The definitions and symptoms that are offered on this site are "textbook" definitions. You may not have all of the symptoms of a particular disorder, but still be suffering from it.  Anyone at any weight can have an eating disorder. Don't fall into the misconception that a person must be underweight/overweight to be suffering. Eating disorders are not about food. They are about  complex feelings and emotions that the sufferer is trying to deal with by using food.

HOMEPAGE

Compulsive Over-Eating (COE):
People suffering from this disorder use food to fill a void that they feel inside. Sufferers will often feel guilty for 'not being good enough', and shame for being over-weight. They use food to cope with these feelings of low self-esteem and this leads them into a continuous cycle. Unfortunately this condition is not always seen as an illness in the same way as anorexia and bulimia. This is inaccurate as sufferers of COE are also using food as a coping mechanism for other issues, and there are many health risks involved.

Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS):
Many ed (eating disorder) sufferers feel like failures if they are given this label by professions. They may feel not only failures in life, but also a failure in their eating disorder, and this can be something that is very hard to understand if you have not experienced it. However, it is important to remember that the label isn't important. Although this may be hard to accept, it really is true. No matter what label your Eating Disorder is given, it is still serious, and you still need help and support.

EDNOS can mean a number of things. It can mean that an individual participates in a combination of both anorexic and bulimic behaviours. It can mean that an individual suffers from Anorexia, but still gets their period, or isn't 15% under recommended weight. They may still suffer from Anorexia, but do not fit into the 'textbook diagnosis' for it. It may also mean that a person is suffering from Bulimia, but only participates in binge and purge episodes once a week (the diagnostic criteria says it must be at least twice).

There is no less danger in having 'EDNOS' than there is in being diagnosed with Anorexia, Bulimia, or COE. All eating disorder sufferers are in danger of potentially fatal physical complications. None are any more serious than the next, and they all stem from often complex emotional issues. Eating disorders are very much about feelings rather than food and although they may have different signs/symptoms, they share many causes and emotional aspects.

Visit Something Fishy for more in-depth details. You can find signs/symptoms of the disorders, as well as physical dangers and other information.

Eating disorders can kill. The memorial board on the Something-Fishy web site acts as a real reminder of the harsh reality that ed's do kill.