This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week and it’s something that’s so near and dear to my heart that I wanted to make sure to get a post out to you all on this topic.  I’ve been blessed to have had a very full professional life and pursue multiple passions over the years.  In the world of psychology, I was an eating disorder recovery therapist for about 10 years and in the health, fitness, and dance world, I have worked with a surprising amount of women and men who have struggled with disordered eating and negative body image.

Even beyond the people I interact with professionally, it’s increasingly common for me to run across women and men having difficulty finding the right balance in regards to eating, exercise, and their mindset. It doesn’t take much for things to shift from healthy to disordered. If I’m candid, that line can even be a hard one for me…

Before I go on, I think a little self disclosure is important here…

I’m not just someone who has built up education and professional experience on this topic. I’m someone who is also not immune from the pressures of thin ideals and have had my own difficulties with disordered eating.  When I was in college, I was on a scholarship for dance.  At times, I was spending 20 hours or more a week rehearsing.  The dance world is well known to be a pressure cooker for body image and eating issues and my world was no different. All this studio time was on top of sorority obligations, maintaining a captain position on my school’s dance team, and oh yeah, actual school work that I was determined to maintain straight A’s on. 

Does that seem like a lot to you?

It felt like a lot to me and was completely overwhelming.  Looking back, it’s obvious to me why I wasn’t eating.  To begin, who has time to eat with all that going on? But starving also does an interesting thing to your emotions… it allows you to avoid dealing with them. Hunger is a numbing agent for emotions that are too problematic or traumatic for us to face.  You can’t feel things without food and that was working for me… until it wasn’t. 

The concern of a sincere and sweet friend started a chain of experiences that slapped me back into reality. Although I didn’t admit it to her at the time, the fact that she noticed hit me like a ton of bricks and after a few more people shared their concerns and a few health issues popped up, I realized I had to change course and heal my relationship with my body and with food.

I was REALLY lucky that my eating issues didn’t get too far before I realized I needed to make a change… but many people don’t have people in their support system that are willing to confront them to provide help. Many are surrounded by people who also support and engage in a disordered lifestyle. For others, their symptoms go on unnoticed for so long that it becomes an engrained part of their lifestyle that simply gets looked past.

In fact, these days disordered eating has become SO NORMAL that it’s hard for people around a struggling person to even know that what is happening is dangerous. I know you’re probably thinking… what do you mean eating disorders are normal?

Did you know most fad diets are actually a norm of disordered eating?

In my opinion, any diet that requires you cut out whole groups of food for long periods of time or that force you to obsessively count and track your intake are unhealthy and dangerous. And that covers pretty much every single fad diet out there. That doesn’t mean that everyone that engages in these diets has or develops an eating disorder. For many people however, fad diets are the first step into disordered eating territory and once the crest of that hill has been transversed, it can be a quick slide into dangerous behaviors. Worse yet, the marketing of these diets has made society believe that these behaviors and thoughts about food are not only normal, but healthy and ‘right.’

Coincidentally, this morning, my standard a.m. news show provided a great example of the mixed up messages swirling around us. In this segment, a Health Coach shared her journey from disordered eating to recovery. Awesome! Or so I thought. Literally 10 minutes later they aired another segment in which a new fad dieting book was being promoted by its Author. If I could insert the head slap emoji in a blog, it would go here! This is why so many people have no idea where the line is. Our culture is so confused about what disordered eating really looks like that we have no idea we defeated the purpose of segment 1 with the airing of segment 2.

So in today’s post I wanted to provide two important things. First is a list of warning signs that you or someone you know may be struggling with disordered eating. The second is a list of resources where you can start your search for help.

