Which types are most likely to acquire eating disorders?

[BlueScreen]

I'm too busy doing stuff to become overweight and food seems to be an afterthought. I'm not sure I'm routine enough to have an eating disorder either. I'd forget to overeat or find the idea of having to shop for and cook it all too tedious.

 

[Thalassa]

I guess ESPs are more likely to develop disorders like obesity simply from inability to control impulses.

But the stuff about INJs and control issues--that's interesting. Can anybody expound on that?

Anorexia is fundamentally about control. It is a horrific mind game that they play with themselves to see how little they can eat. They get a high off of the sense of self-control. So, I can see where INJs would be likely to suffer from anorexia, specifically.

I don't know that a certain type would be more prone to eating disorders in general, but each type might be more prone to a particular form of eating disorder than another.

 

[ajblaise]

I don't think anorexics and bulimics get high off a sense of control. I think they get high off endorphins and serotonin.

Anorexics are addicted to fasting, and bulimics to throwing up, because of the chemical changes it causes in the brain. Maybe image-conscious ESFXs are most likely to start, but after a while it doesn't become just about weight control, it's about a chemical addiction. This would also explain why some go to such extreme levels.

I don't know, I think this makes the most sense.

 

[Thalassa]

I don't think anorexics and bulimics get high off a sense of control. I think they get high off endorphins and serotonin.

Anorexics are addicted to fasting, and bulimics to throwing up, because of the chemical changes it causes in the brain. Maybe image-conscious ESFXs are most likely to start, but after a while it doesn't become just about weight control, it's about a chemical addiction. This would also explain why some go to such extreme levels.

I don't know, I think this makes the most sense.

Oh yes, it may not apply to every single person with this eating disorder of course, but anorexics do get high off of a sense of self-control. Have you never read case studies, journals, or other personal stories written about the experience of being anorexic?

Sure, there are chemical components. But there are also purely psychological motivations.

 

[The Outsider]

I'd say INxx. Anorexia stems from a feeling of a lack of control over themselves, and their own lives. It is not about an image, it is a mental illness. Not eating is something that gives them that necessary feeling of being in control.

 

[ajblaise]

Oh yes, it may not apply to every single person with this eating disorder of course, but anorexics do get high off of a sense of self-control. Have you never read case studies, journals, or other personal stories written about the experience of being anorexic?

Sure, there are chemical components. But there are also purely psychological motivations.

When you're getting off on something, isn't that always because of feel-good reward chemicals? The self-control might be synonymous with that psychological mechanism in this case. They're feeling good because of the endorphins, and the self-control of fasting or purging is almost like the method of drug administration.

 

[Xenon]

It's not just the 'highs' that keep them locked in their behaviours though. Many sufferers describe feeling terror and/or self-loathing when they try to resume more normal eating. So they get the endorphin high when they indulge in their behaviours and feel terrible when they don't.

The psychological associations they have with thinness also contribute to the high (feeling "light" , or needless, or in control or strong).

I've read a few personal stories, and it seems to be a common theme that they started out feeling terrific at first, then felt compelled to continue the behaviours even though they weren't making them feel good anymore.

 

[Moiety]

Could be right... But it (eating disorders) also seems so very illogical, which would point in the direction of F.

Jesus...

 

[PoprocksAndCoke]

^That was my reaction.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I saw some documentary and anorexia has a lot to do with serotonin levels in the brains. Many anorexics have it at higher levels than normal, and eating releases serotonin, so instead of feeling happy after eating like msot people, they feel anxious after they eat. When they don't eat, the serotonin level drops to a more comfortable place.

There's a lot of evidence suggesting this is genetic, but I think mothers may also pass down their food hang-ups in raising their children. In every woman I've known well who was/is anorexic, I've noticed that her mother was militant about watching her own weight.

An ESFP friend of mine who used to be anorexic and still struggles with food issues used to describe it that way - eating made her extremely anxious. It had less to do with being thin than keeping her anxiety in check and having a certain amount of control. She was also OCD, and supposedly many anorexics are OCD also (from the same documentary).

