Your Brain on Eating Disorders
What is an eating disorder?
Eating disorders manifest themselves in people when the slightest desire to want to be in control begins consuming them. Often times, people with these disorders don’t even realize that they’re sick, and think they’re honestly doing what’s best for their bodies. They might not even recognize when their hair falls out, or when their blood pressure drops drastically, that something is wrong. There are three generalized kinds of eating disorders:
Anorexia nervosa: Characterized by restrictive eating and excessive exercise in order to maintain ideal thinness
Bulimia nervosa: Characterized by a cycle of binging food and purging it by means of either vomiting or through use of laxatives
Binge-eating: Characterized by sedentary activity and high intake of food leading to obesity, possibly with underlying depression
People with one of these three disorders begin to relish in the control they have found in their bodies and may ignore the warning signs. In fact, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders notes that 30 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime. Without treatment, as many as 20% of these individuals will die from eating disorder-related causes.
What’s going on inside my head?
Note that these disorders typically start out with just one more pound to lose, one more area of the body to perfect, and one more meal to skip. Yet when this turns into a vicious cycle of restrictive eating or purging, it develops into an eating disorder. The brain then reacts in three ways:
The reward center is rewired: in anorexia, food becomes a punishment and causes fear or sadness. In bulimia, the reward center is only activated by the purge. In binge-eating, the reward center craves food but is not rewarded by it.
Neurotransmitter levels are altered: Serotonin and dopamine levels are both low in patients with eating disorders. Sometimes serotonin is higher than normal, but it usually results in starvation, so needs to be managed in the same way one would with low levels.
The feedback system is inhibited: the anterior cingulate, insular cortex, and orbital cortex regulate how someone views food, and can change according to the disorder.
These patterns of thinking can’t be undone until the disordered individuals start a path toward recovery. Until then, the individual must either tackle their fear of food, resist their bodily instinct to purge itself, or restrict the brain’s urge to eat uncontrollably. This makes the initial recovery process extremely difficult for anyone with an eating disorder.
Where can I get help?
Realize eating disorders are not things they can control on their own. They can’t just eat food because they’re told to or alter their behavior instantly. It’s a gradual process of recognizing their unique thinking patterns and changing them for the better, which will take time and patience. But you can reach out and seek help elsewhere. Always feel free to chat with a SoulMedic at 494949, or you can look into one of these resources:
Written by Madi Turpin
