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When people talk about eating disorders, most people simply think of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. But eating disorders and disordered eating habits can include a lot more than just those two conditions and can be incredibly destructive for physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Eating disorder is the umbrella term for several different psychological conditions including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, emotional eating, and orthorexia. Each of these conditions has their own unique traits and a multitude of varied symptoms. This is why it is important to get to the root of what lies beneath these conditions, and understand the concept of eating disorder and its destructive effects.

The concept of eating disorder can be difficult to understand because, at its core, it involves more than just eating habits. Eating disorder is actually linked to several psychological illnesses that can manifest and manifest themselves differently in each individual. In the case of anorexia and bulimia – two of the more widely-known eating disorders – it can involve feelings and thoughts of low self-esteem, perfectionism, anxiety and depression. That is why it is imperative to look at the mental and emotional components of these illnesses as a way to have a better understanding of them and to effectively treat them.

In addition to psychological components, individuals with eating disorders may suffer from a variety of physical symptoms and ailments, such as hair loss, low energy levels, an inability to concentrate, joint pain and digestive issues. Moreover, the long-term effects of an eating disorder can be incredibly destructive for the individual, including an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, eating-related diseases, and premature death.

So, how can an individual suffering from a eating disorder seek help? First, it is important to understand that eating disorders are complex illnesses with both psychological and physical components. Therefore, it is important to seek professional treatment that can help tackle all aspects of the illness. Treatment will typically involve a combination of therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes that can help treat the individual’s underlying psychological and emotional issues, as well as help them make healthy lifestyle changes. It is also important to remember that recovery is possible, and taking the necessary steps to seek help can make a world of difference in the life of someone suffering from an eating disorder.

Overall, eating disorder is a complex illness that can affect both physical and emotional well-being. Therefore, it is important to understand the concept of eating disorder and its destructive effects, as well as seek professional help in order to make a full recovery.

Someone who experiences a panic attack undergoes an instant episode of strong fear which causes chronic physical reactions in the presence of no real danger.

Panic attacks can be a very frightening process, and when it takes place, you would think that all is beyond your hands, and it could look like you are dying.

Most times, people who experience panic attacks have just one or two all through their lifetime. However, there are some people who experience panic attacks more regularly, especially after the end of a stressful situation.

If someone experiences panic attacks frequently, it is referred to as panic disorder. Panic attacks cannot take the life of an individual, but it gives the person an impression that their lives is about to be taken from them.

Panic attacks and disorder can happen instantly without any prior notice. It could happen when you are driving to work, when you are sleeping, eating and a host of other activities.

There are variations of panic attacks, and the symptoms become intense almost immediately. You would feel so tired when the panic attack fades off.

People who have experienced panic attacks usually fear of having another one. So, they would try to avoid some situations that could induce it, based on the last one they experienced.

If you have been experiencing symptoms of panic attacks and disorders, it is important to seek help promptly. This is not a mental disorder that you should keep to yourself. They are very unpleasant and uncomfortable situations but they are not dangerous.

It is impossible to manage a panic attack all by yourself, so it is necessary to have yourself checked by a healthcare provider.

When panic attacks kick off, they do not come with any warning. However, overtime, they are induced by some situations. So, for the meantime before seeing a healthcare provider, it is necessary to be watchful of those situations and see if they can be avoided.

For now, there is no proven method of preventing panic attacks, but it is best to seek treatment promptly.

Eating disorder is a chronic condition that is connected to a tenacious eating behavior that adversely affect your emotions, health and your ability to perform optimally in all aspects of life.

A good number of eating disorders are usually hinged on placing too much focus on your body shape, weight and food, and this affect the prospects of your body receiving enough nutrition.

Someone who has eating disorders might have heart problems, digestive system problems and a host of other diseases. Most times, eating disorders kicks off in the teenage are pre-adult years.

This does not however understate the fact that, it can develop at other ages too. When there is proficient treatment, someone can regain his or her healthy eating habits.

