scholarly journals Just like fireworks in my brain – a Swedish interview study on experiences of emotions in female patients with eating disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Petersson ◽  
Lydia Gullbing ◽  
Kent-Inge Perseius
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Emotional Awareness ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Disorder Behaviour ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Abstract Background: Patients with eating disorders have reported poorer emotional awareness, more emotional suppression, less use of adaptive emotional regulation strategies, and more use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies compared to people in healthy control groups.Aim: To explore experiences of emotions by a transdiagnostic sample of patients with eating disorders.Method: Nine patients with different eating disorder diagnoses at an eating disorder outpatient clinic in Sweden were interviewed for their thoughts on emotions. The interviews were analyzed with Thematic Analysis.Result: Four themes were constructed: "Not knowing what one feels", "Switch off, run away, or hide behind a mask", "Emotions in a lifelong perspective", and "Using eating behaviours to regulate emotions". The patients described uncertainty regarding whether they experienced emotions correctly. They described how they tried to avoid difficult emotions through suppressive strategies and eating disorder behaviour. All described strategies were inefficient and all emotions were experienced as problematic, even joy. Since joy was used as a mask, the real experience of happiness was lost and mourned.Conclusion: All kinds of emotions were considered problematic to experience, but shame, fear, and sadness were considered worst. It is difficult to know if the emotional difficulties preceded an eating disorder, however such difficulties may have increased as a result of the eating disorder.

scholarly journals Just like fireworks in my brain – a Swedish interview study on experiences of emotions in female patients with eating disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Petersson ◽  
Lydia Gullbing ◽  
Kent-Inge Perseius
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Emotional Awareness ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Disorder Behaviour ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Abstract Background Patients with eating disorders have reported poorer emotional awareness, more emotional suppression, less use of adaptive emotional regulation strategies, and more use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies compared to people in healthy control groups. Aim To explore experiences of emotions by a transdiagnostic sample of patients with eating disorders. Method Nine patients with different eating disorder diagnoses at an eating disorder outpatient clinic in Sweden were interviewed for their thoughts on emotions. The interviews were analyzed with Thematic Analysis. Result Four themes were constructed: “Not knowing what one feels”, “Switch off, run away, or hide behind a mask”, “Emotions in a lifelong perspective”, and “Using eating behaviours to regulate emotions”. The patients described uncertainty regarding whether they experienced emotions correctly. They described how they tried to avoid difficult emotions through suppressive strategies and eating disorder behaviour. All described strategies were inefficient and all emotions were experienced as problematic, even joy. Since joy was used as a mask, the real experience of happiness was lost and mourned. Conclusion All kinds of emotions were considered problematic to experience, but shame, fear, and sadness were considered worst. It is difficult to know if the emotional difficulties preceded an eating disorder, however such difficulties may have increased as a result of the eating disorder.

scholarly journals Just like fireworks in my brain – a Swedish interview study on experiences of emotions in female patients with eating disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Petersson ◽  
Lydia Gullbing ◽  
Kent-Inge Perseius
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Emotional Awareness ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Disorder Behaviour ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Abstract Background: Patients with eating disorders have reported poorer emotional awareness, more emotional suppression, less use of adaptive emotional regulation strategies, and more use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies compared to people in healthy control groups. Aim: To explore experiences of emotions by a transdiagnostic sample of patients with eating disorders. Method: Nine patients with different eating disorder diagnoses at an eating disorder outpatient clinic in Sweden were interviewed for their thoughts on emotions. The interviews were analyzed with Thematic Analysis. Result: Four themes were constructed: "Not knowing what one feels", "Switch off, run away, or hide behind a mask", "Emotions in a lifelong perspective", and "Using eating behaviours to regulate emotions". The patients described uncertainty regarding whether they experienced emotions correctly. They described how they tried to avoid difficult emotions through suppressive strategies and eating disorder behaviour. All described strategies were inefficient and all emotions were experienced as problematic, even joy. Since joy was used as a mask, the real experience of happiness was lost and mourned. Conclusion: All kinds of emotions were considered problematic to experience, but shame, fear, and sadness were considered worst. It is difficult to know if the emotional difficulties preceded an eating disorder, however such difficulties may have increased as a result of the eating disorder.

