Eating Disorders Are a Matter of Life and Death
Eating Disorders Are Life-Threatening!
The life journey beginning in the womb continues through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age with various cognitive, behavioral and emotional changes and development. Psychologist Dr. Feyza Bayraktar, who notes that eating disorders with established diagnostic criteria such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating are rooted in psychological factors during these periods of change, made special statements for Eating Disorders Awareness Week on 21-27 February.
Placing excessive significance on one's weight, having the mind constantly preoccupied with weight and food, and using eating or not eating as a tool to cope with emotions such as sadness, boredom and pain are considered fundamental characteristics of eating disorders that seriously threaten health and can even result in death.
Psychologist Dr. Feyza Bayraktar, noting that eating disorders typically begin during adolescence and can last a lifetime if not addressed early, identified symptoms including intense anxiety about weight gain, restrictive dieting or overeating, frequent weighing or fear of being weighed, frequent mirror-checking or avoidance of mirrors, tension in eating environments, and anxiety about losing control around food, made important statements for Eating Disorders Awareness Week on 21-27 February.
Eating Disorders Surged Significantly During the Pandemic
Noting that difficulty in managing emotions healthily is one of the underlying causes of eating disorders, Bayraktar states that the pandemic period, during which people faced uncertainty, could not apply daily routine stress management skills and were unable to socialize, triggered the emergence of eating disorders in many individuals.
"The Family's Relationship with Food Is Determinative of the Child's Relationship with Food"
Emphasizing that eating disorders, whose seeds are sown in childhood and mostly emerge during adolescence or young adulthood, can also develop in later years, Psychologist Dr. Feyza Bayraktar noted that life changes such as changing schools or jobs, marriage, divorce, and relocation to another country can trigger eating disorders, and stressed the importance of proper emotion management for healthy navigation of these processes. Bayraktar, noting that the prevalence of eating disorders is quite high among individuals raised in family environments where emotions cannot be freely expressed, are not allowed to be expressed, or are judged, continued: "Constant discussion of diets, weight and food within the family can also cause eating disorders. Rewarding a child for doing well on an exam with chocolate or comforting a sad child with candy can cause the child, even as an adult, to turn to food whenever they want to reward themselves or whenever they feel sad. In short; the family's relationship with food is determinative of the child's relationship with food."
Awareness About Eating Disorders Must Be Raised
Bayraktar, stating that prevention work on eating disorders will prevent the emergence of eating disorders that can lead to many health problems, said: "Raising awareness about eating disorders comes at the forefront of eating disorder prevention work. To raise awareness about eating disorders, educating both adolescent students and their families in schools about eating disorders and giving more coverage to this topic in media and social media can be counted among the important steps to be taken in eating disorder prevention efforts."
People with Eating Disorders Should Not Neglect Health Check-ups
Stating that although eating disorder symptoms resemble each other, they vary from person to person, Bayraktar emphasized that regardless of the type of eating disorder, a person presenting with eating disorder complaints must be seen by a physician and undergo health examinations, continuing: "Eating disorder treatment should be conducted in collaboration with a psychotherapist specialized in this field and experts working in other areas. When working with my clients, I make sure to conduct the process with an internal medicine or endocrinology specialist and ensure a psychiatrist's involvement in the process where necessary. Similarly, in accordance with the person's overall condition and needs, I collaborate with nutrition specialists."
