Are you struggling with your relationship with food and with your self-image? Do you feel continuously stuck and unsure of how to move forward? Eating disorders can be incredibly difficult and painful to live with as you replay the same cycles over and over again. These negative patterns can make you feel hopeless and alone and this can negatively impact your relationships. Understanding the complex origins of these conditions and having a safe space to explore and heal is critical. Oftentimes, our fixation with food can be a way to maintain control in an otherwise chaotic environment which can then further highlight all the things outside of our control, leaving us never feeling good enough.

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Common Eating Disorder Symptoms:

Emotional and Behavioural

• Fixation with weight loss, dieting, and control of food

• Refusal to eat certain food, severe restrictions of food categories

• Discomfort with eating around others

• Food rituals (i.e., only eating certain foods, monitoring chewing)

• Skipping meals

• Fad dieting, frequent dieting

• Withdrawal from social supports

• Extreme fixation with body size and shape

• Frequent checking of personal appearance/flaws

• Extreme mood swings

Physical

• Noticeable weight fluctuations

• Digestive symptoms (stomach cramps, acid reflux, constipation, etc.)

• Menstrual irregularities

• Cognitive impairment (struggles with concentration, memory)

• Abnormal lab findings (low iron, low thyroid and hormone levels, etc.)

• Dizziness

• Fainting

• Sleep problems

• Dental problems (enamel erosion, cavities, sensitivity, tooth discoloration)

• Dry skin and brittle nails

• Poor immune functioning

• Muscle weakness

 

Working with a psychotherapist can be an important part of working through underlying causes of eating disorders. They work with you to create a safe space to process and understand your struggle so you can find new ways to cope that focus on your healing and recovery.