Eating Disorders

— Do you think about food, eating, or calories more often than others?
— Do you deliberately limit the amount of food you eat?
— Do you pre-plan eating and experience fear or panic if these plans change?
— Do you fear eating around others?
— Do you avoid social situations due to not being able to control food while out?
— Do you use multiple tools to manage intake, such as calorie tracking apps or food scales?
— Do you have difficulty falling asleep at night due to thinking about food and weight?
— Do you exclude certain foods from your diet or follow rules in regard to eating?
— Do you feel guilty after eating and try to fix it by eating less the following day?
— Do you fear losing control while eating or feel like you binge eat?
— Do you focus too much on the weight and shape of your body?
— Do you wish you could change your natural body type or feel shame or embarrassment due to your body type?
— Do you exercise, take laxatives, or purge as a means of controlling your weight?
— Do you eat in secret?
— Do you weigh yourself more than once a week?
— Does your weight/shape influence how you judge yourself as a person?
— Do you feel uncomfortable seeing your body or feel uncomfortable at the idea of others seeing your shape/figure?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be struggling with an eating disorder. Many answer “yes” to these questions, but often hesitate seeking treatment due to the false belief that eating disorders must look a certain way physically. The reality is that eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes and most people who struggle do not look emaciated or sick at all. Many people with eating disorders also hesitate seeking treatment because acknowledging the issues they have with food means they actually have to make changes and this is scary. This may sound confusing, but many struggling with an eating disorder have a love/hate relationship with the disorder as a whole. They may love the sense of control it provides, thrive on compliments they receive from others, and feel good about themselves when they are eating in a way they perceive to be “right.” However, they may hate the constant fear they feel, hate the isolation an eating disorder causes, and envy others who look thin but don’t obsess over food, exercise, or their bodies.

As a result of this love/hate relationship, many teens and young adults deny having an eating disorder. Some might also have an awareness of a budding eating disorder dismissed by others, including health care professionals who are not well-versed in eating disorders. These factors paired with a fear recovery will lead to being “fat” can leave many reluctant to walking through our doors. However, not everyone struggling with an eating disorder is reluctant to receive help, some people have struggled with the negative side effects of an eating disorder for long enough and are ready for recovery. Whether you are feeling resistant or ready for change, Lotus Therapy Group is here to help. We take a team approach to treating eating disorders, as half of the work is done with a therapist and the other half with a dietitian.

The therapist’s role in your recovery is to address the underlying issues behind your eating disorder and work with you on healing those issues. The dietitian’s role is to help you develop a healthy relationship with food and your body. Both therapist and dietitian will closely collaborate with each other to help you move from self-hatred to confidence. There are many types of eating disorders. From Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, ARFID, and orthorexia, but most eating disorders overlap into a diagnosis called EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). All this means is that most eating disorders do not fit into the strict guidelines for any one diagnosis. As you browse the eating disorders listed below, please note that you or your loved one might not fit every criteria of the diagnosis.