Anorexia Nervosa (AN)

AN is a unique reaction to a variety of external and internal conflicts such as anxiety, unhappiness and feeling like life is out of control. Sufferers often have low self-esteem.  In addition, they have an intense desire to control their surroundings and emotions. Many suffering with AN use it as a coping mechanism, though AN often proves to cause more destruction than it does ease one’s problems. Those suffering with AN often have a fear of becoming fat though are often underweight.  Those with AN turn to dieting and starvation as a way to control not only their weight, but their feelings.

New research indicates that for a percentage of sufferers, a genetic predisposition may play a role in a sensitivity to develop Anorexia, with environmental factors being the trigger.
Behaviors/signs include obsessive exercise, calorie and fat gram counting, starvation and restriction of food, self-induced vomiting, the use of diet pills, laxatives or diuretics to attempt controlling weight and a persistent concern with body image. 

Bulimia Nervosa (BN)

Those with BN engage in bingeing and purging.  Bingeing includes eating a large quantity of food in a relatively short period of time.  Purging can be accomplished in a variety of ways, with the common goal of ridding the body of food.  Taking laxatives, self-induced vomiting and excessive exercise are all examples of purging.  Those suffering with BN may seek episodes of binging and purging to avoid and let out feelings of anger, depression, stress or anxiety. New research indicates that for a percentage of sufferers, a genetic predisposition may play a role in a sensitivity to develop Bulimia, with environmental factors being the trigger.

Behaviors/signs include recurring episodes of rapid food consumption followed by tremendous guilt and purging, a feeling of lacking control over his or her eating behaviors, regularly engaging in stringent diet plans and exercise, the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, and/or diet pills and a persistent concern with body image.

Compulsive Overeating

People suffering with Compulsive Overeating have what is characterized as an "addiction" to food, using food and eating as a way to hide from their emotions, to fill a void they feel inside, and to cope with daily stresses and problems in their lives.

People suffering with this Eating Disorder tend to be overweight.  A person suffering as a Compulsive Overeater is at health risk for a heart attack, high blood-pressure and cholesterol, kidney disease and/or failure, arthritis, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

Binge Eating Disorder

Those living with Binge Eating Disorder suffer a combination of symptoms similar to those of Compulsive Overeaters and Bulimia. The sufferer periodically goes on large binges, consuming an unusually large quantity of food in a short period of time (less than 2 hours) uncontrollably, eating until they are uncomfortably full.  Unlike with Bulimia, they do not purge following a Binge episode.