OTHER DISORDERS

Rates of eating disorders in Singapore have been steadily on the rise.

Media’s relentless portrayal of extreme thinness as the ideal standard of beauty has been named as one major factor responsible for the increasing prevalence of eating disorders.

Another major cause of Eating Disorders is the desire for absolute control over an aspect of their lives - especially where there is little or no control over other things.

There are three main types of eating disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

Ψ Anorexia Nervosa (commonly referred to as anorexia)

is characterised by a persistent restriction of food below minimal energy intake requirements. It leads to a significantly low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a severely distorted body image.

Persons with anorexia may also exhibit purging/binge eating behaviours - classified as a subtype of anorexia. Persons with this subtype occasionally binge eat but do regularly purge after even consumption of only small amounts of food.

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate for mental illness. This is due to the severe health problems that food restriction causes, like gastrointestinal issues and negative effects on the endocrine system.

Ψ Bulimia Nervosa (commonly referred to as bulimia)

is characterised by recurrent episodes of binge eating. They eat more than what most people would in a period of time, and experience a sense of lack of control during the episode.

Another key symptom of bulimia is recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviour in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting (purging), excessive exercise or a misuse of laxatives. Individuals suffering from bulimia also tend to have a severely disturbed body image and an intense fear of gaining weight.

Ψ Binge Eating Disorder (or BED)

shares some similarities with bulimia. Both disorders are characterised by binge eating behaviour. But unlike bulimia, binge eating disorder is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviours. Binge eating disorder is generally accompanied by feelings of disgust with oneself, depression, guilt, and shame.

Other than the above, symptoms of the different eating disorders may include:

Annabelle Psychology - Eating Disorder Symptoms

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Therapies

Eating disorders manifest themselves in a variety of ways. A common thread tying these disorders together is the intense feeling of negativity towards one’s weight and resultant patterns of disordered eating. Though therapies are varied, they have all been found to be effective in addressing this concern.

Ψ Family Therapy

Family therapy modalities, such as the Maudsley Model, are commonly used for the management of anorexia, particularly for adolescents. Family therapy modalities encourage parents to play an active role in their child’s therapy. Over time, and with the help of consistent psychotherapy, the therapist creates conditions between the parents and the adolescent so that he or she takes gradual responsibility for their own mealtime behaviours.

Mostly used for management of: Anorexia

Ψ Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

At the heart of CBT lies the need to identify and challenge dysfunctional thoughts regarding one’s body image, which is a common cause that precipitates an eating disorder. Family involvement may also be incorporated in CBT for anorexia as clients may not have initial motivation to work on addressing it.

Mostly used for management of: Bulimia and Anorexia

Ψ Dialetical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) is a useful therapy that addresses the high negative affect that characterises most binge eating disorder sufferers. This is because a large part of DBT focuses on emotional regulation.

As part of DBT, clinicians impart mindfulness skills, emotion regulation skills, and distress tolerance skills to sufferers. Mindfulness skills are aimed at providing patients with the capability to non-judgmentally observe and describe their moment-to-moment emotional experiences, while emotion regulation skills help patients understand their emotions and decrease vulnerability to negative emotions. Distress tolerance skills are aimed at teaching adaptive and effective means for contending with the inevitable stresses in life and include skills for facilitating an acceptance of reality.

Mostly used for management of: Bulimia, Anorexia, and Binge Eating

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