Also, if the treatment is in place, there is a tendency for chronic health complications caused by the eating disorder to be reversed. The type of eating disorder is responsible for how symptoms vary.

There is Anorexia nervosa which is characterized by an individual having a low body weight and he or she harbors the fear of gaining weight. Their perception of shape or weight is distorted.

People who have anorexia nervosa try all within their means to ensure that their shape and weight is controlled effectively, and this affects their life and health activities.

Another eating disorder is Bulimia nervosa. This is a chronic and life-threatening eating disorder. People who have this type of eating disorder experience purging alongside with feelings that suggests that you cannot control the way you eat.

In addition to this, they eat much food and they try to eliminate the additional calories in a way that is not healthy.

In addition to this, there is Rumination disorder which is the continuous regurgitation of food after eating. This is not caused by a medical condition, and this eating disorder is not an intentional one.

This disorder causes malnutrition if the person refuses to eat much because they want to avert the behavior.

It is very difficult to manage an eating disorder on your own, so it is best to reach out to a healthcare professional.

Mental disorders are also referred to as mental illness and they refer to a broad range of mental health problems. These are health conditions that adversely affect your behavior, mood and thinking.

Mental disorders can take different forms like depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, anxiety and a host of others.

People can have mental health concerns at intervals. However, a mental health concern becomes a mental health problem when the signs and symptoms induce regular stress and your ability to perform optimally.

A mental health problem has the capacity to make you miserable and you could face problems in your relationship, work and school.

Symptoms associated with mental disorders are best managed with psychotherapy which is known as talk therapy, and medications.

The following are signs and symptoms of mental disorders

• Sadness
• Confused thoughts
• Unnecessary fears and worries
• Feelings of guilt
• Frequent mood swings
• Withdrawal from loved ones
• Unnecessary tiredness
• Drastic increase or reduction in sex drive
• Suicidal thoughts
• Substance abuse

A good number of times, people who have mental disorders usually experience physical problems. This could be in form of pain at any part of the body. If they persists for a very long time, then it is likely that help is needed and a mental disorder is in play.

If you experience signs or symptoms of a mental disorder, it is important to see a healthcare provider or a professional who is versed in mental health.

A good number of times, people who have mental health problems are not good at spotting that they have a disorder. Even though the symptoms are staring them in the face, they do not like considering the reality.

So, they would rather pretend like all is normal, and they would go about with their normal lives, affecting those who are around them without knowing.

There is a likely chance for suicidal thoughts to set in, so it is important to seek help from professionals before you hurt yourself without knowing.

Schizophrenia is one of the most chronic mental health condition. This is a health disorder whereby an individual is unable to process reality normally. This is the reason why a good number of them experience delusions, hallucinations and a host of others.

They exhibit behaviors that have the capacity to affect their regular functioning.

People who experience schizophrenia need treatment on a long-term basis. It is best to receive treatment during the early stages of schizophrenia so that it can be properly managed.

If not, there are tendencies for chronic complications to set in, and this could inhibit the long-term progress.

Schizophrenia comes with a host of problems which are centered on behaviors, emotions and thinking. The signs and symptoms would definitely not be totally the same across all individuals. However, delusions and hallucinations are bound to happen.

Basically, delusions are untrue beliefs that do not exist in reality. A good number of people who have schizophrenia usually experience delusions.

For hallucinations, they involve hearing and seeing things that are not in reality. One of the common features of hallucinations is people hearing voices that are definitely inaudible to other people around.

Also, people who have schizophrenia also experience disorganized thinking. Communication would not be effective as it used to be. The person might mutter words that do not make sense to people who are devoid of the mental health problem.

The symptoms of schizophrenia are quite a number and they vary in both severity and type. Sometimes, these symptoms might get better, and other times, they could be very unpleasant.

For men, schizophrenia occurs in their early ages to their mid-20s. For women, schizophrenia begin when they are in their late 20s.

