 Hey Psych2Goers, do you have a complex relationship with food? For a long time, eating disorders were not acknowledged for what they were, a complex mental health condition characterized by an unhealthy relationship with food. In 2018, Neda estimated that 20 million women and 10 million men in America will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Although anyone can be affected by an eating disorder, this condition usually targets younger women and men. It's more than just not wanting to eat. It is a complex psychological portrait surrounding food that can manifest itself through restrictive, binging, purging, or other behaviors. So if you're having problems with food, here are 5 signs of an eating disorder and what to do. 1. Fear of gaining weight A common symptom of an eating disorder is the fear of gaining weight, or Obesophobia. Obesophobia, sometimes known as Ocracophobia, is a type of anxiety disorder that involves having an irrational fear of a specific place, object, or situation. In the context of eating disorders, Obesophobia presents itself through the prism of the body. It can cause you to obsessively count calories, fast, go on frequent dieting, or over-exercise yourself. Although this fear of gaining weight does not have one specific cause, there are several factors that may contribute to it, including the stigmas of weight, having perfectionism, an anxiety disorder, or having gone through a negative experience in the past. 2. Food control Do you look for things you can control when you're feeling stressed out? Oftentimes when you're going through a difficult period in your life, you'll turn to food as an outlet. It may seem logical as how much you eat and how you look can be seen as physical indicators of how in control you are. However, this type of thinking can quickly devolve into harming behaviors like restrictive eating, extreme dieting, binging, purging, or hoarding. But looking for control is just one reason you may engage in these harmful behaviors. The normalization of purging or restrictive behaviors, bonding purges, and diet cultures in our societies can all also affect your relationship to food. Unfortunately, continuous engagement in these behaviors can lead to health complications such as heart failure, heart arrhythmia, malnutrition, gastrointestinal complications, and even death. So if you notice that you're engaging in food controlling behaviors as a coping mechanism, you may want to work with a licensed therapist so they can help you create better adaptive coping mechanisms that help you address your fears, anxieties, and pain connected to food. 3. Food and body image plays a large part in self-esteem. What do you think about yourself? According to American Psychology Association, low self-esteem is one of the underlying triggers for an eating disorder. In today's culture, the beauty industry and the media like to bombard everyone with photoshopped images of what the ideal woman or man needs to look like. This can brainwash you into thinking that the numbers on a scale correspond to your worth as a human being. However, this habit to correlate your self-worth to your clothing size, the calories you consume, your waist measurements, or your weight not only negatively impacts your self-esteem, but it can also lead to a tendency to turn to harmful eating diets and restrictions to cope. So, if you struggle with self-esteem issues and have problems with food, please seek professional help. Engaging in CBT-E or other forms of treatment can help you recognize and reduce harmful thoughts and emotions related to food. 4. Ritualistic Eating Patterns Do you have a preference for how you eat and prepare your food? Perhaps you like to cut your food into small pieces before you eat, or you have to use a certain set of utensils and plate to eat. While ritualistic eating does not necessarily point to having an eating disorder, many people who have obsessive-compulsive disorders can exhibit extreme eating rituals that can end up harming their overall well-being. Some examples include arranging food in a specific order, only eating at specific times or places, or weighing and measuring their food. Since eating disorders are often anxiety-driven, having a ritual can provide a certain degree of comfort and familiarity. And although some of these are harmless, some extreme forms of eating patterns can end up being dangerous to your health. 5. Continued Fixation on Food Are you constantly thinking about food? Perhaps you're wondering about what you're going to eat next or questioning how many calories are in each item of food on the table. The constant thoughts about the food you are eating or will eat can slowly take over your mind and prevent you from paying attention to anything else. Not only that, it can also cause or exacerbate an eating disorder. These intrusive thoughts may include asking yourself if you'll be able to stop once you start, if you've eaten too much, if the food is healthy or clean enough, or if the food will make you fat. These thoughts can pull you out of the experience of eating and make you deaf to the hunger signals that your body sends you. If you've found yourself being bombarded with these intrusive thoughts, you may want to try practicing intuitive eating. It's not a diet, but a way of becoming more attuned to the needs of your body. It is an approach that teaches you how to listen to bodily signals and cues. What to do? If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or any of the points mentioned in this video, please consider seeking professional help. A licensed therapist or professional can help you build the tools necessary to recognize, examine, and deal with the underlying triggers of your eating disorder. They can also help you establish better coping mechanisms and build a better relationship with food. Do you or someone you know struggle with their relationship with food? Let us know in the comments below. If you found this video helpful, be sure to like, subscribe, and share this video with those who might benefit from it. And don't forget to hit the notification bell icon to get notified whenever Psych2Go posts a new video. The references and studies used in this video are added in the description below. Thanks so much for watching, and we'll see you in our next video.