Eating Disorder Recovery
An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating. At some point, the urge to eat less or more spiraled out of control. Severe distress or concern about body weight or shape may also signal an eating disorder. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder (NIH)
Up to 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an ED in the U.S
The rate of development of new cases have been increasing since 1950, and continues today.
You can have an eating disorder at any size – size does not determine your health
It IS NOT only a “rich white girl problem”
EATING DISORDERS DO NOT DISCRIMINATE - they have historically been associated with straight, young, cisgender, white females, but in reality they affect people from all demographics and they are not caused by any single factor.
While eating disorders are specifically defined in literature, the reality is that eating disorders can be more complex and show up in a variety of ways beyond what’s been defined. There is a spectrum of symptoms and behaviors that can be experienced.
Read more about the warning signs and symptoms at the National Eating Disorders Association’s website.
How do people develop eating disorders?
Biological:
Irregular hormone functions
Genetics
Nutritional deficiencies
Psychological:
Negative body image
Poor self-esteem
Co-existing conditions – depression, anxiety
Environmental:
Dysfunctional family dynamic
Professions that promote being thin and weight loss, (e.g., ballet and modeling)
Aesthetically oriented sports, where an emphasis is placed on maintaining a lean body for enhanced performance
Family and childhood traumas
Cultural and/or peer pressure among friends and co-workers
Stressful transitions or life changes
Cultural fixations and stigma association with being FAT or THIN
Only 1 in 10 people with eating disorders receive treatment due to stigma and accessibility barriers. Many people therefore struggle in silence and with feelings of shame, where I would in turn want to create a safe open space for these individuals to share what they are experiencing.
I myself was diagnosed with a serious eating disorder at a young age. After going through years of my own therapy and eating disorder specific treatment, I was motivated to speak out and do all I could to help others struggling and recovering from eating disorders. My personal experience in recovery is ultimately what drove me to pursue a career as a therapist. While in graduate school, I noticed how much stigma was also present within the mental health field and how little was known about eating disorders. Eating disorders is often left off of the curriculum of graduate clinical therapy programs. After this realization, I have since been an active advocate for there to be more awareness around eating disorders within our field, and for there to be more opportunities to get treatment.
My ultimate goal is to help empower you to build a healthier and more loving relationship with your body and with food.