Many people are overweight because they eat excessively as an emotional crutch for something missing in their life. There are countless stories of people when dealing with the stress of daily life turning to food as a way to comfort them. They do this as opposed to turning to other individuals or inwards to a solid self-image to assuage their anxieties.

For example, a woman that I know who went through a divorce three years ago put on a tremendous amount of weight after the divorce and she openly admits that she turns to food as a way to comfort herself. Food never judges you nor does it reject you. It is always there as a way to satiate a need that has to be filled somehow. However, emotional eating is an unhealthy way of dealing with the problems of life.

Being overweight or obese because of emotional eating is a much more difficult problem to conquer than simply being overweight because you are eating the wrong types of food. Emotional eating needs to be dealt with by a professional who can uncover the emotional triggers that cause you to eat in this manner. Without an understanding of the underlying emotional issues an emotional eater will find losing weight a difficult process.

Many people deal with the stress of life in healthy ways such as exercise and socializing with friends who are capable of rationally talking them through their problems. Other healthy ways of dealing with stress are seeing a counselor, confiding with a pastor or religious leader, or even joining a self-help group to openly discuss emotional problems that are causing you distress.

If you know that you are one of the people who eat when under stress you need to get a handle on your emotional issues first before you can solve the issue of weight loss. People who eat emotionally are the least likely to adhere to a solid plan of diet and exercise. They are likely to jump ship on their program as soon as something stressful enters their life. Since stress is such an inherent part of current life this means that these individuals will likely fail at weight loss until they can pinpoint the reason why they eat excessively.



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Being thin is considered "beautiful" in most societies, which is unfortunate and part of the reason so many women become anorexic. Of course, anorexia can affect both women and men, but mostly women are affected. The media is partially responsible as well simply because only super thin women appear in advertisements. As a result, women frequently feel like they must look as thin as the women in advertisements who have frequently been airbrushed to appear "perfect."

The problem is that being super thin is not what the body was meant to be. Most women cannot possibly become this thin due to their genetics and biology. The problem is that women desire to have one shape while their body is a different shape. This can create serious psychological problems and other problems like anorexia. Certain industries such as acting, modeling, gymnastics, wrestling, figure skating, running, and others put serious stress on individuals to be thing and strong. It's no wonder so many individuals become anorexic as a result.

There are psychological issues that may play a role in anorexia as well. That includes poor body image, low self esteem, depression, perfectionism, physical abuse, need for control, ineffectiveness, avoidance of conflict, sexual abuse, rigid thought patterns, and the like.

The family environment may also play a role in anorexia. For example, families who are extremely rigid, overprotective, or don't allow individuals to have their own space are more likely to suffer from anorexia. In these instances young girls, or even young boys, may become anorexic in order to have control in some area of their life and exert their independence. Similarly, families where physical or sexual abuse occur or families who openly criticize a child's shape or weight may find the child exerts their self control through anorexia.

There appears to be a genetic role in anorexia as well. In fact, individuals whose relatives have been anorexic are eight times more likely to develop this disorder. There is no exact genetic factor that plays into the disorder; however it appears that there is one.

Anorexia causes are very varied and each person affected has very personal reasons. That's why there is no one way to protect women, or even men, from becoming anorexic. The best thing to do is to be supportive and everyone, no matter their weight. When someone exercises too much or diets too much they should not be commended on this behavior but rather talked to about why they feel they must be a certain size. Psychological reasons frequently come into play with anorexia and they are important to address.




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Anorexia has many emotional and physical side effects, and as devastating as these are, the good news is that this condition is treatable. When anorexics have a team to support them and help them through the process then they will get better, it's just a matter of time. Anorexics can use an recovery eating plan to help them learn how to eat properly again, they can recover their health, and develop new attitudes about their bodies and food that are healthy and normal.

Anorexia is an illness that not only affects the body, it also affects the mind. Individual's behaviors and attitudes are affected by this condition and it is difficult to recover without the help of a team of health professionals including dieticians, medical doctors, and mental health professionals. Individuals with anorexia also need the support of their family and friends to help them recover. This is very important and friends and family members should take this role very seriously.

There are components of treating anorexia and a simple anorexia recovery diet plan is not all that is needed. Also, patients will need to regain a healthy weight and have their psychological issues addressed. They will also need to learn to eliminate thoughts and behaviors that lead to starving, purging, and exercising to extremes. This is important in order to prevent a relapse.

If you have anorexia and want help them visit your doctor first. A complete physical exam will be conducted including an assessment of mental state, eating patterns, symptoms, and overall physical health. Doctors will also make sure there are no other health problems that could be causing the weight loss. Once a diagnosis has been reached the doctor will work with you to create an anorexic diet eating plan as well as refer you to other doctors that will help you through the process.

Medical treatment for anorexic individuals starts with stabilizing and serious health problems that might exist first. Some individuals will need to be hospitalized for a time in order to stabilize them and prevent them from continuing to starve themselves or even commit suicide. Many anorexics that are dangerously thin will be hospitalized until they gain enough weight to support their body's functions. When no immediate medical problems exist then the individual may be treated as an outpatient.



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Many people suffering from insomnia are dealing with anxiety problems as well. Insomnia is basically the inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep despite having the opportunity to sleep. Insomnia is a resulting symptom of psychiatric disorders like anxiety rather than a diagnosis within itself. There are three stages of insomnia. For example, early insomnia is characterized by an individual trying to fall asleep yet being unable to. Middle insomnia results in individuals waking up multiple times during the night. Late insomnia happens when individuals wake up earlier than planned. AN example of this is when you set your alarm for 8 am and wake up at 5 am, unable to return to sleep.

Anxiety is frequently the cause of early insomnia. There are many causes of anxiety and they vary from individual to individual. For some people anxiety may be caused by loss of a job or a fight with a loved one. The problem with this type of anxiety is that our minds can't let go of the thoughts and go to sleep and rest. For some reason we continue thinking about a particular topic even though doing so won't help or solve the problem neither will it make us feel better. Nevertheless, we continue returning to the thought that causes us anxiety.

Those who experience middle or late insomnia may be able to go to sleep okay but wake up to a flood of thoughts that are filled with anxiety. Many people also have a physiologic response include a heart rate increase and overall a sense of anxiousness.

Some people suffer from this type of insomnia for a period of time while the anxiety causing factor is in their life. However, they eventually resolve the anxiety and get over it. Then, there are other individuals who find they suffer from this type of anxiety for long periods of time and if this is the case then there may be an underlying problem such as depression. If you believe you could be suffering from depression or a mental health problem then you need to seek out care as soon as possible to help you reach a diagnose and receive the treatment you need for your anxiety and insomnia.



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