Common Causes of Eating Disorders

Complicated eating disorders begin differently for many people and can develop into anorexia or bulimia. There are many reasons as to why eating disorders begin, and why you may end up having one of these very dangerous issues if you're not careful. Many people believe that these disorders are just self-destructive acts. However, the ones who will develop these problems are not seeing their acts as being self-destruction. They don't even believe that their eating disorder can be harmful to their health.

It is actually a completely different pattern of thought: they believe that there is no destruction, but control - control over what is going on or has happened to them in their life. The cause of these disorders is something that has happened outside of the environment where you feel safe and it can cause you to escalate the eating disorder, especially since you see it as helpful instead of harmful or destructive.

Here are the principal causes of eating disorders:

* Major transitions in your life

Many people have trouble with any type of change in their life or daily routine. If you are anorexic, you may prefer that your life is more predictable and familiar.

Transitions like puberty, entering a new school or losing someone close may overwhelm you and cause you to feel as if you have no control. Anorexia can make you feel like you have control over something in your life, and that is why you may decide to stop eating.

* Family problems

The studies from the National Eating Disorder Association show that families with major problems in their home can possibly contribute to the cause of eating disorders. In addition, if you suffer from eating disorders, you may experience a fear of the loss of control on your life.

There are a large number of people with anorexia. They sometimes attempt to differentiate who they are from what their parents are by not eating. They feel like it's the first thing they have done that is only theirs and not their parent's.

* Social problems, failure at school or work

This is one of the biggest causes of eating disorders. Sometimes, when you have low self-esteem before starting a new job or going to a new school, this can be the onset of eating problems.

You may look at others and feel like you have to lose a large amount to weight to believe you are as pretty as you perceive others to be. If you believe that a bad romantic relationship, or not achieving the expectations at work such as a promotion, is due to your looks or not having control over the situation, it can cause you to fall into eating disorders.

You may believe that losing weight through self-starvation is a stepping-stone to improve yourself. On the other hand, binge eating and purging can serve your feeling of worthlessness by getting it out through purging, which means causing yourself to vomit after eating.

* Psychiatric illnesses

You have a psychiatric illness if you are anorexic or bulimic because you try to reach the reasoning that your eating disorder makes you feel as if you have control on your life. What this means is this: by not eating and exercising continually due to anorexia, or by binging (which means eating to the point of over eating only to purge right after so that you do not gain weight), you're trying to grab the control you feel you do not get from anything else.

It is important to understand that you should seek medical care immediately if you or a loved one is developing an eating disorder. The effects of such disorders are very hard on your organs and especially your heart.

Author : Dr. Rajesh Chhibber.