Eating & Body Image
Anorexia Nervosa
Restriction of food intake driven by fear of weight gain, leading to significantly low body weight and an intense focus on control.
What it can feel like
- Eating far less than the body needs
- Fear of weight gain that does not ease with weight loss
- Distorted body image, or weight as the measure of worth
- Feeling cold, dizzy, tired, or losing periods
- Rituals around food, secrecy, and intense distress at meals
Not everyone has every symptom, and you do not need a label to deserve support.
Things that help
Treat it as a medical matter early
This is the mental health condition with the highest physical risk. A GP assessment early protects your heart, bones and hormones.
Use support at meals
Eating with someone, at set times, reduces the negotiation with the illness. Support is not weakness here, it is the treatment.
Separate the voice from you
Notice the anorexic thoughts as symptoms with a voice of their own, and answer them as such rather than arguing the content.
Want to actually do these? Save them to your practices and tick them off as you go.
Add to my practicesWhen to reach for more support
Contact a GP promptly. Specialist eating disorder services exist and early treatment substantially improves outcomes. Seek urgent care for fainting, chest pain or very low intake.
Often looked at together
ARFID
Very limited eating driven by sensory sensitivity, low appetite or fear of consequences such as choking, rather than by body image.
Binge Eating Disorder
Recurrent episodes of eating a large amount in a short time with a sense of losing control, without purging, followed by distress.
Bulimia Nervosa
Cycles of binge eating followed by purging through vomiting, laxatives or over-exercise, usually with shame and a normal body weight.