Binge Eating Disorder

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is commonly known by compulsive overeating or consuming abnormal amounts of food while feeling unable to stop and at loss of control. Binge eating episodes are typically classified as occurring on average a minimum of twice per week for duration of six months.

BED was first explained in 1959 by Albert Stunkard, a psychiatrist and researcher, as Night Eating Syndrome (NES). The term Binge Eating Disorder was created to define similar binge eating behaviour without the nocturnal aspect.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is defined by the persistent restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight and disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape.

Individuals may control food and weight as a means of controlling areas of life that feel out of control, or as a way of expressing complex or concerning emotions.

• Restricted energy intake, leading to lower than normal body weight and, often, the loss of a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time
• An intense fear of gaining weight, even when the individual is already underweight, starved or malnourished
• Disturbed body image, including extreme emphasis on their appearance and the perception that they are overweight despite being considerably under weight.

OCD

Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a serious anxiety-related condition where a person experiences frequent intrusive and unwelcome obsessional thoughts, often followed by repetitive compulsions, impulses or urges.

Which they feel they cannot control. Rituals, such as hand-washing, counting, checking or cleaning, are often performed in hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these rituals, however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them increases anxiety. Left untreated, obsessions and the need to perform rituals can take over a person's life. OCD is often a chronic, relapsing illness.

The illness affects as many as 12 in every 1000 people (1.2% of the population) from young children to adults, regardless of gender or social or cultural background. In fact, it can be so debilitating and disabling that the World Health Organisation (WHO) once ranked OCD in the top ten of the most disabling illnesses of any kind, in terms of lost earnings and diminished quality of life.

schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. They may hear voices other people don’t hear. They may think other people are trying to hurt them. Sometimes they don’t make any sense when they talk. 

Schizophrenia symptoms can make it hard for a person to interact with other people, go to school, keep a job, or take care of day-to-day tasks. The symptoms can be very disabling, but with effective treatment many people with schizophrenia experience recovery. 

Schizophrenia occurs in slightly more men than women and affects all ethnic groups. Symptoms usually start between the ages of 16 and 30. In rare cases, children have schizophrenia too.

Major depression

Major depression, also known as unipolar or major depressive disorder, is characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness or a lack of interest in outside stimuli. The unipolar connotes a difference between major depression and bipolar depression, which refers to an oscillating state between depression and mania. Instead, unipolar depression is solely focused on the ”lows,” or the negative emotions and symptoms that you may have experienced.

Fortunately, major depression is well understood in the medical community and is often easily treatable through a combination of medication and talk therapy. Below is a guide to everything from the symptoms and causes of major depression, to statistics and treatment that you can seek from a medical professional if you feel that you need assistance.

Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are the fight-and-flight instincts that are your body’s way of responding to emergencies. An intruder crawling through your bedroom window

in the dark of night may spark the response. Fears and worries may also set off the instinct. For example, worry over a loved one’s fragile mental or physical health is a common source of ongoing stress and anxiety.

When stressful challenges occur, your body senses danger and responds by releasing hormones into your bloodstream, which speed up your heart, breathing, and other physical processes and prepare you to react fast to avoid the threat. 

This natural reaction is known as the stress response. Research shows that long-term activation of your body’s stress response impairs your immune system’s ability to fight against disease and increases the risk of physical and mental health problems.