Eating disorder and its effects on health

Mohammad Rukanuddin :

People with eating disorders utilize their control over food as a coping mechanism for emotions and other life events. Those who suffer with this illness have significant behavioral changes in their daily lives, including how they approach food, exercise, and social relationships.

When someone has an eating disorder, food frequently occupies a central place in their minds. Their obsession may be with the right food to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat.

The relationship with food becomes inflexible, characterized by rigorous guidelines and customs. Some people have a continuous mental struggle around mealtimes because they carefully track their calories or stay away from particular food groups.

Next, eating has the potential to cause a great deal of tension and worry. Before, during, and after meals, people with eating disorders may feel excruciating guilt, embarrassment, or terror.

Eating itself can turn into a battlefield where inward conflicts over one’s value and body image take place.

Once more, social gatherings might be purposefully avoided, especially ones that involve eating.

People who are afraid of being judged or scrutinized may isolate themselves from their friends and family.

Rejecting invitations to dinners, parties, or any other gathering that involves food can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and isolation.

In addition, a lot of people who suffer from eating disorders get an overwhelming need to exercise.

Engaging in physical activity turns into a coping mechanism for calorie burn or guilt after meals.

An fixation with physical activity might cause one to neglect other obligations, which can throw off one’s daily routine.

Furthermore, a prevalent characteristic is a mistaken perception of one’s own physique. People may perceive themselves as overweight even while they are underweight.

Their quest for an idealized, frequently unachievable body shape feeds their erroneous perception of their bodies, which in turn feeds the vicious cycle of restrictive diet and obsessive exercise.

Furthermore, an eating disorder can have a physical toll in addition to emotional harm.

There could be electrolyte imbalances, nutritional deficits, and other health issues. Physical weakness, fatigue, and lightheadedness might become commonplace symptoms.

Finally, but just as importantly, dealing with an eating disorder is a difficult path that extends beyond issues with food and weight. Many of these actions are motivated by a deep-seated need for control.

Strict dietary and fitness regimens give people a false sense of control over otherwise chaotic or stressful lives.Famous American singer, Demi Lovato, says, “Eating disorders are serious mental illness, not life style choices.”

To sum up, let me say that I am not an authority on the subject at hand. This is the result of my own readings of publications written by medical organizations and specialists in the fields of medicine and psychology.

Having witnessed a number of individuals afflicted by this dreadful mental illness, I have proposed a few ideas so that those who are worried might get the critical professional assistance they need to help themselves and their loved ones heal.

(The writer is Assistant Professor of English at Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka)