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Food / Eating Issues

There are a range of different eating disorders that children and young people might develop. Sometimes a child’s symptoms do not fit neatly into one category and they might have a combination of issues that fall across multiple categories, but do not quite meet the diagnostic criteria one one. Eating disorders can affect anybody, from any section of society, any race and at any body size. Eating disorders are not necessarily about food but about feelings that are managed through food. This might be severely restricting food intake, eating large quantities of food to numb feelings, purging food eaten through self-induced vomiting, compulsive exercise or laxative abuse, being extremely rigid about what foods can be eaten and when or eating substances that are not typically food. The physical consequences can be severe and eating disorders stand the best chance of recovery with early intervention.

For further information around Food / Eating Issues, please see the subheadings below.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is characterised by an intense fear of gaining weight and the restriction of food intake in response to this fear leading to low body weight as a result of starvation.  People with anorexia may also binge and purge and exercise obsessively to rid themselves of calories consumed. They may develop rigid rules and rituals around  food or exercise.

For more information about Anorexia Nervose, please see the following link:

Anorexia Nervosa – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

ARFID is characterised by having an extremely limited number of foods, avoiding certain foods, textures, tastes and smells and restriction of intake that may impact weight, growth and health. This may be due to sensory or neurodevelopmental issues.

For more information about ARFID, please see the following link:

ARFID – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder sufferers eat a large amount of food in a short space of time, accompanied by feelings of being out of control. Unlike bulimia this does not usually end in purging. They may be planned like a ritual and is often extremely private and shame filled. Bingeing is often a response to emotional distress.

For more information about Binge Eating Disorder, please see the following link:

Binge Eating Disorder – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia is a cycle of episodes of binge eating, followed by purging to rid the body of the food consumed either through vomiting, laxative abuse, excessive exercise or fasting. Sufferers may experience distortions in their perception of weight and shape. Bingeing and purging is often private and sufferers often report feeling completely out of control.

For more information about Bulimia Nervosa, please see the following link:

Bulimia Nervosa – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Orthorexia

Orthorexia is an obsession with eating only pure foods. What is considered pure can vary from person to person but is used to make the sufferer feel safe, in control or worthy. Eating anything not considered pure may lead to excessive feelings of guilt, shame and distress at perceived contamination. There can be some overlap with the symptoms of anorexia. Orthorexia is not currently recognised as a separate disorder.

For more information about Orthorexia, please see the following link:

Orthorexia – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Other Specified Feeding & Eating Disorder

Many children and young people will not necessarily fit into one of the eating disorder diagnosis but they still have a significant eating disorder. The may be diagnosed with OSFED (Other Specified Feeding & Eating Disorder. This is not a less serious diagnosis and still carries the same risks as other eating disorders.

For more information about OSFED, please see the following link:

OSFED – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Pica

Pica is where a child or young person is compelled to eat non food substances such as rock or chalk beyond the oral stage, where children often mouth objects out of curiosity. Pica does not usually affect the consumption of other food groups.

For more information about Pica, please see the following link:

Pica – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Rumination Disorder

Rumination disorder is when a child or young person repetitively and habitually brings up half digested food. They may re-swallow, re-chew or just spit out. They are not usually distressed by this behaviour and the bringing up, appears effortless and painless, however sufferers are not in control of it.

For more information about Rumination Disorder, please see the following link:

Rumination Disorder – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)

Other Mental Health Terms

Anger Issues

Anger is a normal and healthy emotion, however some children and young people find it harder than others to regulate their big feelings of anger, which can lead to…

Anxiety

Anxiety is a blanket term that can cover a whole range of challenges children and young people struggle with. Anxiety goes beyond ordinary worries and fears though it can be difficult to determine when these cross over into anxiety requiring more support.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar is a mood disorder where people have episodes of extremely low mood and then episodes of mania which can last for days or weeks.

Body Dysmorphia

Body dysmorphia is where the sufferer is preoccupied with perceived imperfections and flaws in their appearance, which causes significant distress and limits quality of life. It is often perceived that people with BDD are vain for obsessive over their body, when, they often see themselves as deformed, ugly and unworthy.

Common Issues and Conditions Affecting Children and Young People

There are a range of issues and conditions that can affect children and young people at different stages in their development and parents, carers and professionals can understandably feel at a loss to know what to do and how to help.

Some issues might be neurodevelopmental and so the child may be neurodiverse. Some might develop in connection with, or as a result of difficult and painful life experiences, or there may be no discernible cause. Some may be a complex mix of the neurodevelopmental factors and the impact of this on the child’s mental health and emotional wellbeing, in a neurotypical world. Sometimes it is difficult to ascertain where something becomes a concern.

It is worth talking with the child or young person, as much as is age and stage appropriate to understand from their perspective, what is going on. They might not know or want to say. Being open and available to listen is extremely important, even if you do not agree or see things differently. Young Minds have produced a useful parent guide about how to begin this conversation. Talking About Mental Health With Your Child | YoungMinds

Depersonalisation

Depersonalisation is where people feel separate from their body and feel they are observing themselves, thoughts and actions. This may occur with derealisation and be short lived or more chronic.

