Understanding eating disorders
By Solitaire Mouneimne
February 2023
With the existence of social media it is apparent that eating disorders (ED) are not just centred around anorexia. Anorexia is still a prevalent problem that is continuing to rise. However, platforms like social media have exposed other ED’s just as life crippling as anorexia nervosa and even bulimia nervosa.
Another two more apparent ED’s are
1- Bing eating disorder is widely spoken about now.
2- Night eating disorder is not something many people have yet talked about.
Where do eating disorders come from?
Multiple studies have shown that many but not all ED’s come from trauma (Carolyn ‘no date'). However, we live in a culture of health and fitness and trendy quick fix diets that pop up constantly. Social media then pushes all of that further in our faces. Its inescapable to notice that we are a generation obsessed and tortured by vanity. With that being said it really isn’t surprising that such things like this are a catalyst for the ever rising ED epidemic. As much as social media provides avenues of help it can also be a detrimental platform for those that are extremely body conscious. It has an acute way of shaping our perceptions of reality. Teasing and bullying is widely known to cause long lasting trauma. For someone to not fit around the social construct of what one should look like, then unfortunately I'm saddened to say we live in a world were a bully isn’t far from around the corner. With that being said interpersonal trauma is something that can also offset ED’s especially if the trauma is not addressed or dealt with.
What is interpersonal trauma?
Interpersonal trauma is a specific event that inflicts hurt onto another person (Carolyn ‘no date'). The hurt the person experiences becomes trauma when their capacity to cope depletes and they become overwhelmed. This then also starts to have a negative effect on how someone conducts their daily activities.
What types of traumas can lead to eating disorders?
  1. Bullying
  2. Physical neglect
  3. Sexual assault
  4. Teasing
  5. Excessive parental control
  6. Role reversal
  7. Abuse of power
  8. Emotional abuse
  9. Neglect
To understand eat disorders further we must educate ourselves on what is going on in the mind and the body. Trauma can lead to a disruption in the nervous system. With some people this can affect the ways in which they respond and think about food (Carolyn n.d). Eating disorders are psychosomatic condition because it not only effects the mind but the body also.
Eating disorders and disassociation
ED’s have a prevailing rate of being embedded with disassociation (Seijo 2015). This is a way for the mind to detach from uncomfortable emotions one does not want to deal with. Therefore, disassociation is a psychosomatic response (Seijo 2015). The disassociation that happens when struggling with an eating disorder allows the individual to remove themselves from uneasy or traumatic feelings (Lyn 2015). Some may not realise this is what they are doing at first. But it is a way of shifting the focus onto something else. The ED becomes a mechanical process of avoidance through particular habits depending on which disorder one has. For instance binge eating creates a state of disconnection. I know from experience that when immersed in a binge the outside world becomes completely shut off. Focus is on the food and consumption. Thoughts are not processed rationally when in this state and many say it is like having a out of body experience. Dissasositive state happen through a number of aspects.
Cognitive Abilities
Cognitive processing becomes slower with anorexics because of the lack of food, impairing the capacity to deal with emotions (Lyn 2013). Many people with eating disorders can appear aloof and numb to their feelings. Binge eating slows down cognitive functioning. This is because the body is concentrating on digesting the food. Those that binge eat experience massive highs and lows. This is seen through mood swings and energy levels. One of the reasons for this is due to large amounts of food effecting the blood sugar level. These different states of mind all detach the person from their body. When I first started to binge I remember feeling surges of energy. This was because my body had been in starvation mode for such a long time. I have memories of playing with my sisters. Running around the house and feeling quite euphoric after a binge. Then my mood would suddenly change after the initial high wore off. I would become distant and start worrying about the binge or even be contemplating another binge. In each state of mind wether high or low I was still detached from mentally processing the outside world and my feelings. I was either frantic and playful or down and thinking about food. There was no other focus on anything else. Binge eating consumes your mind a lot of the time. You are either panicking about how to avoid a binge, regretting a binge or feeling the urge for a binge.
