6A / NEWS / THURSDAY, APRIL 28 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Defining the
Disordered eating. Any atypical eating habits or tendencies.
Eating disorders. A subcategory of disordered eating, characterized by the most extreme behaviors. These disorders are recognized as mental illnesses that require professional help.
- Anorexia nervosa
Characterized by self-starvation and extreme weight loss.
- Rulmia-navasa
Characterized by cycles of binging and compensatory behaviors designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.
- Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS):
  Symptoms don't meet the criteria for anorexia or bulimia yet display severe eating disordered symptoms.
- Ringe eating disorder
Characterized by recurrent binge eating without the regular use of compensatory measures.
Depression Depression is an illness that involves both mind and body. Depression can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. This may make it difficult to perform normal day-to-day activities, and depression may make it seem as if life isn't worth living.
Riparian disorder. Sometimes called manic-depressive disorder, this causes mood swings that range from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. Depression may result in feelings of sadness or hopelessness and loss or interest or pleasure in most activities. Mania may result in feelings of euphoria and energy.
Generalized anxiety disorder. A persistent form of anxiety that interferes with daily activities such as work, school or sleep. This can disrupt relationships and enjoyment of life, and over time it can lead to health concerns and other problems.
- Definitions are based on those provided by the Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders organization (F.E.A.S.T.) and the Mayo Clinic.
For information
Watkins Memorial Health Center (785)864-9500 Counseling and Psychological Services: (785)864-2277 KU Psychological Clinic: (785)864-4121
Ann Chapman is also available for questions every Monday from 3-5 p.m. at the Ambler Student Fitness Recreation Center.
EATING DISORDERS AND
DISORDERS
Merriam-Webster defines eating disorders as addictive psychological disorders that adversely affect the way a person's mind operates.
Nationwide, an estimated 10 million women and 1 million men battle anorexia or bulimia, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. That's more than four times the population of Kansas.
That figure does not include people dealing with EDNOS, which Caitlin was diagnosed with. This category includes binge eating, which affects one in five obese people, according to the Academy of Eating Disorders.
More than half of the people diagnosed with bulimia are clinically depressed and anorexics experience similarly high rates of clinical anxiety. People with eating disorders also have elevated rates of bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance abuse, according to the National Institute on Mental Health.
Steven Ilardi, professor of psychology and author of "The Depression Cure", said people sometimes use disordered eating habits to ease their other psychological pains. Because of this, psychological problems can appear before eating disorders.
In the case of bulimics, binging on food and then vomiting it up releases endorphins. That temporarily numbs the emotional pain of depression.
"If a person is emotionally upset, the binge-purge cycle is particularly soothing." Iflard said.
For anorexics, the ability to control what they eat, how much they eat and when they eat provides a sense of comfort in a life otherwise out of control.
On some occasions, she was so depressed that she would forget to eat for one or two days. Other times, she made a point of limiting herself to 650 calories a day, when her body weight suggested she needed 2,000 calories to be healthy. Those days, she ate a snack bag of Doritos and two strawberry Pop Tarts. In between eating, she weighed herself obsessively.
CONTROL AND COPING
If her weight went down, she was in control and happy — at least at that moment.
In those gratifying moments on the scale, it didn't matter that she wasn't getting along with her mom, that she was having trouble with a boyfriend or that she still missed her friend.
In some cases, psychological disorders follow an eating disorder. This was the case with Heidi, a petite blonde with an ear-to-ear smile that epitomizes the word "bubby." She is also a recovering anorexic who continues to take anti-depressant medications.
EATING DISORDERS
MORE THAN
MEETS THE EYE
As a dancer, Heidi constantly worried about her weight. She couldn't help but think that other dancers had thinner legs or tighter stomachs when she spent hours each day surrounded by mirrors and leotard-clad girls.
In eighth grade, she started skipping meals and swiping diet pills from her mother's medicine cabinet.
The food deprivation increased during her sophomore year of high
At first, restricting calories helped Caitlin mask her depression — but, it didn't make it disappear. Meanwhile, disordered eating became a problem of its own.
"I couldn't control the situations around me, but I could control my eating."
Caitlin first began restricting the food she ate as a way of coping with tragedy. She was 13 and her best friend had just been killed in a car accident. To avoid thinking about the loss, Caitlin instead focused on limiting the amount of food she ate
CAITLIN HILTON
"I couldn't control the situations around me, but I could control my eating," she said.
three large Nalgene bottles of water so she wouldn't get hungry. As soon as class let out, she headed to the gym for 60 minutes on the elliptical. The day ended with dance practice from 5 to 9 p.m.
She kept a meticulous calorie log, where she would write down everything she ate. At the end of a "good day," which entailed meals of half of an apple or a chicken patty with
the breading wiped on, she would scribble, "Yay! Good job!"
After months of a monotonously similar cycle that left her malnourished and unhappy, she gave into her family's urging to go to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for outpatient treatment. She didn't think she had an eating disorder, but she knew she wasn't acting like herself. She had withdrawn from friends and wanted to be alone in her room.
"You think that when you're super skinny, you're super happy," Heidi said. "But that's not true."
During her first meeting, her counselor held up pictures of two women and asked Heidi to choose the one she thought she looked the most like.
Heidi chose a picture of a woman who weighed 40 pounds more than her.
-8:00 - 1 egg w/ a little corn spread,
small sweet sprout, spike wrt bread!
small slice scoop, 73 yrs wrt gwgratia.
-12:5 - Big standard salad w/tarty
dressing,
-9:00 - 2 copc crescent wrt bamana
crescent, 1 delma, crescent wrt chiz. spread
tick of a bit Smoky moss wrt bread w/
7:30 - 1 dolma, slice paitak.
spread, caprese (5 shk+0.7 plain) on
a 15-musell (5 shk+0.7 plain) on
small platter x 2, 1 micron
"It takes over your brain and your body," Heidi said.
She was diagnosed with anorexia and prescribed an anti-depressant medication. Slowly but surely, she began spending less time thinking about food and more time socializing with friends.
Contributed photo Caitlin in 2006 before she began college at the University. She had struggled with depression and her eating habits for years.
keep calm and Love Running
sometimes I need to remember that I don't have to run. Instead, I do it for the joy, the exhilaration, and the accomplishment — And nothing feels better than going one step further than I thought I could.
7:50-1 medium bowl
coffee yogurt, a bit snoko-smooth
a handful meli meli
0:10- Salad or mud-boiled 1931
0:17- Marshmallow small-pink twirl mix
1:20- Meatball, small-pink twirl mix
1:20- Endoikoe Schoyle, squill
7:30- Endoikoe Schoyle, squill
salad w/ ginger cracker
clressing.
2/11/10
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