A Hidden Struggle - Understanding Eating Disorders

Illustration for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week with a teal and purple ribbon, people struggling with eating disorders, a scale, food, and symbols of hope, support, and recovery surrounded by flowers and butterflies.

A Hidden Struggle – Understanding Eating Disorders

By Kevin Lahey, LSW

As we near the end of February, all of us here at Owens Counseling & Therapy want to shine some light on the fact that the last week of February is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Eating disorders, like many mental health related issues, attract quite a bit of stigma, so they’re often not talked about as much as they should be. Despite that, it’s still important to know what eating disorders are. Before we go into that, I think it’ll be helpful to briefly describe the difference between eating disorders and disordered eating, as they are different from one another.

Generally speaking, eating disorders tend to be more severe, rigid, and likely to impact someone’s daily life. Some examples of disordered eating can include feeling guilt/shame after enjoying a meal, being fixated on the foods being eaten throughout the day and trying to control every aspect of the food being eaten throughout the day (Levinstein, 2026). Obviously, that’s not to say it’s bad to be mindful of what we’re eating/drinking, but when we become preoccupied by the idea, it can sometimes be considered disordered eating.

Now, the reason for bringing up disordered eating is that, if it goes on long enough or becomes worse, disordered eating can often turn into an eating disorder. With that being said, here are some of the most common eating disorders, along with a brief overview of them.

Binge Eating Disorder – As the name suggests, binge eating disorder is often characterized by a loss of control and thus over-consumption of food, usually with some form of mental distress associated with it. It should be noted that in the case of binge eating disorder, there is no “purging”.
Bulimia Nervosa – Bulimia nervosa is often characterized by the intake of a large amount of food, followed by a purge. This purge can be via things like inducing vomiting, but it can also be something like fasting or over-exercising to compensate. Oftentimes, this behavior is associated with an unhappiness related to someone’s body image.
Anorexia Nervosa – Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a very significant and continuous reduction in food intake, to the point that people have a very low body weight (taking into account their age, height, etc.). Oftentimes, those with anorexia nervosa will see themselves as overweight despite being extremely underweight.

That may be a lot of information, but it highlights the differences between some of the major eating disorders out there. As far as highlighting information goes, I think it’s also important to mention a few key things about eating disorders that people tend to overlook. Generally speaking, women are far more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder than men. There are likely many reasons for this, but one of the key reasons likely stems from traditional western beauty standards. While these standards are slowly getting better, they’re often still quite rigid, so when someone doesn’t fit into these standards, they go to extreme lengths to reach them. Obviously, men aren’t safe from this either, but much of the “skinny equals beautiful” idea is very much directed at women.

One other thing I’d like to bring up is that eating disorders are very often co-occurring with other mental health problems, with the National Institute of Mental Health finding that all three of the eating disorders mentioned above tend to have the highest co-occurrence rate with anxiety disorders.

With all of that being said, I think the most important thing I can leave you with is that, if you’re struggling with an eating disorder, disordered eating, problems with body image, or any mental health problem, you deserve to have help in dealing with it. It’s not something you need to deal with on your own, and those of us here at Owens & Associates are more than willing to meet you where you’re at and help you get to a place where you’re truly happy.

And on that note, let me end this by saying that it’s okay to be you. Not all of us are super skinny or have the “ideal” hourglass figure or are bulk enough or whatever image or standaRd your brain is trying to tell you that you don’t have. Not all of us have “perfect” health that allows us to be active and exercise. Not all of us have great metabolisms, and not all of us necessarily want to adhere to those traditional beauty standards. Every body is different AND there is beauty in that. Be comfortable being you and be comfortable being different. Without difference, the world would be a boring place, so embrace your own standards, not the standards of society.

Give us a call 📞 847-854-4333 or an email 📩admin@owenscounseling.com to schedule a start to your treatment today.

Remember, we all deserve a helping hand when we’re feeling some type of way, and we’re happy to provide them.

Eating disorders can be complex, so if we are not able to provide the level of care and support you need, we will help you find someone who can!

All of us at Owens Counseling & Therapy are here for YOU! In person or telehealth – which ever you prefer. We want to listen to understanding, provide a safe, non-judgemental space for you, and support you in figuring out life. YOUR life, as in how you want to live it.