In the last post, we saw how:
- There are different Subtypes of bulimia, particularly those who binge and purge and those that compensate with fasting or exercise.
- Those who have eating disorders tend to have abnormal habits towards food.
- CBT is the best form of therapy for those who suffer from eating disorders in general.
Welcome to Medic Vibes, where we discuss mental health disorders and make sense of them. Dr Ebingo Kigigha is a medical doctor (aspiring psychiatrist) and creative person (illustration and music). This has been our routine for four consecutive months. This month will be dedicated to Eating Disorders. In the first month, we discussed Depression, and in the subsequent month, anxiety. We just finished with Schizophrenia.
In this post, we are looking at Quora. To learn more just keep scrolling down. You can also skip to the key point of the post if you which or go to the conclusion to get the summary.
The patient can have electrolyte abnormalities especially when they have anorexia in addition to bulimia. If the patient has been diagnosed with BN there should be electrolyte requests made regardless of the patient’s body weight. Thyroid function is usually not a very useful test for those with BN but cortisol levels should be assessed.
The patient should be assessed for dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities. These are usually seen in those who purge regularly. There are also menstrual abnormalities in those who suffer from BN in addition to hypertension and bradycardia, although these are not the best features to assess for.
Triggers of Eating Disorders (Reaction post)
Olivia Jones explained that according to her, she explains that she suffered from an eating disorder and he triggered his eating disorder. She explains that she wanted to get skinny and that was all he knew about herself.
she continue these thoughts for about one year she continued by not eating until she felt she was starving and noticed that she would stay about 3 days without eating. She explains how she hated every aspect of doing this because of the guilt she would feel =.
Nobody would notice that she had been going for long periods without eating, but they would offer her food but she would reject the food because of the fear of binging on it. She describes self-hatred when she thinks about the thought she had at the time.
She gradually would feel like being hungry because it was something she was used to.
She explained that it was a trip to the city that made her start to wasn’t to indulge in these eating habits.
She explains that she was young and in an environment with models who were all very skinny. That particular holiday in the city she explained that she binge ate and starved herself to the point that she could not even walk.
She also explains that people hurt her by calling her anorexic to her face and that hurt maybe as much as what she had been doing to herself. It hurt more when people she did not know would think it is okay to call her anorexic.
She started having issues with body image and the media she explains only did what it could to make that worse. He would skip meals and lie that she had eaten in school and was not hungry. She would make an assessment of her weight by cuffing her waist with her hand. She use to compare herself with the models and think that starving herself would make her look like them.
While on the trip she found herself wanting more but she is not associate any positive emotion with the eating process. When she ate she usually would overeat and would feel bad about it. She would go the next day after overeating without food. She would go through these cycles of overeating, feeling sad and then starving till she felt hungry and overeating again. Some days she would survive on just a bar of chocolate she would overeat on these days till she felt like throwing up.
According to everyday health, the triggers of eating disorders can come in different ways. The triggers can make them want to go through with the eating disorder some others may have a negative feelings towards the eating disorder.
Pop star Demi Lovato had similar problems she complained about when she had to order yoghurt in an LA shop.
The artist complained about The Bigg Chill who give the sugar-free option for food at first glance upon entering the shop.
Though the shop responded to Lovato on Instagram and explained that they carry items for people with diabetes and celiac disease, as well as vegan options, Lovato emphasized that they found their experience in the store “triggering and awful,” and that they “[had a] hard time the rest of the weekend" after the experience.
Because the artist went to the store it made the weekend hard for her.
Marya Mendez who is a psychotherapist explains that there could be many triggers in a person's life. The most important she explains is how much the person is used to the trigger.
These triggers will always show up and it is important to know how to manage these triggers.
Treatment
V Fisherman who is a licensed social worker explains that seeing the emotion for what they are is the most important aspect of it. There is a very strong emotional component of eating disorders and needs to be tackled by identification.
You need to ask yourself what is it you need right now, how best can you get it and how you deal with this trigger.
You need to stay away from triggers that have caused you to fall back into the eating disorder. Some patients find it comforting to stay away from food others may enjoy eating because of their emotions. Both are not helpful ways to go about the disorder.
Those who suffer from eating disorders where they restrict caloric intake usually fall prey to diets that are low in value and can end up being badly affected.
Planning to have a plan is a very helpful strategy as. Being mindful of the environment you are in is a very helpful strategy. Doing your best not to simply run into reacting to everything you see. If you stay mindful it will help you track negative patterns that lead to the eating disorder.
Good mindfulness practices are to notice what you see hear feel and taste. Closing your eyes and breathing is also very helpful.
Writing down how you feel on a day-to-day basis is also a very helpful way to get through the bad emotions that are seen in eating disorders. A study done in 2018 showed that it had a good result with food-related mental health issues.
Questions
- What did you learn about Eating Diorders?
Conclusion
- There are diagnostic features that can point you in the direction of bulimia in a patient.
- Triggers that could bring about binging in those with these disorders are everywhere in the environment as seen in this post.
- Being mindful is a very helpful technique that helps with triggers whenever they appear.
References
- Kaplan-Sadocks-Comprehensive-Textbook-Psychiatry
- Page demarcations made with Inkscape.org
- Spine-Health
- Eating Disorder Hope