Emotional
Those suffering with eating ED become emotionally withdrawn. I am quite aware of what started my eating disorder and the more I thought about it the more anxiety I felt. This would propel me further into the eating disorder. I would concentrate more on restricting and starving myself. It's clear now that this was an attempt to relieve stress and regain control.
Behavioural
Obsessive exercising is also a form of disassociating when suffering with an ED. This can release endorphins which mirrors the same effect as particular mind altering drugs (Lyn 2013). This is also exhausting for the person to continuously endure and the exhaustion one feels will also be another way of how the ED takes on disassociation. Poor sleeping habits due to hunger will run a person down, especially coinciding with obsessive exercise. This again is a perpetual cycle of disassociation.
Physical
Those that suffer with bulimia experience a number of dissociations. There is a sensory disconnection with those suffering from bulimia (Lyn 2013). This disassociation disconnects them from their body which allows them to bare the physical trauma of purging. It allows the person to disconnect from what they have eaten as well as any uncomfortable feelings experienced before purging. There is a light headed feeling after purging due to the release of opiates and endorphins (Lyn 2013). However there is also extreme fatigue people can experience. The constant cycle of purging sometimes left me exhausted and in a dissociative state.
What happens in the brain of a person suffering with ED?
Numerous studies show that those suffering with ED’s experience neurological variances (The Banyans, n.d) These specific variances start in the neurons and effect the neurotransmitter. These transmitters are what controls how a person thinks and behaves. These are the same neurotransmitters that decide whether a person develops an ED or not.
Dopamine and eating disorders
Dopamine controls how we feel pleasure, in essence it plays a part in the brains reward system (The Banyons, n.d). When a person binge eats they automatically enter the dissociative state. A release then happens and for that moment on the binge eating feels good, this is because the body is releasing dopamine. When binge eating becomes habitual the body becomes reliant on the surge of dopamine every time a binge happens (Rittenhouse 2020). This constant release of dopamine becomes addictive which is what can cause binges to last for days and happen frequently. Rittenhouse (2020) explains how binge eating has the same dopamine response in relation to those that use illicit drugs. Low dopamine levels initiate the addictive response in drug users. This is just how low dopamine levels in a person with a binge eating disorder result in strong cravings for food.
Serotonin and eating disorders
Serotonin manages our moods, feelings and overall wellbeing (The Banyons n.d). It is also important in the communication between brain cells and the nervous system. It is vital in aiding with our sleep functioning. Those with binge eating disorders and bulimia may have low levels of serotonin (Karth 2022). This causes the body to crave carbohydrates because it is the carbohydrates that are specifically needed in order for tryptophan to cross the blood brain barrier to be then changed into serotonin (The Banyon, n.d). Karth (2022) explains serotonin plays an important factor in telling us when we are full. This is why those that binge eat don't recognise when they are full because of this depleted resource.
Serotonin and Anorexia Nervosa
In the brain of those suffering with anorexia nervosa the brain increases the number of serotonin receptors Those with anorexia nervosa continue to starve themselves because when they do eat the serotonin levels spike (The Banyons, n.d). This causes chaos with their anxiety, emotional state and wellbeing.
The full feeling
Those with Anorexia nervosa will always say that they don’t feel hungry. This because they do not get hunger pangs like the average healthy eater. Instead what has happened is that the body has given up signalling to the brain it is hungry (Gauthier, n.d). These signals take energy. With there being a lack of food the body decides to conserve its energy and use it for other things.
Night eating disorder
Serotonin is used for a person to fall asleep (The Banyons n.d). Therefore it is only obvious that those that have night eating syndrome must lack in serotonin or have a disturbance in it at least. Night eating syndrome is where a person wakes up multiple times in the night to eat. This is because without getting up to eat they do not feel as if they can fall back to sleep. It is recognised that those who suffer with night eating syndrome usually have other eating disorders they are battling (Clevland clinic, 2021).