scholarly journals Just Like Fireworks in My Brain – An Interview Study on Experiences of Emotions in Patients with Eating Disorders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Petersson ◽  
Lydia Gullbing ◽  
Kent-Inge Perseius
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Emotional Awareness ◽  
Emotional Difficulties ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Abstract Background: Patients with eating disorders have reported poorer emotional awareness, more emotional suppression, less use of adaptive emotional regulation strategies, and more use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies compared to people in healthy control groups. Aim: To explore experiences of emotions by a sample of patients with eating disorders. Method: Nine patients with eating disorder diagnoses at an eating disorder outpatient clinic in Sweden were interviewed for their thoughts on emotions. The interviews were analyzed with Thematic Analysis. Result: Four themes were constructed: "Not knowing what one feels", "Switch off, run away, or hide behind a mask", "Emotions in a lifelong perspective", and "Using eating behaviors to regulate emotions". The patients described uncertainty regarding whether they experienced emotions correctly. They described how they tried to avoid difficult emotions through suppressive strategies and eating disorder behavior. All described strategies were inefficient and all emotions were experienced as problematic, even joy. Since joy was used as a mask, the real experience of happiness was lost and mourned.Conclusion: All kinds of emotions were considered problematic to experience, but shame, fear, and sadness were considered worst. It is difficult to know if the emotional difficulties preceded an eating disorder, but at least those problems seem to have increased by the eating disorder.

scholarly journals The effect of body image preoccupation on decision making in eating disorders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Onysk ◽  
Peggy Seriès
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Image Disturbance ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Body Image Issues ◽  
Reinforcement Learning Model

AbstractEating disorders are associated with one of the highest mortality rates among all mental disorders, yet there is very little research about them within the newly emerging and promising field of computational psychiatry. As such, we focus on investigating a previously unexplored, yet a core aspect of eating disorders – body image preoccupation. We continue a freshly opened debate about model-based learning in eating disorders and perform a study that utilises a two-step decision-making task and a reinforcement learning model to understand the effect of body image preoccupation on model-based learning in a subclinical eating disorder population, as recruited using Prolific. We find a significantly reduced model-based contribution in the body image disturbance task condition in the eating disorder group as compared to a healthy control. We propose a new digital biomarker that significantly predicts disordered eating, and body image issues.

scholarly journals Examining emotion regulation in binge-eating disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Walenda ◽  
Barbara Kostecka ◽  
Philip S. Santangelo ◽  
Katarzyna Kucharska
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Binge Eating ◽  
Binge Eating Disorder ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Self Blame ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Abstract Background Inefficient mechanisms of emotional regulation appear essential in understanding the development and maintenance of binge-eating disorder (BED). Previous research focused mainly on a very limited emotion regulation strategies in BED, such as rumination, suppression, and positive reappraisal. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess a wider range of emotional regulation strategies (i.e. acceptance, refocusing on planning, positive refocusing, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, self-blame, other-blame, rumination, and catastrophizing), as well as associations between those strategies and binge-eating-related beliefs (negative, positive, and permissive), and clinical variables (eating disorders symptoms, both anxiety, depressive symptoms, and alexithymia). Methods Women diagnosed with BED (n = 35) according to the DSM-5 criteria and healthy women (n = 41) aged 22–60 years were assessed using: the Eating Attitudes Test-26, the Eating Beliefs Questionnaire-18, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Statistical analyses included: Student t - tests or Mann–Whitney U tests for testing group differences between BED and HC group, and Pearson’s r coefficient or Spearman’s rho for exploring associations between the emotion regulation difficulties and strategies, and clinical variables and binge-eating-related beliefs in both groups. Results The BED group presented with a significantly higher level of emotion regulation difficulties such as: nonacceptance of emotional responses, lack of emotional clarity, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior, impulse control difficulties, and limited access to emotion regulation strategies compared to the healthy controls. Moreover, patients with BED were significantly more likely to use maladaptive strategies (rumination and self-blame) and less likely to use adaptive strategies (positive refocusing and putting into perspective). In the clinical group, various difficulties in emotion regulation difficulties occurred to be positively correlated with the level of alexithymia, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Regarding emotion regulation strategies, self-blame and catastrophizing were positively related to anxiety symptoms, but solely catastrophizing was related to the severity of eating disorder psychopathology. Conclusions Our results indicate an essential and still insufficiently understood role of emotional dysregulation in BED. An especially important construct in this context seems to be alexithymia, which was strongly related to the majority of emotion regulation difficulties. Therefore, it might be beneficial to pay special attention to this construct when planning therapeutic interventions, as well as to the maladaptive emotion regulation strategies self-blame and catastrophizing, which were significantly related to BED psychopathology.

