Iceberg and Eating Distress by Deborah Condon in Irish Health

Read Deborah Condon's report about Iceberg which appeared in Irish Health here.

Eating Distress

By Deborah Condon, Irish Health

In the past, many of us would have associated the term 'eating disorder' with one of two illnesses, anorexia or bulimia. In fact if we were asked to describe a person with an eating disorder, the odds are we would describe an emaciated young female. However today the term can be used to describe a myriad of conditions, from anorexia to compulsive overeating and obesity. And according to Marie Campion, founder of Iceberg, it is essential that we stop thinking of these conditions as 'female'.

"We want to move away from the idea that eating distress is a gender issue. Conditions like anorexia affect men too. There are of course differences between men and women but eating distress is not a gender problem", Ms Campion explained to irishhealth.com.

Iceberg was established in late 2004, with the aim of increasing awareness of eating distress. Having worked for over 13 years with people suffering from eating distress, Ms Campion, says she favours the use of this term over eating disorder because 'sufferers identify more with it'.

"In my experience, those affected prefer the term eating distress. The term disorder has a stigma attached to it. People feel 'disordered' and there is more shame attached to this."

Around 30% of the Irish population is reported to suffer from some form of eating distress, but Iceberg insists the true figure is significantly higher. In fact that is where the name of the group comes from. With icebergs, the part below the water - the hidden part - is usually much bigger than the part visible to the eye. Ms Campion insists that currently in Ireland, what is seen in relation to eating distress is literally just the tip of the iceberg.

This is clearly shown when one considers that of all the psychological illnesses, eating distress has the highest rate of fatalities and is strongly associated with self-harm.

"The reality is that an eating disorder is like an addiction to self-harm, the person is constantly abusing their body. But what I fear the most is suicide, it is one of the biggest problems", she says.

In fact, during her time working with people affected by eating distress, she has even dealt with a small number of children who have indicated their wish to commit suicide, including 'more than one eight-year-old'.

While this may be shocking, the fact is that the age profile of people suffering from eating distress is dropping, with many pre-teens, or at least their parents, now seeking help.

However Ms Campion points out that it is extremely important that children are not labelled as suffering from eating distress at too young an age.

"Where young children are concerned, it is important not to label them too young. As a result, we do not like to bring young children into therapy, but prefer to work with the parents. Ideally a child should not be brought into therapy before the age of 10", she says.

One of the reasons for the increase in eating distress is, according to Ms Campion, 'super-sensitivity'.

"There are so much more pressures on people today and from an earlier age. Inevitably, sensitive people are more affected by certain things. In therapy, we try to show people how to use their sensitivity differently", she explains.

Ms Campion believes that the idea that the media is to blame for these pressures is 'over used'.

"Parents blame the media for their child's problems, but it is often the parents who are buying it and in some cases, they are the ones writing it."

However she does criticise articles which, for example, provide figures on rates of recovery.

"I saw an article recently where it stated that 60% of people with a certain condition will recover. Articles like this are bad because if you are suffering, you think that you will be one of the ones that does not recover. Everybody can recover and there must always be that hope."

In relation to the increasing problems of overeating and obesity, she says there is an urgent need to emphasise the emotional element behind these. According to 2003 figures, almost half of Irish adults are either overweight or obese. Furthermore between 1990 and 2000, the number of obese people aged 16 - 24 more than tripled here, rising from 3% to 10%.

Ms Campion believes that Government initiatives, such as the Obesity Task Force, established in 2004, are failing to recognise the intrinsic link between eating distress and emotions.

"Initiatives such as the task force are sending out constant messages that obesity is killing people and the answer is a healthy diet and exercise. I think this is underestimating people's intelligence. If it was as simple as three meals a day and exercise, they would do it. But this does not look at the emotional issue. It ignores that fact that there is an underlying cause", she explains.

She says that these constant messages create 'nearly a new type of racism' against obese people.

"It is so hard for the person - they are carrying around what society hates", she adds.