Psychological Causes Of Eating Disorders And How To Address Them
Mental health conditions in the category of eating disorders impact millions of people worldwide. These conditions are characterized by continuous disruptions to eating behaviors and physical health, but they typically cause and are caused by various psychological factors as well.
Examining the psychological causes for eating disorders and evidence-based interventions may help encourage affected individuals to seek help and may also aid in the recovery process. Below, we’ll explore multiple mental factors associated with these disorders and offer strategies for their management.
Understanding the complexity of eating disorders
Eating disorders are characterized by irregular eating behaviors and an intense focus on food, weight, and/or body shape. This type of condition can appear in different forms, each accompanied by unique symptoms.
Defining eating disorders and their prevalence
While eating disorders commonly affect teenagers and young adults, they can manifest in anyone regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Some common eating disorders include the following:
- Anorexia nervosa involves severe food intake restriction, intense fear of gaining weight, and distorted body image.
- Bulimia nervosa involves periodic binge eating episodes that are followed by compensatory measures like self-induced vomiting and/or excessive exercise.
- Binge eating disorder involves recurring bouts of eating large volumes of food in a brief period, usually associated with feelings like shame and a sense of being out of control.
- Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a lesser-known eating disorder. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder involves having limited or highly selective eating patterns, resulting in inadequate nutrition.
Research indicates that approximately 9% of the global population may experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives. The prevalence of these conditions has been increasing in recent years, highlighting the need for greater awareness and increased availability of treatment.
If you’re experiencing signs of an eating disorder, it’s generally recommended that you meet with a mental health care provider as soon as possible. Early intervention has been linked to improved outcomes for individuals with eating disorders.
The connection between mental health and eating disorders
Eating disorders often stem from and are sustained by underlying mental health challenges. Understanding and addressing these psychological factors is usually a key component of treatment.
Psychological factors that may contribute to eating disorders
Self-esteem and body image concerns are also frequently observed in individuals with eating disorders. Some may place excessive importance on physical appearance and use weight or body shape as primary measures of self-worth. This focus can lead to behaviors aimed at altering appearance, such as restrictive dieting or excessive exercise.
Perfectionism is another trait commonly associated with eating disorders. It may manifest as rigid eating rules, unrealistic body ideals, and fear of failure. This perfectionist mindset can contribute to the development and persistence of disordered eating patterns.
The impact of food intake disorders on mental health
Psychological wellness and eating habits are often interconnected. Mental health can affect food choices, and food choices can impact brain function and mood.
How food intake influences emotional well-being
Food intake plays a role in regulating mood and emotions. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances may contribute to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and irritability. Conversely, balanced eating patterns that meet nutritional needs can support overall mental health and emotional stability.
The act of eating itself can also have psychological implications. For some, food serves as a comfort source or a strategy to mitigate stress. Such emotional relationships with food may lead to disordered eating habits, like binge eating or food restriction for emotional regulation.
Limiting food intake to achieve weight loss can also influence mental well-being. Intense calorie reduction might result in changes in mood, increased irritability, and challenges with focus. Over time, such a restrictive method of eating could lead to disordered eating behaviors and affect overall psychological health.
Bulimia nervosa, vomiting, and associated psychological challenges
Bulimia nervosa presents specific psychological challenges due to its cyclical nature. The regular binging-purging cycle can lead to physical and emotional consequences.
Understanding bulimia nervosa and the cycle of binging and vomiting
Bulimia nervosa is frequently characterized by strong emotional experiences that lead to binge eating. During these episodes, individuals might rapidly consume excessive amounts of food and feel a loss of control. To counteract potential weight gain, they may resort to compensatory behaviors, such as inducing vomiting or taking laxatives.
This cycle of binging and purging can be driven by various psychological factors. Some individuals may use binge eating as a way to manage emotions or stress. The act of purging may then serve as a means of alleviating feelings associated with overeating.
Feelings of shame often play a role in perpetuating the binge-purge cycle too. Many with bulimia nervosa face intense emotions after a binge, which can drive compensatory behaviors. This cycle may become self-sustaining, reinforcing unfavorable self-perceptions and continuing the disordered eating pattern.
