Signs You Might Benefit from Eating Disorder Therapy
If you’re reading this post, you might be wondering whether you, or someone you love, could benefit from eating disorder therapy. It can be difficult to know what’s “normal” and what might be a sign of distress, especially in a world that often praises disordered eating under the name of willpower or wellness.
You don’t need to hit rock bottom to seek help. If food, exercise, or body thoughts are taking up more space in your mind than you’d like, that’s reason enough to reach out. Eating disorder therapy can help you reconnect with yourself and rebuild a more peaceful relationship with food and your body.
Everyone’s experience looks different. Even if yours doesn’t match every sign below, if your relationship with food is causing you stress, please know that’s enough reason to seek support.
5 Signs You or Your Loved One Might Benefit from Eating Disorder Therapy
Food Thoughts Feel All-Consuming
You find yourself thinking about food or your body most of the day, or maybe just more than you’d like. Maybe you’re fixated on your next meal, planning every detail, or feeling guilt after eating.
When thoughts about food or your body start to take you away from the things you value, therapy for disordered eating can help you explore what’s driving those thoughts and find more space in your life again.
2. Eating Habits Are Causing Stress or Isolation
You love your friends, but lately the idea of meeting for a meal brings more anxiety than joy. Eating alone feels safer because you can control ingredients, amounts, and timing, but the rules meant to give control start to shrink your world.
What may have begun as a desire to “be healthy,” like skipping a night out to get up early for exercise, can slowly become a source of isolation. If food and exercise rules are leaving you disconnected or stressed, it’s a sign that more support could help.
3. Food, Exercise, or Restriction Have Become Coping Tools
Sometimes, we use eating behaviors to manage emotions like sadness, anxiety, or fear. Restriction might bring a sense of order, or eating might feel like a temporary escape from overwhelm.
While these patterns may have helped you cope at one time, they can become exhausting. Therapy for eating disorders and disordered eating can help you develop new ways to soothe and care for yourself without relying on control or avoidance.
4. Body Image Struggles Are Impacting Daily Life
You might notice yourself checking your body often, monitoring every change, or avoiding mirrors and fitted clothes altogether. When your self-worth feels tied to your body size or shape, daily life can start to feel heavy.
Body image therapy can help you build a more compassionate, connected relationship with your body — one that’s rooted in respect, not criticism.
5. Physical or Emotional Health Is Suffering
Low energy, changes in sleep, and digestive issues are often your body’s way of asking for care. You might also feel more irritable, anxious, or emotionally numb.
When our bodies aren’t getting the nourishment they need, it activates the internal threat system leading to both physical and emotional symptoms. These are not signs of weakness; they’re signals that something deeper needs attention. Eating disorder therapy can help you respond to those signals with compassion instead of judgment.
How Eating Disorder Therapy Can Help
Reaching out for help can feel scary. You might not know if you’re ready to change your relationship with food and your body, or maybe you’re ready, but unsure where to start. Both are okay. Both are worthy of support.
In eating disorder therapy, we explore what’s underneath: the emotions, beliefs, and protective parts of you that have learned to use food or control as a way to feel safe. Together, we’ll work to:
Reconnect you with your body’s natural signals
Build trust and compassion toward yourself
Navigate past events that have impacted your relationship with food and body image
Heal shame, perfectionism, and self-criticism
I use a trauma-informed, relational approach, integrating EMDR and somatic awareness to help you feel grounded and safe throughout your healing process.
Taking the First Step Toward Healing
If any of these signs feel familiar, that’s enough reason to reach out. You don’t have to wait until things feel “bad enough.” Curiosity, even a small amount, about how life could feel different is the first step toward healing.
If you’re looking for eating disorder therapy in Seattle, WA, or anywhere in Washington or Massachusetts via telehealth, I’d be honored to walk alongside you. Reach out today for a consultation or to learn more about how therapy can support your recovery.
