How Do You Know if You Have an Eating Disorder?

Unfortunately, millions of people around the world suffer from eating disorders so if you believe you have an unhealthy relationship with food, you’re not alone. Eating disorders can, however, be difficult to recognize. They are often triggered by a certain situation such as extreme stress, PTSD or a simple comment made about your appearance or weight.

Eating disorders come in many types but can lead to severe health problems if not dealt with. Therefore, it’s important to understand the key triggers and behaviors associated with eating disorders in order to overcome them.

Here are just a few that may resonate with you so you can make the necessary steps to seek the help you need:

1. Spending too much time worrying about your weight

Everyone has hang-ups about their body weight and shape, however, if you’re thinking about your appearance on a 24-hour basis and it is starting to impact your eating patterns, you may have an eating disorder.

Negative or obsessive thoughts about your body image may lead you to talk negatively about yourself with comments such as “I’m fat” or “I’m ugly” which could follow on to a refusal to eat to prevent putting on weight. This can become significantly worse when comparing yourself to celebrities with the ‘perfect’ body image.

2. Avoid time socializing when food is involved

Have you ever refused to go out socially for fear that you’ll have to eat? If so, this is a key sign of an eating disorder. You should be looking forward to quality time with friends and family at a restaurant rather than worrying about eating in front of others. If this fear is starting to dictate your mindset and take over your life, you may need to seek professional help, as this could potentially escalate and lead to general social anxiety. If you’re worried about the decline of your mental health and relationship with food, it would be wise to undergo treatment with medical professionals, such as edentreatment.com. The treatment involves workshops and therapeutic strategies alongside medical professionals to allow you to get back on track and enjoy your life again.

3. Excessive exercising or vomiting

It is recommended that the average adult should be getting at least 30 minutes of exercise per day to maintain their general health and wellbeing, however, if you have noticed that you’re exercising too regularly throughout the day or have an urge to exercise immediately after you have eaten, it may be a sign that you have an eating disorder. The same could be said if you have an instant urge to vomit after eating every meal.

4. Eating rituals

One of the most common signs that someone may have an eating disorder is having certain habits which are similar to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). These habits may include pushing food around your plate, cutting it up into small sections or arranging it in a way that you feel comfortable eating it. These are often tactics to take the attention away from the fact that you’re not eating and make it look as though you have, simply by shifting food around the plate.