Do I have an Eating Disorder? 5 Questions to Ask [Transcript]
Have ever found yourself asking the question: Do I have an eating disorder? The first thing you should know is that an eating disorder is a very specific and significant thing that impacts your relationship with food and your relationship with yourself. Having a strict diet, issues with body image, wanting to lose weight and feeling like you can’t reach your goal is not the same thing as having an eating disorder. An eating disorder impacts your mental, physical, social, and emotional wellbeing, takes up a lot of time, and significantly impacts your life. So being on a strict diet or feeling uncomfortable about your body or diet is not necessarily the same thing as having an eating disorder.
Below are 5 questions to ask yourself if you’ve ever wondered if you might have an eating disorder.
- Do you have any habits or behaviors related to food that you couldn’t imagine living your life without? This could be not eating after a certain time, only eating certain types of food, or not eating certain types of food. Any strict rules or regulations that you hold within yourself about food that you couldn’t imagine giving up could be a sign of an eating disorder.
- Do you avoid social situations because of your fear that there may be food present? This could be avoiding a date because you think your date might want to buy popcorn, a work activity where there might be food or the idea where a situation in which you would be eating food or be seen eating food by other people makes you very uncomfortable.
- Do you spend a significant amount of time planning your day around food or planning what you’re going to eat? This goes beyond meal prep. It could involve spending a lot of time planning what you are going to eat, how you’re going to eat, or reviewing the menu before you go to a restaurant, in a way that impacts your day and goes well beyond the activity or event that relates to the food.
- Do you actively avoid eating a large meal with a group of friends or does the idea of doing this stress you out? For example, Thanksgiving or a birthday dinner that might otherwise be enjoyable is less enjoyable because you are overcome by fear or discomfort about eating in front of other people.
- Do you ever restrict your food intake to the point that you feel unable to control yourself when you do finally start to eat?
This is not an exhaustive list, so if you have ever wondered if your eating habits are unhealthy you might benefit from talking to a therapist or nutritionist about your relationship with food. If you find that you struggle with the question “Do I have an eating disorder?” or feel you need help, reach out to us here.
For additional information, check out National Eating Disorders Awareness (NEDA).
- The Dos and Don’ts of Being a Supportive Friend - January 11, 2019
- Surviving the Holidays with Less Stress - November 16, 2018
- Let Go of the ‘Perfect Body’ [Video] - August 22, 2018
4 comments
Awesome information Cate! Thanks!
Immensely helpful. Thank you Cate!
Super informative and helpful, great job!
Really great video, Cate! I love how you approach the complexity of eating disorders.