Understanding Eating Disorders and How Holistic Health Can Help
Eating disorders are complex, often misunderstood conditions that affect millions of people worldwide. They can manifest as unhealthy relationships with food, body image, and exercise. They are not merely a matter of willpower or diet gone wrong. These disorders often have deep-rooted psychological, emotional, and physiological components that require comprehensive treatment.
Our holistic health approach—one that integrates psychotherapeutic, dietetic, movement-based, pharmacological, and environmental analyses—can be particularly effective in addressing eating disorders. At Holistic Health, Step by Step, we take an evidence-based, person-centred approach to treatment, empowering clients to not only recover but also understand the underlying causes of their disorder.
What Are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are mental health conditions characterised by persistent and distressing thoughts, feelings, and behaviours surrounding food, weight, and body image. These conditions often have severe physical, emotional, and social consequences, sometimes even becoming life-threatening without intervention. While there are many types of eating disorders, the most common are:
Anorexia Nervosa (AN):
Marked by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image, individuals with anorexia restrict food intake, leading to extreme weight loss and malnutrition.
Bulimia Nervosa (BN):
Characterised by cycles of binge eating followed by purging through methods such as vomiting, excessive exercise, or misuse of laxatives.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
Involves recurring episodes of eating large quantities of food in a short period, often leading to feelings of shame or guilt, but without compensatory purging behaviours.
Orthorexia:
involves an obsessive focus on eating only "pure" or "healthy" foods, leading to rigid dietary restrictions, which can result in malnutrition, anxiety, and social isolation. Unlike other eating disorders, it centres on food quality rather than weight.
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED):
Encompasses disordered eating patterns that don't neatly fit the criteria of the above disorders but still significantly impair a person’s health and well-being.
The Difference Between Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating
While the terms "eating disorders" and "disordered eating" are often used interchangeably, they refer to distinct patterns of behavior related to food, body image, and mental health.
Eating Disorders
Are clinical diagnoses that meet specific criteria outlined in diagnostic manuals like the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). These conditions, such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder, are marked by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and often involve significant psychological, emotional, and physical harm. Eating disorders tend to have profound, long-term impacts on both mental and physical health and often require comprehensive treatment.
Disordered Eating
Refers to a range of irregular eating behaviors that don’t meet the diagnostic criteria for a full-blown eating disorder but can still negatively affect an individual’s well-being. Disordered eating might include chronic dieting, food restriction, emotional eating, or an unhealthy preoccupation with food, weight, and body image. While these behaviors may not result in a clinical diagnosis, they can increase the risk of developing an eating disorder and contribute to mental distress, social isolation, and physical health issues over time.
Causes of Eating Disorders
Whilst there is no known cause of Eating disorders, they often develop as a result of a combination of factors:
Biological Factors:
Genetics may play a role, as individuals with a family history of eating disorders are more likely to develop one themselves.
Psychological Factors:
Low self-esteem, perfectionism, trauma, or co-occurring mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can increase the risk of developing an eating disorder.
Environmental Factors:
Societal pressures, cultural emphasis on thinness, family dynamics, or stressful life events can act as catalysts.
Dieting and Food Restriction:
Often the gateway to disordered eating, extreme dieting can lead to both physical deprivation and psychological fixation on food, escalating into more serious eating patterns over time.
Why Eating Disorders Are Challenging to Treat
Eating disorders are not simply about food, weight, or body image; they are multifaceted conditions that require an in-depth understanding of the individual's mental, emotional, and physical health. Traditional approaches to treatment may focus on just one aspect, such as diet or therapy, without considering the broader scope of the individual's well-being. This is why many people struggling with eating disorders experience relapses or feel misunderstood in their recovery journey.
Research increasingly highlights the significant crossover between neurodivergence and eating disorders. Neurodivergent individuals—those with conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other cognitive differences—are more susceptible to developing disordered eating patterns or full-blown eating disorders. This intersection is complex and influenced by various factors.
The Crossover Between Neurodivergence and Eating Disorders
For Individuals With Autism (ASD):
Sensory sensitivities often play a key role. Many autistic people experience heightened sensitivity to textures, tastes, and smells, leading to restrictive eating patterns or avoidance of certain foods. Additionally, the need for routine and predictability can manifest as rigid eating habits or ritualistic behaviors around food, which can develop into disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa. Recent studies suggest that autistic traits may be underdiagnosed in individuals with eating disorders, particularly among females.
