Eating disorders are characterised by abnormal eating habits that can significantly impact physical and mental wellbeing.
Eating disorders often involve an unhealthy preoccupation with food, body weight, and shape, leading to severe disturbances in eating behaviours.
If you think you may have an eating disorder, or are observing these behaviours in others, consider reaching out to Someone.health for professional help.
- Constant dieting or restrictive eating including obsessive calorie counting or food monitoring, which can often lead to feeling guilty or anxious after eating
- Secret (or isolated) eating
- Excessive meal planning or food shopping
- Fear of weight gain and obsessive body checking
- Feeling out of control while eating
- Compulsive exercise
If these behaviours sound familiar, you may be experiencing "disordered eating" or an eating disorder. Treating symptoms early is important to avoid them completely taking over and dominating your thoughts and behaviours. Without effective therapy, your relationships, daily functioning, and overall quality of life can be massively impacted.
Someone.health psychologists can help. Treatment involves more than just changing eating habits; it's about rediscovering your identity beyond food and body image. Therapists can help in a number of ways:
- Understand the underlying causes of disordered eating
- Address negative thoughts and behaviours
- Set goals
- Explore how lifestyle and relationships impact your eating habits