Are you concerned that you, or someone you care for, may be experiencing problems with an eating disorder or compulsive exercise? The checklist below describes some of the symptoms of anorexia, bulimia and overeating.

 

 

 

One or more of the following may indicate a problem that requires attention.

• You have a deep-seated fear of weight gain
• You obsess about avoiding food, food, weight or body shape
• You calorie count
• You justify your behaviours around food on health grounds ie 'healthy diets'
• You weigh yourself frequently or body check
• You exercise compulsively and are agitated when you miss a gym session
• You skip meals, and reduce portion sizes
• You avoid certain food groups and have an irrational fear of fats and carbs
• You rarely feel comfortable in your body
• You experience a strong desire to lose weight
• Having lost weight you provisionally feel better but insecurities about your body or weight return
• You feel fat despite other people telling you otherwise
• You believe you will blow up like a balloon if you let go of control
• You dislike eating around others
• You are anxious about the unexpected and reluctant to put yourself in situations where you don't have control or access to 'safe' foods

• You experience compulsions to overeat, binge eat or purge
• You binge on certain trigger foods (for many people these tend to be foods made with sugar and/or white flour) and then feel guilty
• You make promises to yourself to stop bingeing, purging or over-eating that you don't stick to
• You think about eating, shopping or preparing food much of the time
• You go on diets which you can't stick to, or use vomiting, laxatives or compulsive exercise to control your weight
• You binge, graze or snack on your feelings
• You use self-induced vomiting to bring about feelings of relief or euphoria
• You wait for windows of opportunity to be alone to binge, purge or both
• You hide your behaviours, lie or withhold information from others
• Attempts at controlling or stopping your behaviours only work for short periods of time, or not at all

If any of the above behaviours apply to you and you would like to discuss this further or book an appointment, please call 0845 474 4609.

 

Judged from their presentations, overeating, bulimia and anorexia may seem very different illnesses. However as with other compulsive disorders, they share many features in common.

 

What is common to all of them is the fact they are characterised by high levels of compulsivity around food, or behaviours around food and attempts to control these compulsions.

 

Snacking, grazing, occasional overeating, dieting and exercise/weight loss in moderation are, for the majority of us, part of our relationship with food and our bodies, and, in moderation make us feel good. However for a small minority the mood-altering effect is so appealing, they return to the behaviour over and over again. Over time they may find themselves increasingly reliant on these behaviours to manage negative emotional states such as stress, insecurity, sadness, anxiety, anger, loneliness, or boredom.

As a consequence of others close to them expressing concern or disapproval, people with eating disorders often hide, deny or minimise their relationship with the behaviour before eventually reluctantly accept there is a problem. They may then make promises to themselves or others that they don't follow through with ("I'll stop losing weight / bingeing / overeating /purging when...), but attempts to stop, cut down or control only work provisionally. In many cases sufferers are initially reluctant to ask for help, telling themselves they could stop by themselves if they really wanted to, but this doesn't happen, and the problem gets worse.

 

At Central Clinic we understand that in these cases willpower is not enough and support may be needed. With our expertise, and experience of working with people with eating disorders, we have the tools to help you recover.