Eating disorders are hugely misunderstood not just by the public but often by the individuals themselves. Eating disorders are biological based mental illnesses and while the focus is food, body image and sometimes exercise, in reality this is just what the individual uses as a medium to project or avoid difficult emotions and scenarios.
An eating disorder serves a purpose; it usually acts as a method of denying emotions that are not only difficult to identify with but also don’t want to be experienced. They often present themselves as “feelings” of discomfort and dis- ease deep within both physically and mentally. You understand that something is not quite right; maybe life feels a bit messy or chaotic, but you can’t quite articulate what is driving this. This is not always conscious; it is an experience and almost like a “blind chatter” that fills you with a negative narrative fuelling a sense of unworthiness.
The act of achieving “leanness” or “being fit” or “showing discipline” is a way of attaining something that you can’t attain from your life otherwise, it’s a means of proving your worth but, when you find it difficult to manage expectations or have very high standards, these same behaviours can become dysfunctional.
The need for life to be “right” and drive to be the best often tends to be the key driving force, allowing us to create intrusive and catastrophic thoughts that we make fact and then impacts our beliefs and behaviours towards ourselves. Remember Perfectionism is just an addiction to a set of beliefs that give you a false sense of security about your worth.
It’s important for you to understand that it is your need to control all these uncomfortable thoughts and emotions that you transfer onto your food intake and body image. While you know this is not healthy, it has become your familiar coping mechanism; humans are creatures of habit, and this is why we return to our familiar behaviours even when they may not be useful as they somehow make us feel “safe” in a world that feels uncertain. When energy intake and levels are low, it can be even harder to challenge mindsets and create new more helpful thought patterns. A malnourished body cannot feel happy, a malnourished body cannot feel content, a malnourished body cannot think clearly.
However, it is really important to understand that life is not certain, and no-one can make it so –the only way to navigate your way through, accepting that it doesn’t always play out the way you want but this is not necessarily a reflection of something you have or haven’t done. It’s also important to accept all parts of you, even when you feel you have made a mistake, failed, or have an emotion that you don’t want to be associated with. Remember it’s how you frame it –you haven’t failed, you have just had an experience you can learn from.
In restrictive eating disorders, restoring weight, alongside appropriate therapy is critical for recovery.
When restoring weight in individuals with an eating disorder, it is really important to aim to meet energy requirements but also to help them re-educate their minds about all food groups. Individuals with disordered eating make up several rules and rituals around food to ensure that they can keep their disorder active; this could be by saying they “dislike” certain foods or that certain food groups cause them issues. It is important to help them to break these behaviours so that they can see that a life without a difficult relationship with food and body image, is a more joyful experience than with one.
Eating disorders are hugely misunderstood not just by the public but often by the individuals themselves. Eating disorders are biological based mental illnesses and while the focus is food, body image and sometimes exercise, in reality this is just what the individual uses as a medium to project or avoid difficult emotions and scenarios.
An eating disorder serves a purpose; it usually acts as a method of denying emotions that are not only difficult to identify with but also don’t want to be experienced. They often present themselves as “feelings” of discomfort and dis- ease deep within both physically and mentally. You understand that something is not quite right; maybe life feels a bit messy or chaotic, but you can’t quite articulate what is driving this. This is not always conscious; it is an experience and almost like a “blind chatter” that fills you with a negative narrative fuelling a sense of unworthiness.
The act of achieving “leanness” or “being fit” or “showing discipline” is a way of attaining something that you can’t attain from your life otherwise, it’s a means of proving your worth but, when you find it difficult to manage expectations or have very high standards, these same behaviours can become dysfunctional.
The need for life to be “right” and drive to be the best often tends to be the key driving force, allowing us to create intrusive and catastrophic thoughts that we make fact and then impacts our beliefs and behaviours towards ourselves. Remember Perfectionism is just an addiction to a set of beliefs that give you a false sense of security about your worth.
It’s important for you to understand that it is your need to control all these uncomfortable thoughts and emotions that you transfer onto your food intake and body image. While you know this is not healthy, it has become your familiar coping mechanism; humans are creatures of habit, and this is why we return to our familiar behaviours even when they may not be useful as they somehow make us feel “safe” in a world that feels uncertain. When energy intake and levels are low, it can be even harder to challenge mindsets and create new more helpful thought patterns. A malnourished body cannot feel happy, a malnourished body cannot feel content, a malnourished body cannot think clearly.
However, it is really important to understand that life is not certain, and no-one can make it so –the only way to navigate your way through, accepting that it doesn’t always play out the way you want but this is not necessarily a reflection of something you have or haven’t done. It’s also important to accept all parts of you, even when you feel you have made a mistake, failed, or have an emotion that you don’t want to be associated with. Remember it’s how you frame it –you haven’t failed, you have just had an experience you can learn from.
In restrictive eating disorders, restoring weight, alongside appropriate therapy is critical for recovery.
When restoring weight in individuals with an eating disorder, it is really important to aim to meet energy requirements but also to help them re-educate their minds about all food groups. Individuals with disordered eating make up several rules and rituals around food to ensure that they can keep their disorder active; this could be by saying they “dislike” certain foods or that certain food groups cause them issues. It is important to help them to break these behaviours so that they can see that a life without a difficult relationship with food and body image, is a more joyful experience than with one.
