TeenHelp - Triggering (ED): Eating Disorder?

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Eating Disorder?

I'm not sure but I think I may either have an eating disorder or am in the beginning stage of getting one. Whenever I even think about eating I feel nauseous and immediately lose all appetite. When I do eat I feel disgusting, and want to throw it up. I eat maybe twice a day and its maybe a sandwich at lunch and some fruit before dinner so I can use the excuse I already ate to not eat dinner. Even thinking about food is repulsive. I have lost over {Edited} in the last 3 months, from not eating. I currently weigh {Edited}, probably less since I last checked. I don't eat regularly and sometimes go a while without eating and just gorge on some fruit and bread later, though I usually don't do this unless I'm stressed but I'm still worried about it. My mom has noticed how thin I look and how my clothes are starting to be too big for me.I know I'm malnourished because I've been getting sick, am weak, and get dizzy really quickly. I get cold very quickly because I'm pretty much "skin and bones" as my sister's say. I am a male and its really embarassing to admit this kind of thing to people, because no one believes me. I am Schizophrenic and on medication for it but should I tell my psychologist? Could it just be the meds messing with my appetite? But that wouldn't explain the binge eating when I'm stressed, would it?

Re: Eating Disorder?

Hey!

I'll address the binge eating first. Often the urge to binge is because you haven't eaten enough earlier in the day. Your body "panics" because you haven't fed it, so you get extreme urges to just eat a lot. It's a biological reaction to starvation.

Just because you're male doesn't mean you can't suffer, don't worry about this being embarrassing. Hand on heart, I've met more boys who are recovered from an eating disorder than I have girls. It's not just a female problem, regardless of what the media says.

Now, it all depends on why you're not eating. It could be due to medication, as some medications do reduce your appetite. But this sounds like more than this- you see food as disgusting, and this plus the urges to throw up is what is concerning me. How have you reacted to your weight loss? Do you want to lose more, or can you see this is a problem and want to eat normally but can't because of lack of appetite? When people say you look thin, how do you feel?

These are all answers it would be good to tell your psychologist. Maybe it's the medication, maybe it's the start of an eating disorder. I don't know, but your psychologist will be able to help. Don't be afraid to say anything to them. They've seen everything a million times before.

Just make sure you get help for this, food intake is a dangerous thing to mess with. Be brave <3

Re: Eating Disorder?

Whenever people mention how thin I am I get really embarrassed, I want to weigh more and eat regularly. All the foods I previously thought were delicious are now sickening to even look at. The wanting to throw up is most worrying to me too and is what made me think I have an eating disorder. I will tell my psychologist about it, though I'll have to wait a bit. I only see him every 3 months for medication refills. I'm still dreading admitting this because my two older sister's don't believe in mental disorders (even though one has chronic depression) and my mom likes to ignore the fact I have any, so adding the possibility of another is going to be tough.Thank you though, I just wanted a second opinion on this and you helped me a lot.