Eating disorders: We’ve all heard of them, but do most of us really know a lot about them? Would you be able to recognize one if you, a loved one, or a friend had one? And if you were able to recognize one, would you know what to do?
The first thing you should do is seek professional help if you believe you might have an eating disorder. But if you're confused about whether you definitely have one, there are some ways to recognize that there is some kind of a problem, so you can at least start to find a solution and seek help.
Dr. Amelia Davis, MD, is the medical director of Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders. There is no one single cause of eating disorders for all people — they “are caused by a combination of complex factors including genetics, biochemical, psychological, environmental and cultural factors," she tells Teen Vogue. She adds that sometimes eating disorders can result from psychological issues that are unrelated to weight loss, and people who have them "may begin using these behaviors (dieting, starving, and purging) as ways of coping with stress and to help relieve unpleasant or overwhelming emotions."
Even if you technically know what eating disorders are, it can be difficult to tell if you actually have one. Often, others are the first to notice the warning signs. Why is this? "Eating disorders are an illness that are what is called 'ego syntonic,' which means they are not necessarily distressing to the person," explains Dr. Leslie Sanders, MD, of the Eating Disorders Program of Goryeb Children’s Center at Overlook Medical Center in New Jersey. "That is how something that can be so detrimental to someone’s health can go on for so long.”
If you think that you have an eating disorder, it is crucial to seek professional help from a psychiatrist, therapist, or primary care provider. Dr. Davis shared a screening tool with Teen Vogue called the SCOFF Questionnaire, which is used widely by health and wellness professionals to help determine if someone potentially has an eating disorder. Answering “yes” to two or more of the questions means you should seek help from a professional for a more comprehensive assessment. The questions are:
Do you make yourself sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
Do you worry you have lost control over how much you eat?
Have you recently lost more than 14 pounds in a three-month period?
Do you believe yourself to be fat when others say you are too thin?
Would you say that food dominates your life?
Dr. Sanders says, “We know that the sooner someone seeks help (for an eating disorder) the more likely they are to recover.” However, there are ways you can change the way you think about food, exercise, and your body that can start to counteract your eating disorder while you are in the process of seeking professional help. Or you can use these techniques to develop a healthy mindset around eating and food.
First, try not to categorize food as “good” or “bad.” Dr. Davis says it’s important to “recognize that we need to eat a balanced diet and variety of foods to be healthy.” So, yes, donuts and ice cream can be part of a balanced, healthy diet.