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| What is eating distress? |
| Eating distress is not really about eating or food; nor are they slimming diseases.
Starving or binge eating are symptoms of emotional or psychological distress. |
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| What are the types of eating distress? |
| Eating distress includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, compulsive eating and obsessional behaviour around food. |
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| What are anorexia and bulimia? |
| People with anorexia practice self starvation, they say they are looking and feeling better as a result. People suffering from bulimia binge and then purge (using vomiting, starvation or exercise) themselves as a way of enjoying food. |
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| What are the signs of bulimia? |
| Disappearing to the lavatory after meals. Secretive behaviour. Feeling out of control helpless and lonely. Sore throat, erosion of the teeth enamel (due to vomiting). Dehydration, poor skin. "Hamster Cheeks" caused by vomiting. Tiredness. |
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| What are the signs of anorexia? |
| Weight loss, excessive exercising, wearing baggy clothes, moodiness. Perfectionism, any obsessions about food or calories. Feeling cold or poor circulation. Growth of downy hair all over the body. |
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| Why do some people have eating distress? |
| For some people eating distress becomes a way of trying (without thinking about it) to
cope with life when they have difficult and seemingly impossible problems. By focusing on food and eating, or not eating, they block out painful feelings which they feel unable to cope with in any other way. At first the eating distress seems to be a solution to their problem: a means of controlling events but soon it takes control over all aspects of their life. |
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| How many people suffer from anorexia and bulimia nervosa? |
| It is estimated that around 1,700 people in Northern Ireland suffer from anorexia. 17,000 are currently battling with bulimia. |
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| How many young people have eating distress? |
| Sadly an increasing number of young people are developing eating distress. For example children as young as 7 are being diagnosed as having anorexia. In the 7-14 year age group about 25% of patients with anorexia are boys. |
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| Can the disease be cured? |
| Early recognition and help can prevent the development of a serious eating disorder. This is why it is vital that the public are made more aware of the disease. Anorexia has one of the highest death rates of all psychiatric illness if not treated. |
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| What is the treatment? |
| There is much debate about the best ways of treating the disease. What works for one person does not necessarily work for everyone else. While dietary monitoring and advice are important, effective treatment must address the underlying psychological issues. Treatment must include "Talking" therapies. |
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| Are the non specialist services in Northern Ireland meeting the needs of those who suffer from eating distress? |
| No. There are strong feelings that more information and public awareness of the problems would help and that the information which does exist should be more widely available. |
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| What specialist services are available in the south of Northern Ireland? |
| There are presently no specialist services devoted to anorexia and bulimia. |
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| How many self help groups are available in the south of Northern Ireland? |
| One - Adapt. There are two groups available in Belfast and one in Derry.
Eating Distress Association
3rd Floor
Bryson House
28 Bedford Street
Belfast BT2 7FE
Tel. 028 9023 5959
Derry Well Woman
7 Queen Street
Derry |
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| Do you have to have specialised training in eating distress to understand and treat the disease. |
| Yes. People with eating distress find that treatment from untrained staff who do not have an understanding of their condition is not only ineffective but can make their problem worse. |
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| What research has been carried out on the disease? |
| Research has demonstrated a genetic pre-disposition to anorexia. The condition often appears in different generations of the same family. |
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