People who have schizophrenia do not usually know when their problem is as a result of their mental health disorder. So, the best set of people who would give them the needed help are family and friends.

You cannot force someone to seek treatment for schizophrenia, but you can talk to a professional who would advise them.  

In times past, Bipolar disorder was referred to as maniac depression. It is a mental health disorder whereby an individual shows mood swings at extreme lengths.

So, the person might either be depressed or hyper-active. Someone who is depressed loses feelings and interests in activities that previously attracted the individual.

While someone who is hyper-active is always full of energy and boisterous, and sometimes the individual might be irritable. Someone who has mood swings would be unable to think properly, sleep well, and carry out other needed activities.

These bouts of mood swings will rarely occur or they could happen several times a year. It depends on the make-up of the person. In children and teenagers, bipolar disorder is quite difficult to identify. It would be hard to tell of they are conventional mood switches or aftermaths of stress and the likes.

Bipolar disorder occurs differently in adults than it does in children, it is an entirely different pattern. One of the most notable signs observable in children is terrible mood swings than it is different from their conventional mood swings.

Irrespective of the mood extremes, people who have bipolar disorder fail to notice how their condition affects the lives of those around them. So, if they do not get the treatment, they would continue to live their lives unaware of the damage they are causing.

Some people who have bipolar disorder might revel in euphoria and this can make them to be more productive. Often times, they experience an emotional downturn that can make them depressed. Other times, they find themselves in all sorts of trouble.

If you are experiencing any symptom of mental health disorder, it is essential to see your healthcare provider in order to receive help. It is a rare sight for you to see bipolar disorder get better all by itself. You need to seek help from trusted professionals.

Some people who have bipolar disorders are likely to have suicidal thoughts, so they can harbor thoughts of harming themselves.

PTSD is a very difficult condition to live with. PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and it is characterized by ongoing feelings of panic due to a traumatic event. Commonly, people think of ex-soldiers as the typical person afflicted with PTSD because they come home from war so traumatized by what they have witnessed. It is true that many former soldiers return from war and suffer PTSD, but it is a condition that can strike people from any demographic and any walk of life. Trauma is relative to the coping abilities of those it affects, and a range of adverse situations can be traumatic to people.

When a traumatic event takes place a person’s brain is flooded with cortisol as a stress response. They receive adrenaline and their heart races. They have an extreme, negative emotional response. This traumatic event may be something as severe as an animal attack or a violent crime, or it may be something more minor, such as a pattern of fighting in a relationship. As mentioned previously, trauma has more to do with the individual’s ability to process and overcome trauma than it does the scale of the trauma.

As time moves forward and the traumatic event moves into the past, the average traumatic event begins to fade from a person’s memory and they begin to experience relief from it. But in the case of PTSD, the person does not forget the traumatic event, the memory of it stays vivid and they constantly relive it, complete with the rush of cortisol and adrenaline. This means they are living life with feelings of dread and panic just below their surface. These feelings can be triggered by anything startling or reminiscent of the traumatic event. This pattern will continue until the individual receives help in the form of counseling or clinical treatment. PTSD is treatable for those who are willing to apply hard work and critical thinking to their condition.

OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. People often think of OCD as merely a quirk, but actually, it is a very serious disorder that can drastically interfere with a person’s life. Many hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and Canada live with OCD. Some lead functional lives and some do not. When OCD is mild or a person knows how to manage it, they can lead perfectly functional lives. When OCD is severe or mismanaged, it can be like living in a prison.

OCD is characterized by obsessive and compulsive behavior. A person with OCD will fixate and become worked up over the details, coordination, cleanliness or order of any given thing. OCD frequently expresses itself as a fixation on cleanliness and germs. The sufferer imagines that germs are on every surface that is not immaculately clean and will not be calm until every surface near them is cleaned. OCD also takes the form of an obsession with symmetry, coordination, organization and order. OCD people have very precise, exact systems in place in their life. If those systems are disturbed, it is a major cause of stress to them.