I personally hold testimony to what the Clevland clinic says about this connection. Going back 20 years ago I was suffering with horrendous bouts of binge eating and bulimia. I had moved away to university and found that my sleeping pattern was erratic. My body kept waking up to eat. I soon came to realise if I didn’t eat I would lay there awake. However, because I suffered with binge eating; these quick fixes of getting up to snack soon turned into 1am and 3am full blown binges. My binge eating had gotten so bad that I was obsessed with food. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and this is what trigged my night eating syndrome. There was constant strong cravings to binge due to cravings in dopamine from my body. This was something I didn’t know at the time. Trying to abstain from getting out of bed to eat was torturous. When I did give in I found myself eating most of my calories in the early hours of the morning. This followed with manic depression, anxiety and self loathing. I then would also try not to eat anything throughout the rest of the day so I could counteract my calorie intake.
Self harm and eating disorders.
From a personal experience I drew upon the conclusion that eating disorders are in some ways a form of self harm because one doesn’t like themselves. I started to realise this when I was in my recovery from binge eating. I noticed dark thoughts that would enter my mind once I had finished my binge. However, I would be enticed to go back and binge more. This was because it was taking my mind off the last binge. I was severely harming myself with what I was doing in order to feel a release from the guilt and shame I felt. Then came the purging. I would sometimes dread having to be sick afterwards. With purging I would feel an instant release but other times I dreaded the thought of doing it. I would sit and cry in the toilets if the food wouldn’t come up. However, I berated myself in the mirror until I did it. I felt I deserved to be going through such torture and sadness because I was incapable of controlling my eating.
The key
Honing in on my eating disorders over the years there is one common theme that helps continue the vicious cycle. This is that each person suffering with an eating disorder has fallen out of friends with themselves. The simple fact is that no one can start a journey to recovery when one hates themselves. All the time that one berates oneself for messing up with their food, hating what they see in the mirror, upset because they don't have a handle on things, nothing will work. Anger will only feed an eating disorder and encourage it to get worse. Hopelessness will feed it to consume your life.
Being detached will only make the disorder spiral. One has to forgive themselves and make up with their actions and body. One has to realise their disorder, accept it, make friends with it. Don't go into battle with it. Battles are all about anger and outburst. You have to see it for what it is. It's part of you. It's suffering with you. You, your brain has created this for whatever reason it may be but now it is time to tame it and eventually erase it. This is done through the path of forgiveness, self love and an approach of one small step at a time. When you realign yourself with forgiveness and love you are no longer looking out at the eating disorder. You have taken responsibility of it, which erases hopelessness. You understand that it may be something right now you are suffering with each day. However, each day is a day to learn from it. In times of conquering it each day you have the ability to see where you go wrong and what works for you. The times you do fall, forgive yourself. This is because no matter what you are constantly learning and therefore becoming more aware and conscious. You are no longer disconnected.
This is but a very brief introduction and overview to understanding eating disorders. What we must remember is that the eating disorder or disorders a person suffers with is bespoke unto themselves. There is no specific treatment that promises a one size fits all cure. That is why it is imperative one understands a persons background, personality and interpersonal dealings on an intricate level to really pull apart the eating disorder so one can piece together a more healthy, stable mindset.
References
  • Carolyn (n.d) ‘Eating disorders, trauma and PTSD’, National eating disorder association (n.d) (Accessed 18/2/23).
  • Cleveland Clinic (2021) ‘Night eating syndrome’, [Online] (Accessed 20/2.23).
  • Gauthier, L. (n.d) ‘Hunger and fullness cues’, Change creates change (n.d) [Blog] (Accessed 19/2/23).
  • Lyn, L. (2013) ‘Eating disorders and self induced disassociation’, Counselling and testing centre, Northern Arizona university [Blog] (Accessed 18/2/23).
  • Rittenhouse, M. (2020) ‘Anorexias impact on thinking’, Eating disorder hope (2022) [Blog] (Accessed 19/2/23).
  • Seijo, N. (2015) ‘Eating disorders and disassociation’, ESTD Newsletter, vol 4, no 1 [Online] (Accessed 18/2/23).
  • Within Health (2022) ‘Understanding the connection of dopamine and binge eating’, 27 October (Accessed 18/2/23) .
