Are Eating Disorders Really About the Food?

The diagnosis of an eating disorder has become a lot more common today, but what exactly does that mean? 

Many people take the term and automatically believe that the person diagnosed has an issue with the food itself. However, in most cases, the food is a byproduct of the root problems happening in that person’s life. Eating disorders rarely are about food. 

Eating disorders come in different varieties and vary immensely from person to person. All of these people share one common experience in that they express their emotions through food and behaviors surrounding food. The real obstacle with treating eating disorders is that we are surrounded by food daily and it is a means of survival. We cannot just take it away and ask people to live without it while they heal.

We need to understand why the person chose food as their outlet. It is common for people to say to those struggling “just eat.” Unfortunately, it is not that easy because food is not the main culprit here. For those diagnosed with anorexia, it can come down to control. When things feel out of control in life, these individuals tend to turn to the one thing only they can control, food. Typically they will restrict food and avoid it. Behaviors may include hiding food or avoiding social settings that involve food. For those diagnosed with bulimia, food can resemble how their relationships are in real life. They “binge” or over consume in relationships and then push or “purge” those people away. 

While food is the physical object and a common piece for those who struggle with an eating disorder, the reason why is so different for all of them. That is why when treating someone with an eating disorder, we have to dig deep and find out why they choose the behaviors they do around food and help them heal those traumas. We need to teach them new skills to replace harmful behaviors. Once they develop a healthy relationship with the underlying issues, they can work on developing a positive relationship with food once again. 

~Taylor Greibe, Eating Disorder Recovery Coach