When Is It Time to Get Help for Your Eating Disorder?
Making the decision to seek help for your disordered eating habits is not easy. You might hear a negative voice in your head saying things like “It’s not that bad” or “I’ll wait to talk to someone until it gets to this point”. If there is a part of you that knows that this point won’t actually ever come, maybe it is time to consider reaching out for counseling. Here are 5 things to look for that could indicate it’s time to receive help.
1. You find yourself constantly thinking about and/or worrying about food.
You might notice that you are frequently ruminating about your next meal—whether it’s an intense craving that makes it difficult to focus on other things, an overwhelming fear about what will happen when you sit down at the dinner table, or a preoccupation with the ingredients or nutritional information of certain foods. When we can’t stop thinking about food, that could be our body’s way of telling us that we’re not getting something that we need to survive, thrive, and flourish.
2. You notice significant changes in your eating patterns.
Maybe you used to go out with friends to eat meals at restaurants or in each other’s homes, but now you either avoid those situations altogether or bring your own meals to those events because that feels more comfortable or safe. Perhaps you used to really enjoy certain foods or associate them with positive memories, and now you feel panic or uneasiness when you think about eating them. Or it could be that you eat most of your meals in private now due to feelings of guilt or shame regarding how much you’re eating, how quickly you’re eating, or the kinds of foods that you’re eating.
3. You can’t stop thinking about your body and how it looks.
Do you find that you are constantly checking yourself in the mirror, mentally picking apart different areas of your body and labelling them as gross or wrong? Or maybe it’s the opposite—you completely avoid looking at yourself because you feel like you might spiral if you are made any more aware of the body that you live in. Whether you’re always looking or trying to block it out, the preoccupation with your weight, shape, or size might indicate that it’s time to talk with someone.
4. Your exercise habits have shifted significantly.
It could be that the frequency and intensity of your exercise has ramped up dramatically in an attempt to control or decrease your weight, and that this change has come at the expense of other areas of your life. Maybe you get really upset when your exercise routine is interrupted or if you aren’t able to exercise after a meal or snack. On the flip side, maybe you’ve started to avoid physical activity altogether because of how aware it makes you of your own body, and something that once felt joyful and life-giving now feels shameful and uncomfortable. All of these things could be signs that your relationship with exercise has shifted to something that is rigid, rule-driven, and compensatory.
5. You’re experiencing drastic mood fluctuations and behavioral changes.
Do you find that you’re often feeling irritable, depressed, anxious, or upset? Do things that used to feel fulfilling now seem uninteresting or even fear-inducing? Does your social life look different than it once did? Do you feel like you’re just barely keeping up and that each day is a struggle just to meet expectations? All these things and more can be the result of disordered eating habits, and you might even feel like you have to keep engaging in your disordered eating patterns to stay afloat. This can create a cycle that leads to feeling trapped, isolated, and hopeless. If any of this sounds familiar, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to a therapist who treats eating disorders for a consultation.