When it comes to men, I've known a few INTPs who had eating disorders.
I could see NF perfectionism leading to an eating disorder also. I don't think you could name a type more prone to it though, especially if it has more to do with stuff like serotonin levels and OCD.

 

[Thalassa]

When you're getting off on something, isn't that always because of feel-good reward chemicals? The self-control might be synonymous with that psychological mechanism in this case. They're feeling good because of the endorphins, and the self-control of fasting or purging is almost like the method of drug administration.

It takes a certain personality type to stick with anorexia long enough for endorphins to kick in and it to become a chemical dependecy. Addiction doesn't happen over night for most any addiction, except maybe crack. You even have to do heroin a few times to actually become addicted. You can argue that fasting is more pleasurable for some people because their body chemistry is different, but long-term eating habits like that are psychologically ingrained.

It often occurs during adolescence because teenagers don't want to become women. Media pressure tends to spike the numbers of anorexic cases in the general population. Pressures and habits learned at home also contribute. I think it is simplistic and naiive when people think that EVERYTHING is about brain chemistry and could be fixed with a little pill - that goes for any mental illness, whether it is an eating disorder or depression.

 

[KiwiBurst]

My ESFP guy friend (enneagram 7) became anorexic when he was in the 7th grade. It started out with a few rude comments about him becoming overweight. He started exercising a couple times a week and it just spiraled out of control. He got down to 80 lbs and was hospitalized. He's 16 now and he says that he feels like he has never recovered. Poor guy. He eats normally but still struggles with self-loathing and control issues.

 

[ajblaise]

I saw some documentary and anorexia has a lot to do with serotonin levels in the brains. Many anorexics have it at higher levels than normal, and eating releases serotonin, so instead of feeling happy after eating like msot people, they feel anxious after they eat. When they don't eat, the serotonin level drops to a more comfortable place.

Interesting..

It takes a certain personality type to stick with anorexia long enough for endorphins to kick in and it to become a chemical dependecy. Addiction doesn't happen over night for most any addiction, except maybe crack. You even have to do heroin a few times to actually become addicted. You can argue that fasting is more pleasurable for some people because their body chemistry is different, but long-term eating habits like that are psychologically ingrained.

Doesn't self-starvation cause the increase in endorphins to kick in the first time you do it? Or are you saying that complete fasting and self-starvation don't usually occur at the onset of anorexia? I agree that the real addiction to those chemical releases must take a while though.

It often occurs during adolescence because teenagers don't want to become women. Media pressure tends to spike the numbers of anorexic cases in the general population. Pressures and habits learned at home also contribute. I think it is simplistic and naiive when people think that EVERYTHING is about brain chemistry and could be fixed with a little pill - that goes for any mental illness, whether it is an eating disorder or depression.

Yeah I remember reading about a study on that in sociology. How would that explain the really extreme cases though? Where they go well beyond media norms. Is it psychological and their self-image is that distorted or is it dependency on a certain brain state at that point?

 

[cascadeco]

Don't know about most likely but INJs are definitely candidates... Eating disorders can often stem from issues around control which INJs can have in spades. People develop EDs for various reasons but wanting to assert control is a biggie.

I would agree with this.

I never had an eating disorder, but many years ago I did become obsessive about eating 'healthy', trying to cut pretty much all fat out of my diet (although maintaining caloric intake), and when I realized after a few yrs of that that it was pretty messed up (to the extreme I took it to), and that I was a couple pounds lighter than I had been while in college, I snapped out of it and the rest is history.

Control, yes...I think INJ's can latch onto, and become obsessive, with the more physical elements because that's one thing they CAN have 100% control over, when most other things are out of ones control. It doesn't even have to manifest in eating to the point of a disorder... could be any other random, tangible thing that the INJ becomes obsessive/almost anal about.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I understand that anorexia is more about finding personal control than external image. It is the result of overly internalizing negativity. I think the problem is that every external person could react to the anorexic as though their physical image was fine, but if their internal sense of self is distorted, there isn't much anyone can say to change that view.

I think it could be a problem for IJs, but also for other types. Bulimia might be different because it is the sensation of food that is the coping mechanism rather than denying the senses and losing touch with one's physical self.

