What Is An Eating Disorder Anyway?

Eating disorders anorexia nervosa, binge eating, bulimia disorder explored, outlined, and defined by doctors and therapists from Denver Psychotherapy Center.

What Is An Eating Disorder Anyway?

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According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (NEDA), "eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder." As such, eating disorders are very serious and have a wide range of emotional, behavioral and psychological health risks.

The most common and frequently misunderstood eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Bulimia Nervosa.

Anorexia Nervosa: Common Signs And Symptoms 

According to NEDA, Anorexia Nervosa (sometimes referred to simply as "anorexia") is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by starvation that leads to excessive weight loss.  Common signs/symptoms of anorexia include the following: 

  • Inadequate food intake leading to a weight that is too low.
  • Intense fear of gaining weight, obsession with weight and persistent efforts to avoid gaining weight.
  • Inability to recognize seriousness or irrational nature of weight loss.
  • Strange food rituals / meal time behaviors (i.e. excessive cutting of food, inappropriate mixing of food, making food inedible with condiment use).
  • Significant avoidance of social situations that involve food.
  • Obsessive and intense need to control the preparation of all food ingested.
  • Excessively weighing oneself.

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge Eating Disorder is an eating disorder characterized by frequent, recurrent episodes (commonly referred to as "binging") of considering large amounts of food to the point of discomfort over a short time span.

People frequently feel intense shame, guilt, and fear following a binge and will describe feeling out of control while binging.

Binge Eating Disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by cycles of binging and then engaging in compensatory behaviors to avoid gaining weight and / or to "undo" or compensate for the act of binging.  Common compensatory behaviors of people suffering from bulimia nervosa include:

  • Excessive exercise.
  • Laxative and enema abuse.
  • Self-induced vomiting.

Quick FAQ's

  • What Is "Sex Addiction" and Can It Be Treated?

    Sex addictions are commonly considered to be habitual or even compulsive sexual activities that allow people to exit from connected, authentic and healthy life activities.

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    Dr. Parker Wilson is Buddhist minister and retired psychologist, and he can provide advisement based on an extensive understanding and practice of Buddhist psychology and meditative technology. Dr. Wilson is a university professor, doctor of clinical psychology, and a practicing Mahayana Buddhist. He has been highly trained in Buddhist and existential psychology and meditation by some of the greatest living Buddhist masters of our time.

  • Isn't MBCT (Mindfulness) associated with Buddhism?

    The fundamental techniques for developing mindfulness, while rooted in the teachings of Buddhism, are actually more scientific than religious in nature. Buddhist psychology asks one to deeply analyze one's own existential experience. In other words, unlike traditional religious belief systems, Buddhism is not a faith or dogma based system; nor do its practitioners seek special consideration from a higher power, nor do they seek to convert others to their way of thinking. It is, therefore, more akin to a deep philosophy and empirical understanding.

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    Primarily AMI offers cognitive psychotherapy; in particular Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which is considered the modern standard of care for many types of depression, anxiety, stress, grief, and anger management issues.

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    The Awakened Mind Institute has very competitive clinical fees; this is especially true given the quality of treatment our doctors offer. Generally speaking, individuals and / or families with a household income between $60,000 and $150,000 (or more) find AMI's clinical fees to be affordable.

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