According to Body Whys, up to 200,000 people in Ireland have an eating disorder. Eating disorders go beyond unhealthy weight loss methods but are about battling with your mind about what is or is not real.
According to those with eating disorders on The Mighty, having an eating disorder is like the voice of a bully in your head saying hateful thoughts to you about yourself and then is sweet to you by promising to you that you will achieve happiness by listening to what that voice tells you to do. It feels like you are worthless but your life can be easier by controlling what is in your mouth.
Eating disorders can be like when you write a word down and the spelling looks wrong to you but your loved ones are convincing you that the spelling is right. Your life depends on realizing that the spelling is right but in your eyes, it looks very wrong. You want to trust the judgment of your loved ones but it is too hard for you to do that. Asking for help feels like a weakness and you want to fulfill the journey you set on your own. Once you get to your goal, you feel like it was too easy to get to so you make a new goal with double the effort.
Bustle reporter Gina M. Florio describes food as a friend and foe. It can make you anxious about how food has the potential to damage your body and are scared of looking disgusting after taking a bite. You exhibit anxiety symptoms when you are surrounded by people watching you eat.
Food becomes your major obsession as it is hard to simple tasks without thinking of what you ate and what you will eat. You feel more concerned about what the people around you are eating and only feel the need to eat if not eating brings attention. Your self-confidence is destroyed by looking at others and you forget about what you used to love about yourself. If you eat alone, no one will judge you so it feels safer that way. If you feel any of these thoughts, it is important to seek treatment before causing damage to your health like a bad heart, blood pressure of type II diabetes.
Smarmore Castle Private Clinic in County Louth, near Dublin was founded in 1988 as a residential rehabilitation hospital treating people suffering from drug and alcohol purposes. Smarmore Castle believes eating disorders is an illness whereby a problematic relationship with food has developed commonly alongside other traits, such as negative body image, perfectionism, impulsivity and low self-esteem. Smarmore Castle can help through CBT-BN for Bulimia Nervosa, CBT-BED for Binge Eating Disorder and Interpersonal Psychotherapy and/or Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa. For more information, please call 041-214-5111. For those who live out of the country, the international number is 00353-41-214-5111.
