We have all heard something about eating disorders, mainly thanks to pop culture and social media, however there is a lot of misinformation regarding these mental health diagnoses.

Eating disorders are very often related to preoccupations with food, one’s weight, and fears or consequences of eating. There are also specific behaviors associated with eating disorders such as binge eating, purging (intentional vomiting), use of laxatives, or excessive exercise.

Eating disorders are typically characterized as behavioral conditions where there is a severe and continuous disturbance in eating patterns/behaviors, followed by emotional distress which may include anxiety, depression and/or compulsive behaviors. When we think of eating disorders, we typically think of anorexia and bulimia, however eating disorders are not simply limited to overeating or restricting. Outside of the aforementioned diagnoses, other types of eating disorders include: pica (eating of nonfood items), rumination disorder (repeated regurgitation), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (also referred to as ARFID; failure to meet appropriate nutritional needs), and binge-eating disorder.

Eating disorders are complex mental health diagnoses that can cause lifelong health issues among women and men…yes, men can struggle with disordered eating patterns as well as women.. Eating disorders often do not stand alone in terms of mental health diagnoses. Eating disorders can also cause a plethora of both mental and physical struggles such as skewed perception of one’s body, negative eating behaviors, low self-esteem, as well as cardiovascular, endocrine, and gastrointestinal issues. One of the more challenging aspects of eating disorders is: where do they stem from? This is a complex question, typically with complex answers.

At Essentially You Counseling and Wellness Services, there are therapists who are well versed in the treatment of eating disorders. Mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness are all very useful ways to help treat eating disorders and start a journey towards health, wellness, and self-love.