scholarly journals Disordered Eating Behaviours and Eating Disorders in Women in Australia with and Without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Pirotta ◽  
Mary Barillaro ◽  
Leah Brennan ◽  
Angela Grassi ◽  
Yvonne Jeanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Cross Sectional

Psychological co-morbidities common in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may contribute to disordered eating and subsequent weight gain. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of disordered eating and a range of eating disorders and demographic risk factors associated with these behaviours within an Australian group of women with and without PCOS. Data from 899 women with (n = 501) and without (n = 398) PCOS were analysed as possibly indicative of disordered eating or eating disorders using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria. Disordered eating (p = 0.012) but not eating disorders (p = 0.076) were more prevalent in women with PCOS compared to controls. Increased body mass index (BMI) [Odds Ratio (OR): 1.03; 95%; Confidence Interval (CI): 1.01, 1.05, p = 0.012] and older age [OR: 1.05; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.08, p = 0.002] but not PCOS diagnosis [OR: 1.43; 95%CI: 0.96, 2.13 p = 0.078] increased the odds of disordered eating. Increased BMI [OR: 1.04; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.06, p < 0.001] and younger age [OR: -0.95; 95%CI: 0.93–0.95, p < 0.001] but not PCOS diagnosis [OR: 1.38; 95%CI: 0.97, 1.95, p = 0.076] increased the odds of an eating disorder. Clinicians are recommended to screen all women with PCOS for possible disordered eating behaviours, with particular attention to women with elevated BMI.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: EATING DISORDERS AND THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN- A QUESTIONNAIRE BASED SURVEY

2021 ◽  
pp. 35-38
Author(s):  
Rose Mary Jacob Vatakencherry ◽  
R Bhadra ◽  
Niharika B ◽  
Vishal Marwaha ◽  
Anusree M
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Young People ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
South India ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Healthcare Students ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Eat 26

BACKGROUND: Anyone whose eating behaviours tend to cause disruptions and inconveniences in their day-to-day life could possibly have an eating disorder (ED). The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown resulted in young people being conned to their homes for months on end. This may have led to the adoption of unhealthy eating behaviours and the consequent development of eating disorders. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of eating disorders among healthcare students of South India during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. METHODS This study was conducted for a period of two weeks among healthcare students of South India during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study tools were two pretested and self-administered questionnaires. Analysis was done using IBM Statistics 25 and SPSS. RESULTS The total number of respondents whose SCOFF score was greater than or equal to 2 is 367 (38.3%), which indicates possible cases of anorexia or bulimia. The total number of respondents whose EAT-26 score is higher than 20 in this study are 153 (14.3%), which indicates that they must be referred to a qualied professional to determine if they meet the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder. This indicates that there was an increased prevalence of eating disorders in the students during the pandemic lockdown. CONCLUSIONS As expected, there was denitely an increased prevalence of eating disorders among the students during the COVID-19 lockdown. Awareness about these disorders must be created via seminars, webinars and workshops.

scholarly journals Disordered Eating Attitudes, Anxiety, Self-Esteem and Perfectionism in Young Athletes and Non-Athletes

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6754
Author(s):  
Cristina Petisco-Rodríguez ◽  
Laura C. Sánchez-Sánchez ◽  
Rubén Fernández-García ◽  
Javier Sánchez-Sánchez ◽  
José Manuel García-Montes
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Eating Attitudes ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
Psychological Variables