    • Understanding eating disorders
    By Solitaire Mouneimne
    February 2023
    With the existence of social media it is apparent that eating disorders (ED) are not just centred around anorexia. Anorexia is still a prevalent problem that is continuing to rise. However, platforms like social media have exposed other ED’s just as life crippling as anorexia nervosa and even bulimia nervosa.
    Another two more apparent ED’s are
    1- Bing eating disorder is widely spoken about now.
    2- Night eating disorder is not something many people have yet talked about.
    Where do eating disorders come from?
    Multiple studies have shown that many but not all ED’s come from trauma (Carolyn ‘no date'). However, we live in a culture of health and fitness and trendy quick fix diets that pop up constantly. Social media then pushes all of that further in our faces. Its inescapable to notice that we are a generation obsessed and tortured by vanity. With that being said it really isn’t surprising that such things like this are a catalyst for the ever rising ED epidemic. As much as social media provides avenues of help it can also be a detrimental platform for those that are extremely body conscious. It has an acute way of shaping our perceptions of reality. Teasing and bullying is widely known to cause long lasting trauma. For someone to not fit around the social construct of what one should look like, then unfortunately I'm saddened to say we live in a world were a bully isn’t far from around the corner. With that being said interpersonal trauma is something that can also offset ED’s especially if the trauma is not addressed or dealt with.
    What is interpersonal trauma?
    Interpersonal trauma is a specific event that inflicts hurt onto another person (Carolyn ‘no date'). The hurt the person experiences becomes trauma when their capacity to cope depletes and they become overwhelmed. This then also starts to have a negative effect on how someone conducts their daily activities.
    What types of traumas can lead to eating disorders?
    1. Bullying
    2. Physical neglect
    3. Sexual assault
    4. Teasing
    5. Excessive parental control
    6. Role reversal
    7. Abuse of power
    8. Emotional abuse
    9. Neglect
    To understand eat disorders further we must educate ourselves on what is going on in the mind and the body. Trauma can lead to a disruption in the nervous system. With some people this can affect the ways in which they respond and think about food (Carolyn n.d). Eating disorders are psychosomatic condition because it not only effects the mind but the body also.
    Eating disorders and disassociation
    ED’s have a prevailing rate of being embedded with disassociation (Seijo 2015). This is a way for the mind to detach from uncomfortable emotions one does not want to deal with. Therefore, disassociation is a psychosomatic response (Seijo 2015). The disassociation that happens when struggling with an eating disorder allows the individual to remove themselves from uneasy or traumatic feelings (Lyn 2015). Some may not realise this is what they are doing at first. But it is a way of shifting the focus onto something else. The ED becomes a mechanical process of avoidance through particular habits depending on which disorder one has. For instance binge eating creates a state of disconnection. I know from experience that when immersed in a binge the outside world becomes completely shut off. Focus is on the food and consumption. Thoughts are not processed rationally when in this state and many say it is like having a out of body experience. Dissasositive state happen through a number of aspects.
    Cognitive Abilities
    Cognitive processing becomes slower with anorexics because of the lack of food, impairing the capacity to deal with emotions (Lyn 2013). Many people with eating disorders can appear aloof and numb to their feelings. Binge eating slows down cognitive functioning. This is because the body is concentrating on digesting the food. Those that binge eat experience massive highs and lows. This is seen through mood swings and energy levels. One of the reasons for this is due to large amounts of food effecting the blood sugar level. These different states of mind all detach the person from their body. When I first started to binge I remember feeling surges of energy. This was because my body had been in starvation mode for such a long time. I have memories of playing with my sisters. Running around the house and feeling quite euphoric after a binge. Then my mood would suddenly change after the initial high wore off. I would become distant and start worrying about the binge or even be contemplating another binge. In each state of mind wether high or low I was still detached from mentally processing the outside world and my feelings. I was either frantic and playful or down and thinking about food. There was no other focus on anything else. Binge eating consumes your mind a lot of the time. You are either panicking about how to avoid a binge, regretting a binge or feeling the urge for a binge.