For Individuals With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):
Impulsivity and difficulties with emotional regulation can contribute to binge eating or chaotic eating patterns. Individuals with ADHD may struggle with recognizing hunger or satiety cues, leading to erratic eating schedules, overeating, or undereating. The impulsivity associated with ADHD can also result in more frequent binge eating episodes, especially when emotions are heightened.
How Our Holistic Approach Can Help
At Holistic Health, Step by Step, we take a comprehensive and sustainable approach to treating eating disorders, looking at the whole person rather than just isolated symptoms. We believe in collaborating with clients, empowering them to be active participants in their recovery, and offering support through an integrative model of care. Here’s how we can help:
Psychotherapeutic Support:
Understanding the psychological roots of an eating disorder is a critical part of recovery. Our team will work with your psychotherapists to support the offer of evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and other therapeutic modalities designed to help clients:
Unpack underlying emotional triggers.
Reframe negative self-talk and body image distortions.
Develop healthier coping mechanisms for stress, anxiety, and trauma.
By working closely with your psychotherapist, we enable clients to gain valuable insight into their behaviours, thoughts, and emotions, empowering them to take control of their mental health.
Dietetic Guidance:
Nutrition is at the core of eating disorder recovery, but it can be incredibly challenging for those struggling with disordered eating. Our dietitians are trained to work with clients at all stages of recovery, from refeeding in cases of severe malnutrition to fostering a healthier relationship with food in the long term.
Personalised Meal Planning:
We work with clients to create meal plans that align with their recovery goals, nutritional needs, and preferences, avoiding any strict or rigid rules that could trigger disordered behaviours.
Intuitive Eating:
Our dietitians also emphasise intuitive eating, which helps clients reconnect with their body's natural hunger and fullness cues, moving away from external rules about food.
Nutritional Education:
Clients are educated about the importance of balanced nutrition, debunking common myths around food, and learning how to nourish their bodies in a way that supports both physical and mental health.
Movement-Based Therapies:
Exercise, when used appropriately, can support recovery by improving mental health, boosting energy, and restoring body confidence. However, for many individuals with eating disorders, exercise can become compulsive or associated with punishment for eating. Our movement-based therapies are designed to:
Encourage mindful movement, helping clients appreciate their bodies for what they can do, rather than how they look.
Develop a healthy, non-punitive relationship with physical activity, focusing on enjoyment and well-being.
Include gentle, restorative practices such as yoga and pilates, which help reconnect clients with their bodies in a compassionate, mindful way.
Pharmacological Support:
In some cases, medications may be necessary to manage co-occurring mental health conditions or symptoms related to eating disorders. Our approach to pharmacology is evidence-based and carefully monitored. We work with clients and their leading prescriber to:
Assess whether pharmacological interventions such as antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications may be beneficial.
Closely monitor the effectiveness and side effects of any prescribed medications.
Ensure that any pharmacological treatment is integrated with other forms of therapy and is not seen as a stand-alone solution.
Environmental Analysis and Adjustment:
The environments in which we live, work, and socialise can greatly impact our relationship with food, body image, and mental health. Our holistic approach also considers the environmental factors contributing to eating disorders, offering practical solutions such as:
Helping clients identify triggering environments or relationships and finding ways to mitigate their effects.
Educating clients and their families on creating supportive, nurturing spaces that promote recovery.
Offering guidance on establishing healthy boundaries, whether at home, work, or in social settings, to avoid relapse.
Empowering the Client at the Centre of Care
A key part of our philosophy is empowering the client to be at the centre of their recovery journey. Rather than taking a prescriptive approach, we work in collaboration with the individual, ensuring they are equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to take control of their health. This involves:
Education:
We provide clients with a deep understanding of their condition, helping them to make informed decisions about their treatment and recovery path.
Collaboration:
Every treatment plan is co-created with the client, respecting their values, needs, and preferences.
Sustainability:
Our methods are designed to foster long-term recovery, focusing on building healthy habits and mindsets that last beyond treatment.
Join Us For A Holistic Path to Recovery from Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are challenging and complex, but recovery is possible with the right support. At Holistic Health, Step by Step we offer a unique, integrative approach that addresses every facet of the disorder—from psychological and nutritional needs to physical and environmental factors. By placing the client at the centre of their care, we aim to empower individuals to not only recover from their eating disorder but to thrive and build a healthier relationship with their bodies and minds.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, our team is here to help. Reach out to us today to begin a personalised, compassionate, and comprehensive journey toward healing.