Depression/ Low Mood

Children and young people can and do suffer from depression, which affects mood. They may feel sad and low, but sometimes depression and sadness can be masked by anger or another emotion.

Derealisation

Where the world around the person feels unreal and people in it seem unreal or lifeless. This may occur with depersonalisation or separately and may last for a short time or be more chronic.

Dissociative Amnesia

Involves not being able to remember specific information, times or significant events where there is no neurological reason for not being able to do so. It may also involve losing chunks of time with no recollection as to what the person might have been up to in that time.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) involves the person having two or more separate identities that can take control of the ‘host’ body. They may or may not know about each other.

Dissociative Issues

Dissociative issues exist on a spectrum, but all involve the person dissociating from their thoughts, feelings, sensations and/ or lived experiences as a means of survival and to regulate states of extreme overwhelm and distress.

Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a neurodevelopmental learning difficult that may result in children finding it difficult to form letters, stay ‘in the lines,’ organising and expressing themselves on paper, or struggling with illegible handwriting.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is the neurodevelopmental language-based learning difficulty that causes challenges with comprehension, word recognition and decoding and spelling.

Eco Anxiety

Some children and young people experience significant anxiety and distress around ecological issues. As they become increasingly aware of the impact of humans on the planet and the lack of action by world leaders, increasingly young people are experiencing intense distress and despair over human inertia to act and the potential consequences for their future.

Emotionally Based School Avoidance

Emotionally Based School Avoidance is when a child or young person experiences extreme anxiety around school to the point where they cannot engage with it as their levels of distress are so high. There may be factors of social, performance, panic and general anxiety present.

Encopresis

Encopresis is repeated pooing in inappropriate places beyond the age (4) children are deemed to be able to control this behaviour in a neurotypical child. This may be due to chronic constipation which results in leakage and is involuntary.

Enuresis

Enuresis is where a child repeatedly wets themselves beyond the age (5) they are considered able to control this behaviour in a neurotypical child.

Food / Eating Issues

There are a range of different eating disorders that children and young people might develop. Sometimes a child’s symptoms do not fit neatly into one category and they might have a combination of issues that fall across multiple categories, but do not quite meet the diagnostic criteria one one.

General Anxiety

General anxiety is recurrent worries about lots of things, that can be accompanied by a sense of restlessness and edginess. This anxiety can be ‘free floating’ and ‘attach,’ itself to different things.

Global Developmental Delay

The term ‘developmental delay’ or ‘global development delay’ is used when a child takes longer to reach certain development milestones than other children their age.

Health Anxiety

Children or young people experiencing health anxiety are continually anxious about their or other peoples health. Sometimes parents can experience health anxiety about their children’s health.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have repetitive obsessive, distressing thoughts and feelings. This can lead to compulsions or rituals that develop as ways to try and manage the unbearable anxiety the child or young person feels.

Panic Attacks

A panic attack is a sudden overwhelm of intense feelings of anxiety and fear. There may be no obvious trigger and they can happen anywhere. They may be noticeable due to external symptoms such as…

Performance Anxiety/ Exam Stress

Some children and young people experience a significant degree of performance anxiety around the pressure of testing or having to perform. This can come from external sources such as parents, teachers, coaches etc but may also be internalised from the child’s internal expectations of themselves. This may be exacerbated by societal and familial narratives around success, failure and fear of the consequences.

Psychosis

During a psychotic episode people can lose touch with reality. Their thoughts might be delusional, paranoid or incoherent, such as believing people are following or out to get them or believing they are somebody else, with special powers or knowledge.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious but treatable and manageable mental illness of which psychosis is a main symptom. Some people believe schizophrenia is having a split personality or are violent, which is not true.

Selective Mutism

Selective mutism is an anxiety-based issue that prevents a child from speaking in certain situations to certain people. They may speak normally at home, but be predominantly or completely mute at school.

Self Harm

Self-harm can be something a child or young person resorts to to cope with overwhelming feelings that they don’t feel they can express in any other way. It can also be a way of punishing themselves.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), is a neurodevelopmental challenge that results from the brain’s inability to integrate certain information received from the body’s sensory systems.

Separation Anxiety

Many children experience separation anxiety at different stages of development. For some it may be short lived until the child adjusts (a phase) For others it may be more chronic and continue beyond the baby and toddler stage. This includes extreme anxiety around the idea of being separated from a parent/carer and can lead to school avoidance and extreme distress.

Social Anxiety

Children and young people affected by social anxiety find social situations, interactions with people and fears of being scrutinised or watched by other. This can create feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, shame, self- consciousness, judgement.

Therapy Types for Children and Young People

Knowing who or where to turn to for mental health support for a child or young person can feel daunting. With so many different ‘types’ of therapist, it can be really confusing as to where to start and so we have created a Sunflower Guide that might help.