If someone you care about tells you they have an eating disorder, you may feel frozen. You might be scared, confused, or worried about saying the wrong thing. Many people immediately want to fix it or panic that they missed obvious signs.

Those reactions are understandable. Eating disorders are serious, complex mental illnesses, yet they remain deeply misunderstood. What you say and do after a disclosure truly matters.

Here is an Eating Disorders 101 guide for loved ones: not everything there is to know, but what matters most in that moment of trust.

Eating disorders exist on a spectrum. This includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other specified feeding and eating disorders. Many people move between diagnoses over time. Restriction, bingeing, purging, compulsive exercise, and rigid food rules often overlap. Diagnostic crossover is common, not a sign that someone is getting better or worse.

Eating disorders are not about vanity or willpower.........

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