If you are reading this because some little tiny voice in your head wonders if maybe you have an issue with food or your body… I have to tell you, that means you probably do. Please don’t ignore that little, nagging voice. I know it is so much quieter than the rest of the things you hear in your thoughts… things like “you’re so fat”, or “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” or “I can’t believe you ate that, you need to get rid of it by ______ ,” or some other version of negative, derogatory, or unhealthy thoughts. I totally get that the healthy voice in your head is super quiet and easy to ignore, but you need to listen and you need to reach out and chat with someone about what you’re experiencing. Please, please, skip down to the resources page and look through for something that looks like a good fit for you or grab a non-judgmental friend and share what you are feeling! And do it now! The longer you wait, the harder it will be to shift gears into a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Below, you will find a list of GENERAL warning signs, however if you click to the NEDA page, you can review specific warning signs for specific eating disorders including all of the well known culprits such as Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating, as well as the less commonly known ones such as Orthorexia, Compulsive Exercise and Laxative Abuse. The general signs below are a great starting place, but I strongly encourage you to click over to their site to review more detailed information as well (and while you are there, check out their body image acceptance challenge!)

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF AN EATING DISORDER:

Emotional and behavioral
-In general, behaviors and attitudes that indicate that weight loss, dieting, and control of food are becoming primary concerns
-Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, carbohydrates, fat grams, and dieting
-Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food (e.g., no carbohydrates, etc.)
-Appears uncomfortable eating around others
-Food rituals (e.g. eats only a particular food or food group [e.g. condiments], excessive chewing, doesn’t allow foods to touch)
-Skipping meals or taking small portions of food at regular meals
-Any new practices with food or fad diets, including cutting out entire food groups (no sugar, no carbs, no dairy, vegetarianism/veganism)
-Withdrawal from usual friends and activities
-Frequent dieting
-Extreme concern with body size and shape 
-Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws in appearance
– Extreme mood swings

Physical 
-Noticeable fluctuations in weight, both up and down
-Stomach cramps, other non-specific gastrointestinal complaints (constipation, acid reflux, etc.)
-Menstrual irregularities — missing periods or only having a period while on hormonal contraceptives (this is not considered a “true” period)
-Difficulties concentrating
-Abnormal laboratory findings (anemia, low thyroid and hormone levels, low potassium, low white and red blood cell counts)
-Dizziness, especially upon standing
-Fainting/syncope
-Feeling cold all the time
-Sleep problems
-Cuts and calluses across the top of finger joints (a result of inducing vomiting)
-Dental problems, such as enamel erosion, cavities, and tooth sensitivity
-Dry skin and hair, and brittle nails
-Swelling around area of salivary glands
-Fine hair on body (lanugo)
-Cavities, or discoloration of teeth, from vomiting
-Muscle weakness
-Yellow skin (in context of eating large amounts of carrots)
-Cold, mottled hands and feet or swelling of feet
-Poor wound healing
-Impaired immune functioning

Copied from: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/warning-signs-and-symptoms

And finally (because I know this is a long post, but I have so much to share I can’t help it!!!), here is a list of resources for help. If you’re confused about where to start, please don’t hesitate to send me a direct message on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or use my Contact Me page. While I can not provide therapeutic insight, I can help you find the right place to start your journey towards health.

Eating Disorder Resources:

• NEDA Eating Disorders Online Screening Tool
• Center For Eating Disorders Online Screening Tool
• National Eating Disorder Association Helpline – 1-800-931-2237
• ANAD Eating Disorder Helpline: 630-577-1330
• National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or info@nami.org
• Somethingfishy.org List of Hotlines
• Somethingfishy.org List of ED Organizations
• Center For Eating Disorders Resource List
• The Lotus Collaborative Resource Page
• The Renfrew Center Contact Number: 1-800-RENFREW

I’ll keep this closing short and sweet. Eating disorders often get started very innocently and with positive intentions. No one sets out to become Anorexic, Bulimic, etc. But this happens to plenty of amazing people… one negative belief and behavioral response at a time. Sometimes it’s hard to even know things have gone horribly wrong until it’s too late.

Because they are so sneaky, I want anyone reading this that struggles to know there is ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME in where you are in your journey right now. Secrecy is an eating disorders favorite ally, the more you can open up about what’s happening the closer you are to finding your way back to yourself. Every time you make a step away from disorder and towards health should be a proud moment for you. I hope this post will help you take that first step, even if it’s terrifying. Or maybe it will help you retake a step you have already taken, which is equally as terrifying and brave.

No matter what, I’m proud of you.

As always, Stay Healthy as Heck, KH