eating disorders

[snowski1]

I see so many young as well as adult women in my line of work who struggle daily with eating disorders, from anorexia and bulimia to binge eating. I have never had this personal experience but I witness daily just how hard this can be on patients and families. Has anyone out there had experiences with this horrible disease that they would like to share?

[southerngal]

i would consider myself a binge eater. i go into times(weeks or months at a time) where i eat all day, huge portions and hide food. i have been know to gain 10-12 pounds in just a month. to do that i believe it is binge eating and obviously a disorder.
on the flip side, when i diet i go to that extreme with too little calories, excessive exercise, and NO cheating. then my depression can kick in and the binge eating begins all over again.

[careysmile]

I am happy and relieved to say that I just like food. When does it become a problem? I'm not really sure. Keeping a postive body image is so important.

[7ofhearts]

I think when food becomes a problem is when it is abused. Hiding food like southerngal said is right up those lines. Also not feeding your body enough is an abuse as well. Any time you lie to others or to yourself, you have a problem

[emptynester]

Southerngal, I encourage you talk with a professional about these issues. Others are right- when you hide your eating from others and you can gain that much in a month you do have a problem. I like to say that you can do it on your own but I think you may need some professional help to get you through these issues. This has to be hard and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. keep us posted.

[ellenlen]

SouthernGal, have you talked with anyone in person? A person that can hold yuo accountable and help you get some help. I think evern writing it means you might be ready to share and move forward.

[luvmykids]

this is such a great example of what this forum can do for us. Such support and advice that comes from the heart. Most of us have problems and deal with them in many ways. Smoking, drinking, maybe abusing drugs, and for some of us it's food. Let's support each other...

[maggie]

As a past borderline eating disorder person in my family, I know it can catapult into full-blown episode without any effort or realization at all on the part of the affected. I strongly encourage you to speak to a professional. There is an way to keep food from controlling you!

[grace01]

I saw a segment on some TV show just the other day which talked about just how many wome there are who have disordered views of food and I realized that I and so many of my friends all do. But I just do not know how to get off of this viscious cycle of being wound up so tight because of excess calories and the need to stay thin!