directly to two underlying
features of an eating disorder: obsession with appearance and shame
about one's body.




Prevention efforts will fail, or worse, inadvertently encourage
disordered eating, if they concentrate solely on warning parents and
children about the signs, symptoms, and dangers of eating disorders.
Therefore, any attempt to prevent eating disorders must also address:
Our cultural obsession with slenderness as a physical,
psychological, and moral issue,
The distorted meaning of both femininity and masculinity in today's
society, and
The development of people's self-esteem and self-respect.
If at all possible, prevention "programs" for schools, churches, and
athletics should be coordinated with opportunities for individuals in
the audience to speak confidentially with a trained professional and,
where appropriate, to receive referrals to sources of competent,
specialized care.

Adapted from:
http://www.eatingdisorderfoundation.org/EatingDisorders.htm