An consuming dysfunction can develop on account of a mixture of hazard elements, collectively collectively collectively together with your genetics, emotional elements, cultural influences and character traits.
Character traits describe how a person tends to consider, actually truly actually really feel, and behave on an ongoing basis. They’re believed to have a sturdy genetic half and are moreover influenced by our upbringing and life experiences.
Whereas it is doable to change constructive hazard elements all by way of the progress of an consuming dysfunction (identical to physique dissatisfaction, partaking in weight-reduction plan and the extent to which one internalizes look and physique beliefs), there are particular character traits that may enhance one’s likelihood of establishing an consuming dysfunction. These traits may influence the maintenance and remedy of consuming factors [1].
An consuming dysfunction just isn’t a singular, and understanding the fairly just a few hazard elements that contribute may also assist in prevention, early intervention and restoration.
“Researchers argue that understanding disordered consuming behaviour all by way of the context of an individual’s broader pattern of pondering, feeling, and regulation of emotions, would possibly improve the identification and remedy of consuming factors and disordered consuming.” – Gilmartin, Gurvich, Sharp. (2022).
On this weblog, we uncover how numerous character traits can impression consuming factors and provide suggestion to cope with and get assist.
Neuroticism
Neuroticism is a persona trait that is usually is expounded to detrimental emotions. People with this trait may also be extra prone to experience anxiousness, self‐consciousness, concern, guilt, shame, irritability, emotional instability, and despair [2]. They could moreover experience persistent worrying , uncover it exhausting to deal with emotions and really truly actually really feel pissed off, panicked or hopeless in emergencies or anxious circumstances.
In a 2024 analysis [3], it was found that neuroticism was the character trait that the majority probably ends in generalised anxiousness and weight-reduction plan. People with extreme ranges of neuroticism can experience disordered consuming, along with binge-eating, emotional consuming and weight-reduction plan [4] and neuroticism can strongly contribute to the co-occurrence of despair, anxiousness and suicidal hazard in of us with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa [5].
“[Our findings] counsel that interventions specializing in hopelessness… would possibly improve scientific outcomes. For individuals who uncover themselves feeling hopeless, therapies would possibly give consideration to troublesome detrimental beliefs and concepts, instructing coping experience to deal with stress and setbacks, and setting achievable targets to foster a means of hope and company.” –Dr Zuo Zhang, first author of the analysis and postdoctoral researcher on the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s IoPPN
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a sturdy hazard situation for the occasion and maintenance of physique dissatisfaction and consuming factors, considerably bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. [6]
People with perfectionism usually protect themselves to excessively extreme necessities and put themselves beneath extreme stress to fulfill these necessities. This may possibly manifest into feelings about their physique weight, selection and look, and some would possibly flip to disordered consuming behaviours in an attempt to management some part of their lives to:
- pay cash for a ‘improbable’ physique aligned with the thin, match or muscular physique beliefs
- shield a ‘improbable’ or ‘clear’ consuming routine and observe regime
- stay away from weight pay money for
This can be made rather more troublesome by mounted publicity to stereotypical and unattainable magnificence/look beliefs which might be present in mainstream media. Our society tells us the physique is a matter to be mounted and that success and self-worth is found by the use of reaching a constructive physique measurement or making an attempt a constructive approach. That’s false and solely serves to earnings off your insecurities.
People with perfectionism may experience evaluative components, which entails experiencing extreme detrimental reactions to errors or perceived failure, effectivity doubts, harsh self-scrutiny and concern over criticism.
For suggestion on overcoming unhealthy perfectionism, click on on on on right correct proper right here
“Discovering out how my consuming dysfunction was influenced by my character traits, identical to perfectionism, helped me to understand the consuming dysfunction wasn’t my fault or a singular I was making.” – Particular specific individual with a lived experience of Anorexia.
The place does this go away us?
Character traits like neuroticism and perfectionism convey every strengths and challenges. It’s important to note that for lots of who observe these traits inside your self or the one that you just love, it would not counsel you are assured to develop an consuming dysfunction. No single set off behind consuming factors has been acknowledged – it’s comparatively a mixture of pure, psychological and sociocultural elements that may contribute to an consuming dysfunction creating.
Early intervention has confirmed to boost restoration outcomes, so as shortly as you uncover one subject referring to alongside collectively collectively together with your or a beloved one’s relationship to meals, observe and the physique, search educated assist.
It’s important to debate how your feeling, what you’re pondering and any private context or historic earlier alongside collectively collectively together with your healthcare educated to permit them to concentrate to the quite a few elements which is able to influence your consuming behaviour. For clinicians, it is important to assist of us with any challenges associated to character picks alongside the consuming dysfunction. [7]
We’re right correct proper right here to help
- Butterfly’s Nationwide Helpline presents confidential and free counselling, assist and data 7 days each week (8am-midnight AEST/AEDT) for anyone in Australia who’s nervous about consuming factors or physique image components. Title 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673), chat on-line or piece of email assist@butterfly.org.au
- Uncover an consuming dysfunction healthcare educated – search our Referral Database for healthcare professionals specializing in consuming factors.
- Uncover out extra about how we help
Not sure if what you’re experiencing is an consuming dysfunction?
Use Butterfly’s on-line, confidential screening machine which is able to assist you to perceive inside the event you might be experiencing indicators of an consuming dysfunction.
Whereas this machine gained’t give you a prognosis, it must allow you to understand for lots of who should look extra educated help. You possibly can print off your outcomes to take to the GP, psychologist or fully completely totally different healthcare educated to start out out the dialog about acceptable remedy and assist.
Click on on on on right correct proper right here
Research extra
References
- [1] Wonderlich, S. A., Lilenfeld, L. R., Riso, L. P., Engel, S., & Mitchell, J. E. (2005). Character and anorexia nervosa. Worldwide Journal of Consuming Factors, 37, S68–S71. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.20120
- [2] Widiger, T. Oltmanns, J. (2017). Neuroticism is a elementary space of character with monumental public accurately being implications. World Psychiatry Journal. 16 (2). Pp. 144-145. On-line: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5428182/#wps20411-bib-0001
- [3] Zhang, Z. et al. (2024) Distinct character profiles associated to sickness hazard and diagnostic standing in consuming factors. Journal of Affective Factors 360. Pp146-155. On-line: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032724008760?viapercent3Dihub#bb0125
- [4] Gilmartin, T. Gurvich, C. Sharp, G. (2022). The connection between disordered consuming behaviour and the 5 situation model character dimensions: A scientific bear in mind. Journal of Scientific Psychology .78 (9). Pp1657-670. On-line: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.23337
- [5] Zhang, Z. et al. (2024)
- [6] Nationwide Consuming Dysfunction Collaboration, n.d. Perfectionism as a hazard situation. NEDC e-Bulletin. 45. On-line: https://nedc.com.au/eating-disorder-resources/find-resources/current/issue-45-perfectionism-as-a-risk-factor
- [7] Fairburn CG, Cooper Z, Doll HA, O’Connor ME, Bohn Okay, Hawker DM, et al. Transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral remedy for victims with consuming factors: a two-site trial with 60-week follow-up. Am J Psychiatry. 2009;166(3):311–9
