MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
Disordered Eating
Eating Disorder Helpline: 1 (888)-375-7767
ANAD(National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders)
a non-profit providing free, peer support services to anyone struggling with an eating disorder, including referrals via email to professional eating disorder treatment providers.
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Living Hope Eating Disorder Treatment Center
a local treatment center and resource provider with inpatient and outpatient treatment plans
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Online Disordered Eating Screening Tool
This short screening can help determine if it's time to seek professional help.
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Find local support groups with National Alliance for Eating Disorders (limited by location)
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OU BCM's Food-Friendly, Safe Family Dinner every Monday! Cooking starts at 6:00, eating begins at 6:45. Fill this out for more information.
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Eating disorders are psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits. It can also look like an obsession with health and eating. Eating disorders are not your fault, and you deserve to live in freedom.
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Do you have an eating disorder?
Ask yourself, “How much time do I spend thinking about food, weight and body image?” Looking at eating disorders in this way puts them on a spectrum, rather than a yes or no question. If you spend so much time with these concerns that it interferes with your happiness or functioning, we encourage you to seek resources and healing.
Statistics
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9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.
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Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as “underweight.”
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28-74% of risk for eating disorders is through genetic heritability.
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Eating disorders are among the deadliest mental illnesses, second only to opioid overdose.
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10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder—that’s one death every 52 minutes.
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About 26% of people with eating disorders attempt suicide.
Common Warning Signs
Detecting an eating disorder can be a layered and sensitive topic. A big indicator might be a noticeable change in a person’s attitudes towards food and their body. While there are more specific signs depending on diagnosis, it’s important to note that not everyone fits neatly into these categories. All eating concerns deserve immediate attention.
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Emotional/Behavioral:
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Weight loss, dieting, and control of food are primary concerns
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Food rituals
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Social withdrawal
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Frequent dieting, body checking
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Extreme mood swings
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Physical:
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Noticeable weight fluctuations
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Gastrointestinal complaints
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Dizziness upon standing
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Difficulty concentrating, sleeping
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Issues with dental, skin, hair, and nail health
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa (anorexia) involves not getting enough calories in, which leads to a significantly low body weight. People struggling with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight. Even if the fear is not obvious, there is persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, even though weight is significantly low. People struggling with anorexia have a hard time recognizing the reality of their current weight.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa (bulimia) consists of recurrent episodes of binge eating along with compensatory behavior. People struggling with bulimia recurrently try to compensate for eating through fasting, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or use of laxatives, diuretics or other medications. They might also be very concerned about their weight or body shape.
Orthorexia
Orthorexia is an unhealthy focus on eating in a healthy way. This can look like constantly counting calories, obsessing over working out (especially to "make up" for food eaten), or restricting diet in an obsessive and rigid way.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
BED consists of recurrent episodes of binge eating. People struggling with binge eating disorder might eat much more rapidly than normal, eat until feeling uncomfortably full, eat large amounts of food without feeling physically hungry, or feel guilty, disgusted or depressed after eating.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
BDD is an obsession with an imaginary defect in physical appearance or an extreme concern with a slight physical blemish, which others may not even see. People struggling with body dysmorphic disorder have inaccurate perceptions of their body and often specific body parts, such as hair, skin and nose.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
ARFID is a disturbance that keeps people from meeting their nutritional needs, such an extreme dislike of texture or taste. People struggling with ARFID might experience significant weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, dependence on nutritional supplements, or interference with their psychosocial functioning.
Pica
Pica involves eating substances that have no nutritional value, such as ice, clay, soil, or paper for at least one month.
Rumination Disorder
Rumination Disorder consists of repeated regurgitation of food for at least one month. This includes re-chewing, re-swallowing or spitting out food.
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)
OSFED occurs when someone meets some but not all of the criteria for an eating disorder. There are several categories of OSFED:
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Atypical Anorexia Nervosa occurs when someone exhibits the symptoms of anorexia with a weight at or above a normal range.
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Binge Eating Disorder with episodes that are less frequent or do not occur as long as needed to be formally diagnosed.
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Bulimia Nervosa that is less frequent or did not occur as long as needed for the full diagnosis
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Purging Disorder occurs when someone purges without binge eating.
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Night Eating Syndrome occurs when a person consumes at least 25% of their daily intake after the evening meal.
The 10 Stages of Eating Disorder Recovery
The Recovery Warriors Podcast
Recovery Bites Podcast with Karen Lewis
Recovered Voices, videos from people who have recovered
8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder, written by Carolyn Costin and Gwen Schubert Grabb
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This exercise on reframing negative thought patterns.
Recommended Resources
How to Talk to a Friend
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Gather the facts. Realize and accept that no action may be taken after the first conversation.
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Remain calm and express your concern using “I” statements – shame is a part of any eating disorder or addiction. It’s important not to blame or make assumptions about what someone else is going through.
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Listen with empathy and care
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Suggest getting help. Offer them resources like ANAD’s helpline/website to help connect them to an eating disorders professional.
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How to help if someone doesn’t want help:
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Find a middle ground between forcing the issue and ignoring it.
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Ask if they want help making the first call or appointment. They may just need support.
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Sometimes it takes several tries before a person identifies the right clinician to help with their eating disorder. Remember that though eating disorders share commonalities, everyone is unique.
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Even though these conversations are difficult, often people just need a little support and compassion. Not talking about it only encourages feelings of being isolated, ignored, and unimportant. The best thing you can do is to listen and to let the person know you care about them, are concerned for them, and want to help.
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When speaking with someone about eating disorders, you may be met with ambivalence, denial or reasons why the person doesn’t feel they need or want help. Try not to be discouraged, because simply having the conversation can open the door to more communication.
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Click here to download ANAD's Support at Every Stage Guide for more.