    Emotional
    Those suffering with eating ED become emotionally withdrawn. I am quite aware of what started my eating disorder and the more I thought about it the more anxiety I felt. This would propel me further into the eating disorder. I would concentrate more on restricting and starving myself. It's clear now that this was an attempt to relieve stress and regain control.
    Behavioural
    Obsessive exercising is also a form of disassociating when suffering with an ED. This can release endorphins which mirrors the same effect as particular mind altering drugs (Lyn 2013). This is also exhausting for the person to continuously endure and the exhaustion one feels will also be another way of how the ED takes on disassociation. Poor sleeping habits due to hunger will run a person down, especially coinciding with obsessive exercise. This again is a perpetual cycle of disassociation.
    Physical
    Those that suffer with bulimia experience a number of dissociations. There is a sensory disconnection with those suffering from bulimia (Lyn 2013). This disassociation disconnects them from their body which allows them to bare the physical trauma of purging. It allows the person to disconnect from what they have eaten as well as any uncomfortable feelings experienced before purging. There is a light headed feeling after purging due to the release of opiates and endorphins (Lyn 2013). However there is also extreme fatigue people can experience. The constant cycle of purging sometimes left me exhausted and in a dissociative state.
    What happens in the brain of a person suffering with ED?
    Numerous studies show that those suffering with ED’s experience neurological variances (The Banyans, n.d) These specific variances start in the neurons and effect the neurotransmitter. These transmitters are what controls how a person thinks and behaves. These are the same neurotransmitters that decide whether a person develops an ED or not.
    Dopamine and eating disorders
    Dopamine controls how we feel pleasure, in essence it plays a part in the brains reward system (The Banyons, n.d). When a person binge eats they automatically enter the dissociative state. A release then happens and for that moment on the binge eating feels good, this is because the body is releasing dopamine. When binge eating becomes habitual the body becomes reliant on the surge of dopamine every time a binge happens (Rittenhouse 2020). This constant release of dopamine becomes addictive which is what can cause binges to last for days and happen frequently. Rittenhouse (2020) explains how binge eating has the same dopamine response in relation to those that use illicit drugs. Low dopamine levels initiate the addictive response in drug users. This is just how low dopamine levels in a person with a binge eating disorder result in strong cravings for food.
    Serotonin and eating disorders
    Serotonin manages our moods, feelings and overall wellbeing (The Banyons n.d). It is also important in the communication between brain cells and the nervous system. It is vital in aiding with our sleep functioning. Those with binge eating disorders and bulimia may have low levels of serotonin (Karth 2022). This causes the body to crave carbohydrates because it is the carbohydrates that are specifically needed in order for tryptophan to cross the blood brain barrier to be then changed into serotonin (The Banyon, n.d). Karth (2022) explains serotonin plays an important factor in telling us when we are full. This is why those that binge eat don't recognise when they are full because of this depleted resource.
    Serotonin and Anorexia Nervosa
    In the brain of those suffering with anorexia nervosa the brain increases the number of serotonin receptors Those with anorexia nervosa continue to starve themselves because when they do eat the serotonin levels spike (The Banyons, n.d). This causes chaos with their anxiety, emotional state and wellbeing.
    The full feeling
    Those with Anorexia nervosa will always say that they don’t feel hungry. This because they do not get hunger pangs like the average healthy eater. Instead what has happened is that the body has given up signalling to the brain it is hungry (Gauthier, n.d). These signals take energy. With there being a lack of food the body decides to conserve its energy and use it for other things.
    Night eating disorder
    Serotonin is used for a person to fall asleep (The Banyons n.d). Therefore it is only obvious that those that have night eating syndrome must lack in serotonin or have a disturbance in it at least. Night eating syndrome is where a person wakes up multiple times in the night to eat. This is because without getting up to eat they do not feel as if they can fall back to sleep. It is recognised that those who suffer with night eating syndrome usually have other eating disorders they are battling (Clevland clinic, 2021).
