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Women on the edge

Modern life is taking its toll on today’s women who are trying to do so much that they forget they need to look after themselves too

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Tuesday Mar 11 2008

You might have heard a lot of talk in the past few weeks about "stressorexia," which isn't a diagnosed illness, but is a phenomenon affecting busy, stressedout women, causing them to lose their appetites through stress.

Dr Adrian Lord, consultant psychiatrist at the Cygnet Hospital in Harrow, in the UK (a private psychiatric clinic), was one of the first to make pronouncements on the disorder.

“Stressorexia is not a scientific diagnosis, but anecdotally its symptoms are very prevalent among women,” he said. “They are trying to be sexy, fashionable and slim, have a career and be perfect mothers and wives.

“Some neglect to eat because they are too busy, and others are just totally stressed-out, which suppresses the appetite.

“Fifty years ago, women just had to be good mothers. Now they have to do everything and they can't abdicate. As a result, they feel very anxious and this can cause them to try and keep control of their food, which can lead to drastic weight loss and cause them insidiously to slip into an anorexic-type situation.

“It is very much a modern-day phenomenon, compounded by the blurring of roles of men and women.”

However, according to Ruth Ni Eidhin, communications officer of the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, Bodywhys, although stressorexia is not a diagnosed illness, it may fall into an unspecified category.

DISORDER

“While stressorexia is not a defined eating disorder, 5-10pc of those affected by eating disorders are affected by what is clinically termed as ‘Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified', which means that they would have some but not all of the diagnostic criteria of an eating disorder,” she says. And due to the secretive nature of eating disorders, it is difficult to quantify.

“There are no recent statistics on adults in Ireland who are affected by an eating disorder,” she says. “A 2002 study (based in Norway but focused more generally) suggested that 0.2-0.5pc of women aged 15-40 (about 4,000) may have anorexia, and a further 2pc of that same age group may be affected by bulimia.

“However, I would again emphasise that figures are inherently inexact, given the tendency towards secrecy.”

However, Ruth says that it's important to differentiate between the symptoms described by Dr Lord and life threatening eating disorders. “High stress levels can be a contributing factor in the development of eating problems generally, but I think it's important to distinguish between the loss of appetite described by Dr Lord and the reality of eating disorders as complex, potentially life-threatening conditions,” she says.

So, what can you do to prevent “stressorexia” from spiralling out of control? Although Professor Patricia Casey (inset), of the Department of Psychiatry at the Mater Hospital, Dublin, is quick to point out that stressorexia is not a diagnosed illness, she says that recognising stress and seeking professional help are important.

ILLNESS

“Stressorexia is not a recognised illness, although many people under stress develop disordered or abnormal eating patterns. It depends on the person – some have their sleep patterns disturbed, some feel panicky or anxious, some become depressed.

“Put in place stress relieving strategies and make useful changes with work-related patterns and utilise self help,” she says.

“Realise that you have to do something rather than assuming it'll go away. In a work situation, check whether something is time limited, such as a deadline that'll be over in a week, and if it doesn't go away, seek some professional help.” Sinead (not her real name) is in her late 20s. She says she experienced some of the symptoms of stressorexia last year, when she was under a lot of pressure at work.

“I've always been one of those lucky people with a fast metabolism who can eat whatever they want and stay relatively slim. I love food and look forward to mealtimes, however, I associate being thin with being very unhappy and stressed-out. I tend to lose a lot of weight when I'm under pressure, especially so last year.

STRUGGLE

“There was a period of around two months where I had a huge workload and it was a struggle to keep everything together. I felt anxious and had the sensation of my stomach churning. My sleep was affected, as I would lie awake at night, worrying. I was too anxious to eat and often could not keep food down.

“I also developed irritable bowel syndrome, which made things difficult. I no longer enjoyed food and actually began to dread meals – it began to seem easier to skip them or else eat tiny amounts. I lost a stone-and-a-half and so I went to my GP, who prescribed something short term for the anxiety.

“I began to get my appetite back, and thankfully regained the weight, but I vowed never to let myself become so stressed out at work again that I'd let it affect my health. I'd advise anyone in the same situation to help yourself, because no job is worth risking your health for.”