Eating Disorders
ProYouth
Are you interested in body image, self confidence and self esteem. Check the Student Counselling Service's excellent online forum. Proyouth aims to promote healthy eating habits and prevent eating disorders in college students around Ireland. It provides various levels of support depending on your personal level of need - from risk assessment to weekly monitoring, online discussion boards and online counselling chats. This service is free of charge and anonymous.
Anorexia Nervosa
This is a condition characterized by deliberate weight loss, induced and/or sustained by the person experiencing it. Most common in girls, it may however also occur in young men.
Symptoms include:
- Significant weight loss
- Avoidance of certain foods often perceived as 'fattening foods'
- Body image distortion
- Loss of menstrual periods
- Insomnia
- Dizziness
- Feeling cold
- Feeling fat
- General irritability
One or more of the following may also be present: self-induced vomiting; self-induced purging; excessive exercise; use of appetite suppressants and or diuretics.
If you, or someone close to you, has an eating disorder, get help by contacting the student health centre or counselling services. Treatment works best earlier rather than later. Both medical/nutritional and psychological treatments are used in most cases.
Bulimia Nervosa
This is a condition characterized by repeated bouts of overeating and an excessive preoccupation with the control of body weight. This may lead the person to adopt extreme measures to eliminate the 'fattening' effects of ingested food. Symptoms include:
- Persistent preoccupation with eating
- Irresistible craving for food and overeating large amounts over short periods of time
- Purgative abuse
- Self-induced vomiting
- Alternating periods of starvation
- Significant fear of fatness
Again, it's best to look for help as soon as possible. Talk to your general practitioner or a counsellor if you are experiencing any of the symptoms above.