Are there different degrees of eating disorders?
Yes. Because of unrealistic cultural demands for thinness, many or most of us are more concerned about body shape and size than a totally healthy person would be. It’s a long way, however, from an occasional, brief diet and fleeting dissatisfaction about body shape and size to the rigid preoccupations and ever-present obsessions about food and weight manifested by people who have clinical eating disorders. There are also differences in mental, physical, and emotional impairment between someone who has just begun an eating disorder and someone else who has starved or stuffed for many years. Likewise, there are differences between people whose symptoms are less severe and those who are in crisis. The problem with all of this is that, without treatment, eating disorders tend to get worse, not better. It is not unusual for someone to begin an eating disorder with seemingly minor behaviors that quickly progress to threaten life and happiness. If you are concerned about yourself or your mino