Eating disorders are associated with short and long-term consequences that can affect sports performance. The purposes of this study were to investigate whether female athletes, particularly gymnasts and footballers, exhibit more eating problems compared to female non-athletes, and to identify individual personality characteristics including anxiety, self-esteem, and perfectionism as possible contributors to eating disorder risk. In a sample of 120 participants, 80 adolescent female athletes were compared to a control condition of 40 non-athletes (mean age 17.2 ± 2.82). Participants responded to a questionnaire package to investigate the presence of disordered eating (SCOFF) and psychological variables in relation to disordered eating symptoms or eating disorder status. Subsequently, anthropometric measures were obtained individually by trained staff. There were statistically significant differences between conditions. One of the most important results was the score in SCOFF (Mann–Whitney = 604, p < 0.05; Cohen’s d = 0.52, r = 0.25), being higher in control than in the gymnast condition. These results suggest that non-athlete female adolescents show more disturbed eating behaviours and thoughts than female adolescents from aesthetic sport modalities and, therefore, may have an enhanced risk of developing clinical eating disorders.

scholarly journals A longitudinal study of eating behaviours in childhood and later eating disorder behaviours and diagnoses

2019 ◽  
Vol 216 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Herle ◽  
Bianca De Stavola ◽  
Christopher Hübel ◽  
Mohamed Abdulkadir ◽  
Diana Santos Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Binge Eating ◽  
Binge Eating Disorder ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Risk Difference ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Increased Risk

BackgroundEating behaviours in childhood are considered as risk factors for eating disorder behaviours and diagnoses in adolescence. However, few longitudinal studies have examined this association.AimsWe investigated associations between childhood eating behaviours during the first ten years of life and eating disorder behaviours (binge eating, purging, fasting and excessive exercise) and diagnoses (anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, purging disorder and bulimia nervosa) at 16 years.MethodData on 4760 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were included. Longitudinal trajectories of parent-rated childhood eating behaviours (8 time points, 1.3–9 years) were derived by latent class growth analyses. Eating disorder diagnoses were derived from self-reported, parent-reported and objectively measured anthropometric data at age 16 years. We estimated associations between childhood eating behaviours and eating disorder behaviours and diagnoses, using multivariable logistic regression models.ResultsChildhood overeating was associated with increased risk of adolescent binge eating (risk difference, 7%; 95% CI 2 to 12) and binge eating disorder (risk difference, 1%; 95% CI 0.2 to 3). Persistent undereating was associated with higher anorexia nervosa risk in adolescent girls only (risk difference, 6%; 95% CI, 0 to 12). Persistent fussy eating was associated with greater anorexia nervosa risk (risk difference, 2%; 95% CI 0 to 4).ConclusionsOur results suggest continuities of eating behaviours into eating disorders from early life to adolescence. It remains to be determined whether childhood eating behaviours are an early manifestation of a specific phenotype or whether the mechanisms underlying this continuity are more complex. Findings have the potential to inform preventative strategies for eating disorders.

The impacts of COVID-19 on eating disorders and disordered eating: A mixed studies systematic review and implications for healthcare professionals, carers, and self

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney McLean ◽  
Ranjani Utpala ◽  
Gemma Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
The Impact

Objective: The unique constraints to everyday life brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have been shown to negatively impact those with pre-existing mental health issues such as eating disorders. While individuals with eating disorders or disordered eating behaviours represent a vulnerable group to COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the pandemic is yet to be fully established. As such, we systematically examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorders and disordered eating behaviours. Method: We searched electronic databases MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE for literature published until October 2021. Eligible studies were required to report on individuals with or without a diagnosed eating disorder or disordered eating behaviours who were exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Seventy-two studies met eligibility criteria with the majority supporting an increase in eating disorder or disordered eating behaviours associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, children and adolescents and individuals with a diagnosed eating disorder present a vulnerable group to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: This systematic review provides a timely insight into COVID-19 eating disorder literature and will assist in understanding possible future long-term impacts of the pandemic on eating disorders behaviours. It appears that the role of stress in the development and maintenance of eating disorders was intensified as a means to cope with the uncertainty of the pandemic. Future research is needed among understudied and minority groups and to examine the long-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorders and disordered eating behaviours.

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