Eating disorders – Anorexia is an unfortunately well-known eating disorder. Many people think it is the only one, but this is not true. In addition, there are many myths about TCAs that we will debunk below.
Eating behaviour disorder (ED), what is it?
It is a behavioural disorder whose origin depends on several factors. Some the biological, others psychological, family, or social. These diseases cause severe consequences for the mental health of the person who suffers from them and their physical health.
An eating disorder is a severe illness and should not be trivialized. However, it is not incurable. With proper psychological treatment, this type of conduct disorder can be cured.
It can be complicated because eating disorders are associated with a lack of awareness of being sick. People who suffer from them do not identify themselves as unhealthy and do not see that their conduct disorder negatively affects them. So they see no reason why they should undergo treatment. In these cases, the family and closest people play a fundamental role.
Also Read: Lose Weight
Myths that hinder Eating disorders the treatment of TCA
Only Bulimia and Anorexia are eating disorders. This is false: some examples are binge eating disorder, eating behavior disorder not otherwise specified, Pica, or avoidance disorder.
The most common and dangerous eating disorder is anorexia. Also false: there are more known cases of bulimia, and the suicide rate is higher among those who suffer from it.
People with eating disorders are skinny. This is not always true, and there are people with eating disorders who have a normal appearances. Maintaining this statement makes the diagnosis of the disease difficult.
TCAs are incurable. As we have said above, this is also false. An eating disorder can be cured with proper treatment that usually involves a specialized medical and psychological team.
The TCAs are the patients’ fault and have asked for them. As in the case of any mental disorder, patients are not guilty of suffering from it. The origin of these disorders has multiple causes, hence their complexity.
These are disorders that only affect young girls. It is also wrong; a man is 1 in 10 affected by behavioural disease. Regarding age, the onset of the disorder usually occurs in the adolescent stage and continues its course at any age until the person begins treatment.
The real problem with bulimia and binge eating is a weak will. In addition to being false, this myth is very harmful since it blames the TCA victim for something she cannot control: the inability to stop eating.