 

[PoprocksAndCoke]

Many kids who develop an eating disorder have low self-esteem and their focus on weight can be an attempt to gain a sense of control at a time when their lives feel more out-of-control.

Eating Disorders

 

[brainheart]

There's a lot of evidence suggesting this is genetic, but I think mothers may also pass down their food hang-ups in raising their children. In every woman I've known well who was/is anorexic, I've noticed that her mother was militant about watching her own weight.

For me it was my dad, not my mom. He is the epitome of an ISTJ- eats exactly what he's supposed to and no more; measures out a glass of wine to get the exact amount which is supposed to be beneficial and not detrimental, etc. But I think that's just how he is and I don't think it's a problem for him. The problem for me was that I took this to the extreme and punished myself when I didn't adhere to my unrealistic expectations. (Or his unrealistic standards.)

Also, I had zero issues with food until I went to college. I was unhappy with where I was and then there was the whole dorm food situation- eating at a buffet every day with limitless choices. These things together made me begin to have an unhealthy relationship with food.

I barely think about food at all anymore, and I never overeat. All it took was my getting on bipolar medication. So I think there is much to be said about it being a chemical/psychological issue.

 

[tinkerbell]

I saw some documentary and anorexia has a lot to do with serotonin levels in the brains. Many anorexics have it at higher levels than normal, and eating releases serotonin, so instead of feeling happy after eating like msot people, they feel anxious after they eat. When they don't eat, the serotonin level drops to a more comfortable place.

There's a lot of evidence suggesting this is genetic, but I think mothers may also pass down their food hang-ups in raising their children. In every woman I've known well who was/is anorexic, I've noticed that her mother was militant about watching her own weight.

An ESFP friend of mine who used to be anorexic and still struggles with food issues used to describe it that way - eating made her extremely anxious. It had less to do with being thin than keeping her anxiety in check and having a certain amount of control. She was also OCD, and supposedly many anorexics are OCD also (from the same documentary).

When it comes to men, I've known a few INTPs who had eating disorders.
I could see NF perfectionism leading to an eating disorder also. I don't think you could name a type more prone to it though, especially if it has more to do with stuff like serotonin levels and OCD.

Anorexia is chaning in profile, originally it was seen as a control illness where the young person felt subjected to being controled by parents or grew up in an emotionally volitile household. Hence I think the 1970/80s anorexic was probably a J type

I think this has changed to incorporate many aspects of body dismorphia.

I think the Anorexia and OCD link is the damage caused by lack of fuel (rather than the other way around).... but this is from historic perspective rather than up to date info.

The range of eatting dissorders have tipped the balance so to speak.

High levels of Obesity (probaboly realted to ratio of wadges:cost of food and super markets selling a hue proportion of treat based products), cause a distorting of weight perception, increasing a kids desire to control their weight, thus potentially opening the door to Amorexia or even bullemia.

an SJ at work has some form of anorexia (although not taken to an excess so almost physically healthy).

Body dismorphia is a big driver I'd think.
...................................


Just as a though:

Sever underweaight would lower your life expectancy the most (radically reduces life expectancy)
Followed by obesity (will take off a good few years)
Followed by smoking (will take off a good few years off but less the obesity)

i'd guess high levels of alcohaul would be between obesity and smoking...

People have not got enough stress in their lives/don't struggle enough to ensure they are healthy. Persumably it's true of animal communities too, if there is too much food/lack of struggle they communities become lackluster and fail to thirve.

 

[OrangeAppled]

All it took was my getting on bipolar medication. So I think there is much to be said about it being a chemical/psychological issue.

I have a feeling there are a lot of variables and different reasons depending on the individual. It generally seems to be a symptom of some greater issue though, be it chemical or psychological or whatever.

I think eating disorders like anorexia have less to do with the media promoting thinness (which it condemns as much as it promotes) than many people seem to think. It might add to it, but I don't think it's a root cause.

 

[Ginkgo]

What type is most likely to have eating disorders? XXXX.

Why is this even a question? Every type can find subjective reasoning to have an eating disorder.

Not only that, but you're not specifying what type of eating disorder. Thus, the question is not only silly, but extremely open-ended.

Sorry, I don't mean to be offensive.