Many people who suffer from an eating disorder are in danger of physical and mental damage, regardless of whether they look underweight, overweight, or even average. There are many symptoms that can be a sign of a possible eating disorder. Understanding the many eating disorder symptoms can help you identify an eating disorder in a loved one and take action to intervene.

There are millions in the United States suffering from eating disorders, most of whom will not acknowledge their disorder, let alone seek help. Here are a number of symptoms for the most common eating disorders to help you determine whether or not a loved one is one of them:

1. Extensive weight gain or weight loss in a short period of time – as mentioned earlier, the most common eating disorder is dramatic weight gain or weight loss.

2. Unhealthy focus on weight – a sufferer may comment on his or her weight in a negative fashion or constantly engulf his or herself with weight loss thoughts, regardless of relative weight to others the same age or height.

3. Unhealthy focus on nutrition – particularly the amount of calories or the amount of fat in the foods he or she eats.

4. Going to the bathroom often, especially after meals – more a symptom of bulimia than an eating disorder symptom, the sufferer will often turn on the faucet or continually flush the toilet to hide sounds.

5. Constant, obvious binging – many people will binge, but someone with an eating disorder such as binge eating disorder will binge constantly and extensively.

6. Low self-esteem – a mental and social symptom that becomes more and more obvious as the eating disorder continues, low self-esteem often accompanies eating disorders leading to a need for acceptance and negative feeling towards the self.

7. Mood swings – rapid changing of moods over a short period of time, often more than once in a day (including depression)

8. Constant dieting – those with an eating disorder may try to hide it behind the veil of a diet, even if not necessary.

9. Pale skin and hair loss – anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorder can take a heavy toll on the body leading to weakness.

10. Hiding food – depending on the disorder, sufferers may hide food in strange places to either eat at a later time or avoid eating.

As you can see, the many eating disorder symptoms range from physical to mental. Keep these eating disorder symptoms in mind when you suspect a loved one may need help — you just might become the advocate they need to get through it.

* The first step of treatment is generally some sort of therapy. Whether it is through individual counseling or group counseling, one has to be able to accept themselves after they have come to terms with defeating the eating disorder. Those that have won their battles with eating disorders need to be secure enough with themselves to know they will not succumb to this lifestyle ever again. You will find that many people are, at first, ashamed of their bulimia eating disorder. Therapy allows a person to be able to open up themselves fully without holding back in fear of judgment. Therapy can also be invaluable in helping a person gain the faith and courage needed to make it through the journey.

* The second step that many take during the treatment process is meeting with a specialist in order to develop good eating habits. The goal is to develop healthy eating habits that will stay with a person throughout a lifetime. Many of the cases of bulimia resurface without this change of lifestyle taking effect. Eating disorders will often arise once again if proper dietary habits are not established, then practiced to perfection.

* The third step that people experience as part of their eating disorder treatment is tackling their negative emotions and thoughts. Eating disorders have been known to stem from misconceptions about dieting. People go to the extreme to obtain results that they are often not happy with. People usually go on to develop eating disorders because they have not identified this problem. These flawed beliefs should be confronted and an effort should be made to change them. Doing so works to overcome these eating disorders by combining and reinforcing steps one and two effectively and successfully.

Sometimes, you will find that the eating disorder treatment that is going to help you is the very same treatment that failed you in the beginning. One of the key points that will make just about any eating disorder treatment successful is your mind set at the time of trial. If you have decided that you want to get treatment for your anorexia, that already shows that you are capable of putting forth the effort that you need in order to overcome your eating disorder.

1. The first step in your anorexia treatment is the maintanence of your physical health. Do so will tackle your anorexia eating disorder head on by restoring your weight to a healthy state. This is the part of the treatment that people find to be most strenuous. This stage of the the eating disorder is usually met with the assistance of some type of a medical prescription if a person can not meet this goal naturally. Another painful aspect of this part of the treatment involves coming to terms with having to sustain a healthy diet. Little by little, this goal can certainly be achieved.

2. The second step of the eating disorder treatment is obtaining the therapy that you need. You have to be ready, willing, and able to open yourself up to some rather intense counseling sessions. In order to overcome your anorexia eating disorder, you have to come to terms with the psychological issues that have caused you to develop this eating disorder.

3. The third step in the anorexia eating disorder treatment is to start shaping your new healthy lifestyle. That is, creating healthy habits that may prevent a relapse. You have to build up your character as well as your dieting habits so that you may move forward with and be able to say that you have obtained your goal of living a healthy lifestyle.