The underlying causes of OCD can vary. They are typically associated with a person’s environment, chemistry, psychology and behavior. Often, OCD will be passed down generationally. There is usually more than one case per family. Often a parent teaches a child to fear germs, clean compulsively or keep their belongings in perfect order, and it becomes a lifelong pattern. There is treatment for OCD for those who are willing to be patient and put in a considerable amount of work. Because OCD is literally a compulsive behavior, the person exhibits it automatically and subconsciously. Learning to reverse it takes a lot of work and intense critical thinking. The triggers of OCD remain with a person their whole life, but they can learn how to manage them so that their control reflex over them is as automatic and effortless as the trigger itself.

The mental disorder with the most awareness surrounding it is depression. This was the first mental disorder that was identified as widespread and prevalent. In the 1990s, depression received a great deal of publicity and society grasped together that depression was something of an epidemic. Since then, depression has been the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder of all of them. It affects nearly one in four people in North America. Depression is characterized as prevalent, reoccurring low moods, or ongoing low moods that last for an extended period of time. It is not the same thing as being sad, as everyone feels sad from time to time. Instead, it is a heavy darkness that robs a person of their joy, energy and productivity.

Depression is considered to be the most easily recognized mental disorder, but diagnosing it can be complicated. There are many other mental and personality disorders that come with symptoms that mimic depression. For example, a condition like borderline personality disorder often comes with risk taking tendencies that resemble suicidal behavior. For this reason, borderline personality disorder is frequently misdiagnosed as depression. Depression also frequently accompanies other disorders because the individual is struggling to cope with the ramifications of their disorder. For example, depression is found frequently in people afflicted with adult ADHD because it is common for ADHD sufferers to be rejected due to their lack of organizational skills.

Depression is commonly treated with medication and counseling, which can both be very effective. Depression can be one of the most harmful mental disorders because it stops a person from being able to move toward their goals and ambitions. It isolates a person in despair and lethargy away from the rest of the world. It is important that people who suffer from depression receive the treatment they need because people with depression are at a higher risk of suicide and self mutilation. Having said that, depression can also be one of the easiest disorders to live with when it is managed correctly and treatment is taken seriously.

Depression is sometimes one of two co-occurring disorders. Addiction and substance abuse can greatly enhance the symptoms of depression and requires specialized treatment. If someone you know is struggling with depression and addiction, the best resource are addiction, drug and alcohol rehab centers.

The mental disorder anxiety is one that is very prevalent in our society. Anxiety conditions are very present within our cultural fabric. Many people mistakenly assume that an anxiety disorder can be described simply as someone who gets scared a lot, in the same way other people get scared but more regularly. This is not an accurate description of anxiety. The attacks and episodes that a person experiences when they have anxiety are debilitating. They may hyperventilate and feel like they are going to have a heart attack. In fact, many people who have an anxiety attack go to the hospital, thinking they are having a medical emergency. The symptoms are severe and alarming.

Anxiety is a condition that sets in over time. It can have a variety of underlying causes but the symptoms are very similar between people diagnosed with it. They have an exaggerated sense of danger and an overactive fear response. The reaction that would be typical of a person meeting a bear in the woods strikes a person with anxiety at random in every day situations. They will frequently interpret someone or something as threatening even if the person or thing poses no real threat to them. Their fear response is very extreme. Their brain becomes flooded with cortisol and they are no longer able to interpret stimuli rationally. Physical responses include shortness of breath, racing heart, tightness in the chest and feelings of faintness.

Treatment for anxiety includes medication and counseling, both of which are very important to the management of this condition. Medication helps stabilize the brain chemicals that become out of control during an anxiety attack. Counseling helps teach a person with anxiety how to cope with its symptoms and how to identify when their anxiety is affecting them. Living with anxiety can be challenging, but its symptoms are manageable for those who take their treatment seriously. If you or someone you care about is struggling with anxiety, reach out to the services of a mental health professional today.