    I personally hold testimony to what the Clevland clinic says about this connection. Going back 20 years ago I was suffering with horrendous bouts of binge eating and bulimia. I had moved away to university and found that my sleeping pattern was erratic. My body kept waking up to eat. I soon came to realise if I didn’t eat I would lay there awake. However, because I suffered with binge eating; these quick fixes of getting up to snack soon turned into 1am and 3am full blown binges. My binge eating had gotten so bad that I was obsessed with food. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and this is what trigged my night eating syndrome. There was constant strong cravings to binge due to cravings in dopamine from my body. This was something I didn’t know at the time. Trying to abstain from getting out of bed to eat was torturous. When I did give in I found myself eating most of my calories in the early hours of the morning. This followed with manic depression, anxiety and self loathing. I then would also try not to eat anything throughout the rest of the day so I could counteract my calorie intake.
    Self harm and eating disorders.
    From a personal experience I drew upon the conclusion that eating disorders are in some ways a form of self harm because one doesn’t like themselves. I started to realise this when I was in my recovery from binge eating. I noticed dark thoughts that would enter my mind once I had finished my binge. However, I would be enticed to go back and binge more. This was because it was taking my mind off the last binge. I was severely harming myself with what I was doing in order to feel a release from the guilt and shame I felt. Then came the purging. I would sometimes dread having to be sick afterwards. With purging I would feel an instant release but other times I dreaded the thought of doing it. I would sit and cry in the toilets if the food wouldn’t come up. However, I berated myself in the mirror until I did it. I felt I deserved to be going through such torture and sadness because I was incapable of controlling my eating.
    The key
    Honing in on my eating disorders over the years there is one common theme that helps continue the vicious cycle. This is that each person suffering with an eating disorder has fallen out of friends with themselves. The simple fact is that no one can start a journey to recovery when one hates themselves. All the time that one berates oneself for messing up with their food, hating what they see in the mirror, upset because they don't have a handle on things, nothing will work. Anger will only feed an eating disorder and encourage it to get worse. Hopelessness will feed it to consume your life.
    Being detached will only make the disorder spiral. One has to forgive themselves and make up with their actions and body. One has to realise their disorder, accept it, make friends with it. Don't go into battle with it. Battles are all about anger and outburst. You have to see it for what it is. It's part of you. It's suffering with you. You, your brain has created this for whatever reason it may be but now it is time to tame it and eventually erase it. This is done through the path of forgiveness, self love and an approach of one small step at a time. When you realign yourself with forgiveness and love you are no longer looking out at the eating disorder. You have taken responsibility of it, which erases hopelessness. You understand that it may be something right now you are suffering with each day. However, each day is a day to learn from it. In times of conquering it each day you have the ability to see where you go wrong and what works for you. The times you do fall, forgive yourself. This is because no matter what you are constantly learning and therefore becoming more aware and conscious. You are no longer disconnected.
    This is but a very brief introduction and overview to understanding eating disorders. What we must remember is that the eating disorder or disorders a person suffers with is bespoke unto themselves. There is no specific treatment that promises a one size fits all cure. That is why it is imperative one understands a persons background, personality and interpersonal dealings on an intricate level to really pull apart the eating disorder so one can piece together a more healthy, stable mindset.
    References
  • Carolyn (n.d) ‘Eating disorders, trauma and PTSD’, National eating disorder association (n.d) (Accessed 18/2/23).
  • Cleveland Clinic (2021) ‘Night eating syndrome’, [Online] (Accessed 20/2.23).
  • Gauthier, L. (n.d) ‘Hunger and fullness cues’, Change creates change (n.d) [Blog] (Accessed 19/2/23).
  • Lyn, L. (2013) ‘Eating disorders and self induced disassociation’, Counselling and testing centre, Northern Arizona university [Blog] (Accessed 18/2/23).
  • Rittenhouse, M. (2020) ‘Anorexias impact on thinking’, Eating disorder hope (2022) [Blog] (Accessed 19/2/23).
  • Seijo, N. (2015) ‘Eating disorders and disassociation’, ESTD Newsletter, vol 4, no 1 [Online] (Accessed 18/2/23).
  • Within Health (2022) ‘Understanding the connection of dopamine and binge eating’, 27 October (Accessed 18/2/23) .