The connection between weight loss, dieting, and eating disorders
Eating disorders manifest in various forms, with some unrelated to an attempt to lose weight. Nevertheless, diet regimens and disordered eating habits commonly intersect. Such intersections may lead to mental distress and potentially contribute to the onset of eating disorders.
How dieting for weight loss can lead to disordered eating
Although not everyone who diets will develop an eating disorder, adopting restrictive dieting practices can increase the chances of disordered eating behaviors. A continuous focus on food consumption and body weight might lead to an obsession with eating and body image, and developing an eating disorder may result in some cases.
Dieting often involves restricting certain foods or food groups, which can create a sense of deprivation. This deprivation may lead to intense cravings and, in some cases, binge-eating episodes. The cycle of restriction and overeating can contribute to feelings of guilt, potentially perpetuating disordered eating patterns.
Frequent weight loss attempts can also have mental effects, as the pressure to maintain a certain body shape might amplify dissatisfaction with one's appearance and lead to negative self-perception. Associating weight closely with self-worth might contribute to the development of eating disorders.
Addressing symptoms of eating disorders through therapy
Talk therapy allows providers to address the psychological components of eating disorders in their clients. In therapy, individuals can explore underlying factors that contribute to their disordered eating patterns and work towards developing healthier coping mechanisms.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for symptoms of eating disorders
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based talk therapy approach commonly used in the treatment of eating disorders. CBT focuses on helping the individual learn to identify and modify distorted thought patterns and behaviors.
In the context of eating disorders, CBT can help individuals recognize distorted thoughts about food, weight, and body image. By challenging these thoughts and developing alternative perspectives, individuals may begin to change their relationship with food and their bodies.
CBT also addresses the behavioral aspects of eating disorders by helping individuals develop healthier eating patterns and coping strategies. This process may look different for each individual, but it might involve things like gradually introducing feared foods, establishing regular eating habits, and learning alternative ways to manage emotions that don’t involve food and eating.
Research suggests that CBT can be effective in reducing symptoms of various eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. The techniques taught in CBT may also help in preventing relapse and promoting a lasting recovery.
The role of family and social support in recovery
Support from family and friends is often crucial for recovery from a mental illness, including an eating disorder. This type of support can reinforce a sense of belonging and assist an individual in handling the emotional hurdles often associated with disordered eating.
How family dynamics can influence eating disorders
Family dynamics can influence both the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Factors such as family communication patterns, attitudes towards food and body image, and overall family functioning can impact an individual's relationship with food and their body.
In some cases, family members may inadvertently reinforce disordered eating behaviors through comments about weight or appearance. Conversely, a supportive family environment can provide a foundation for recovery.
In addition, family-based treatment approaches such as the Maudsley approach for adolescents with anorexia nervosa have been suggested to be effective in treating eating disorders in young people. These approaches involve the family as active participants in the recovery process.
Long-term strategies for maintaining recovery
Recovery from eating disorders is a continuous journey, extending beyond the initial treatment period. While this path is unique for each individual, several general strategies can be beneficial in sustaining long-term recovery.
Building resilience and preventing relapse
Building resilience can be a crucial component of long-term recovery from eating disorders. Resilience involves developing healthy coping strategies that can be used to address stress and difficult emotions without the need to engage in disordered eating patterns. Mindfulness, effective stress management, and regular self-care activities can help foster resilience.
Engaging in therapy over the long term
Working with a therapist over the long term is often an integral part of recovering from an eating disorder and preventing relapse. However, consistently engaging in long-term in-person treatment can be difficult for both financial and logistical reasons. Regularly commuting to in-person appointments can be difficult if a person has a busy schedule, and the cost of in-person sessions can be prohibitive.
That’s why online therapy has been proposed as an alternative to in-person treatment in many cases. With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist and meet with them remotely via phone, video call, and/or in-app messaging. The cost of online sessions is often less than the cost of traditional in-office sessions without insurance. Research also suggests that online therapy can be as effective as in-person therapy in many cases for addressing a variety of psychiatric disorders.
Takeaway
What causes eating disorders to develop?
