The Role of Anxiety in Eating Disorders
Anxiety is a major factor in the onset and severity of eating disorders. Understanding the complex correlation between anxiety and eating disorders is important for effective treatment.
Understanding Eating Disorders
A harmful obsession with food, weight, and appearance is the hallmark of eating disorders. Some of the most common types of eating disorders are:
Anorexia Nervosa: in this disorder, people experience a dread of gaining weight, and a skewed perception of one's body.
Bulimia Nervosa: in this disorder, people experience episodes of binge eating that are followed by purging, excessive activity, or fasting as a form of coping. People who suffer from bulimia may experience feelings of shame and remorse as well as a loss of control over their eating habits.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED): Similar to bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder has periods of excessive food consumption but without the use of coping mechanisms. Feelings of anxiety, guilt, and humiliation over their eating behaviors and patterns are common among people with Binge Eating Disorder.
A number of factors can contribute to the development of eating disorders. Even while cultural norms and societal pressures are often a focus in the cause, underlying psychological problems like anxiety are also significant contributors. For instance, anxiety has a dual function: it can both be a cause and a result of eating disorders. Many people experience anxiety, which can then trigger the onset of an eating disorder as a maladaptive coping technique. For others, the stress of managing an eating disorder feeds the anxiety, resulting in a cycle that is difficult to break.
The Relationship Between Anxiety and Eating Disorders
Anxiety can be a precursor to the eating disorder, maintain eating disorders, or also be the result of an eating disorder. For example, as a coping mechanism, eating disorders can be a result of social anxiety, which is defined as a fear of being judged or rejected in social settings. In an attempt to soothe the anxiety, people may restrict their food intake or go on purges in order to meet society's standards of beauty or fit into societal norms. People who suffer from eating disorders may find it difficult to accept recovery or ask for assistance due to anxiety, which maintains the patterns of the disorder
Maybe its frightening to consider that you might put on weight, alter your eating patterns, or lose the coping mechanism that your eating disorder offers. This anxiety may result in resistance to therapy and a hesitancy to take part in activities that offer progress and healing, or, stress of having an eating disorder can induce bodily reactions, such as panic attacks.
How It Can Be Addressed
Considering the close relationship between eating disorders and anxiety, treatment for both conditions can take place at the same time for best results. The most effective strategies for recovery are integrated treatment plans that consider how anxiety and eating disorders interact. These methods often include:
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that works especially well for those who have compulsive behaviors around food and body image. In order to help patients gradually become less anxious, this therapy exposes patients to feared situations - like eating particular foods - while preventing the obsessive reaction, like purging.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): offers techniques for controlling strong emotions, improving social interactions, and cutting down on destructive habits. DBT's uss mindfulness to help patients be in the present moment rather than getting sucked into worrying thoughts, which can be very beneficial for people who struggle with anxiety.
Medication: this may be recommended in certain situations to help control anxiety symptoms, especially if they are severe and interfere with day-to-day activities.
Don’t be afraid to reach out.
At Healing Voices Psychotherapy, we strive to help people deal with issues that prevent them from living their lives freely. If anything that you have read so far has provided you a little comfort in the form of knowledge, then don’t hesitate to contact us for more!
