Eating Disorders
Severe PMS and eating disorders are related, research shows. A 1997 Italian study of twelve women with PMDD and ten women with either bulimia or binge-eating disorder found that 16.6 percent women with PMDD also had an eating disorder. Eating disorders often exacerbate the symptoms of PMS and PMDD and may cause some of the associated with PMDD, such as depression.
Women with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder are also very likely to be depressed; than 50 percent of people diagnosed with an eating disorder diagnosed with severe depression.
Question
What is binge-eating disorder?
Binge-eating disorder is characterized by frequent episodes uncontrollable eating of large amounts of food. Binge eaters eat they eat until they're uncomfortably full; they eat alone because they're embarrassed by the amount of food they're eating; and feel guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating. Unlike bulimics, binge eaters do not purge after eating. Up to 2 million people affected by the disorder.
Causes
Eating disorders have a mix of psychological and genetic Anorexics, bulimics, and binge eaters often feel out of control use food as a way to gain control over their lives. Many women these disorders have deep psychological problems, such as abuse or violence, and use eating behaviors to avoid confronting these issues. They also tend to be perfectionists with unrealistic expectations of themselves.
Research shows that the brain chemistry of women with eating disorders is altered. A 2005 study in the
Fact
Eating disorders are also associated with a number of other psychiatric illnesses, including anxiety disorders (social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder), personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression.
Other causes include a person's personality type, which makes some women more vulnerable to eating disorders; stress, which causes some women to self-medicate with comfort foods and produces hormones that encourage the formation of fat cells; age (young women often don't have the ability to manage emotional impulses); family; and social pressure.
Risk Factors
What puts you at risk for developing an eating disorder? According to the 2004 International Conference on Eating Disorders Orlando, Florida, risk factors include:
High weight concerns before age fourteen
High level of perceived stress
Behavior problems before age fourteen
History of dieting
Mother diets and is concerned about appearance
Siblings diet and are concerned about appearance
Peers diet and are concerned about appearance
Negative self-evaluation
Perfectionism
Shy and/or anxious
Competitive with siblings' shape and/or appearance
Distressed by life events occurring in the year before develops
Critical comments from family members about weight, and eating
Teasing about weight, shape, and appearance
Treatments
Medication and therapy are used to treat eating disorders, the exact strategy depends on the type of disorder. For example, bulimia is treated with the SSRI fluoxetine (Prozac), but SSRIs other antidepressants are not effective treatments for anorexia, which is often treated with psychotherapy. Binge-eating may be treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, antidepressants.