Mental health professionals generally agree that there is no one singular cause for developing eating disorders. Eating behaviors are influenced by a variety of psychological, social, and biological factors, as suggested by systematic reviews and other studies. However, there are several risk factors that can make them more likely, such as:
- Family history of eating disorders
- Presence of other mental health conditions, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Personality traits such as perfectionism
- Too much focus on maintaining an ideal body shape, whether through losing or gaining weight
Do I actually have an eating disorder?
Eating disorders can only be diagnosed by qualified healthcare providers, who use the criteria laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, the symptoms of some nonpsychiatric conditions can mimic those of an eating disorder. For instance, someone with chronic gastrointestinal pain from a GI disorder like celiac disease may find it difficult to eat, consequently losing a substantial amount of weight in a short period of time. If you’re uncertain about your diagnosis, consider seeking a second professional opinion.
What qualifies as disordered eating? Is all dieting or weight loss indicative of an eating disorder?
“Disordered eating” refers to unhealthy or problematic eating behaviors such as excessive caloric restriction, bingeing, excessive exercise, or self-induced vomiting. Such behaviors can harm vital systems in the body, such as the heart, and cause chronic or life-threatening conditions like electrolyte imbalances.
Atypical or extreme weight loss or gain can be a symptom of an eating disorder However, not all weight changes or dieting attempts are indicative of one. Some weight changes are symptomatic of other serious problems like cancer or autoimmune disease, for instance.
What is the biggest cause of an eating disorder like bulimia nervosa?
There is no one central cause of eating disorders. Psychological, social, and biological factors all seem to contribute to the development and progression of various eating disorders. Which factors contribute more substantially than others will depend on the individual.
What are some warning signs and symptoms of eating disorders?
The symptoms of each eating disorder vary slightly, but some symptoms that are common between many eating disorders are:
- Low self-esteem
- Medical complications, such as low blood pressure, damaged tooth enamel, or metabolic disease
- Substance misuse
- Intense caloric restriction or consumption
Some symptoms that are specific to anorexia nervosa are a very low body weight and an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are both characterized by binges (compulsively eating beyond fullness), but bulimia nervosa involves purging behaviors that binge eating disorder does not have.
Is disordered eating hereditary?
Eating problems and disordered behaviors are not wholly hereditary. However, those who have a family member with an eating disorder—in particular someone closely related such as a parent or sibling—are at an increased likelihood of developing one themselves. Disordered eating patterns may also be adopted from one’s social environment, including friends, family, and other peers and authority figures.
Where did my eating disorder come from?
While it’s not possible to determine the exact origins of an eating disorder, some people find that different factors contribute more than others. For example, someone who grows up in a household with stringent eating patterns and frequent shame around food may feel this upbringing contributes more to their disorder than a genetic predisposition or physiological element. For another individual, genes may play a larger part in triggering the disorder.
What is orthorexia?
Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive and harmful emphasis on healthy eating. People with this condition adopt highly restrictive rules for themselves, such as following stringent exercise and eating regimes. Despite their intense focus on remaining healthy, people with orthorexia nervosa often encounter serious complications from poor nutrition and overexercise.
What triggers episodes of emotional eating, excessive food intake, or vomiting?
Common triggers for emotional eating, binges, and purges include stress, caloric restriction, boredom, or the availability of highly rewarding foods.
What should you not tell a person with an eating disorder?
If someone is in the process of getting an eating disorder treated, or has shared their diagnosis to you, it becomes especially important to be mindful of your language around food and weight. Advice like “just eat” or “just stop eating” neglect to consider how eating disorders affect one’s ability to interact with food and nutrition in a healthy manner. Statements about someone’s weight or weight-related appearance may also do more harm than benefithe
Instead, you may find it more helpful to:
- Remain as neutral as you can about weight, food, and health problems associated with the two
- Connect struggling loved ones with resources that focus on preventing eating disorders and promoting recovery, such as residential centers, nutrition counseling, and individual and family therapy
- Demonstrate that you are present to help your loved one
- Emphasize the positive traits your loved one has that are unrelated to their appearance or eating behaviors
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