Eating disorders come only second to opioid overdoses, the deadliest mental illness in the United States. Every 52 minutes, the effects of this condition take a life, and 26% of these deaths occur by suicide.
Many people with disordered eating patterns live in denial about causing themselves harm. How do you know if you’ve crossed the threshold of dangerous dieting habits?
Keep reading to learn the five signs it’s time to seek therapy for eating disorders.
1. Obsession Over Food
If you obsess over food to the point that you eat ritualistically and set strict rules for eating, then you may suffer from a disorder. Some people may mask their disorder by calling it dieting.
What’s the difference?
Dieting sometimes requires calorie counting or some type of restriction. Healthy diets restrict enough to promote gradual weight loss and focus on meeting nutrient requirements.
You should seek therapy if you drastically cut your calorie count and cannot meet your nutritional needs. If you obsess over labels, only allow yourself a number of bites, or take on other obsessive habits, reach out for help.
Food obsession can take you in an opposite unhealthy direction as well. Binge eating can cause just as much harm. If you cannot stop thinking about food and constantly want to eat, then see a professional.
2. Strong Emotions Connected to Food
Scents and flavors of foods can bring up memories tied to specific emotions. But you should not constantly feel overwhelming emotions every time you eat or even think of food.
Eating for comfort even when you feel full signals a deeper-rooted issue. You should not rely on food to make you feel happy.
On the flip side, eating should not fill you with shame, sadness, or disgust. You need food to survive, and if eating feels wrong, then you could benefit from eating disorder therapy.
3. Sudden Shifts In Weight
Often the mental aspect of eating disorders feels normal to the person because disordered thinking permeates the mind. So you might not notice an issue until physical symptoms appear.
Sudden weight loss or weight gain often indicates a health problem. When no underlying physical condition causes it, your mental state probably does.
Once your weight shifts, your disorder can quickly spiral out of control. For instance, a binge eater who gains weight may either begin purging or they may eat even more excessively as a coping mechanism. An anorexic who appears skinny may obsess over the look of their shape and bones, and work to lose even more weight.
Either way, it can lead to severe physical problems. Without help, people die when these conditions spiral.
4. Body Dysmorphia
With body dysmorphia, you obsess over perceived flaws. Looking in the mirror causes severe distress because your flaws, often regarding weight, appear magnified.
In severe cases, the flaw you see, which may or may not exist, runs your life. This can lead to depression, social isolation, and self-harm without prompt treatment.
Seek Therapy for Eating Disorders
Food provides us with strength and nourishment for a healthy life. It should bring people together and offer a source of joy.
We should never feel embarrassed or upset about eating. And our feelings should not lead us to eat in unhealthy ways, because it can lead to severe health issues.
We understand that life can overwhelm us at times, and this can lead to unhealthy patterns of thinking. That’s why we treat all of our patients in therapy for eating disorders with compassion and care. Request your first appointment so we can help you live your best life.