What Are Eating Disorders?

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Disordered eating can feel like a lifeline, offering temporary safety from stress or overwhelming emotions.

Recovery is a gradual journey of one small step at a time, building skills to navigate life.

Eating may feel terrifying due to fear of weight gain or sensory sensitivities requiring support to face it.

Compassionate encouragement helps those in recovery confront anxiety and take steps toward nourishment.

It can be helpful for those caring for friends or family members with restrictive eating and feeding disorders to understand the depth of distress these individuals experience when facing anxiety-provoking foods. As a long-time provider working with eating and feeding disorders, I want to share the kinds of responses people have to foods that are difficult for them to tolerate. My hope is to foster greater empathy and encourage support for the courage it takes to move toward healthier eating.

Long ago, Anita A. Johnston wrote a seminal book on the nature, course, and treatment of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive eating. In 1996, she published Eating by the Light of the Moon, in which she uses rich metaphors to describe the journey of recovery. Among these are stories that capture the fear of “letting go” or the sense of protection an eating disorder can seem to provide.

You might ask how an eating or feeding disorder can be viewed as protective when it is an illness. In many cases, eating disorders function as coping strategies. For example, someone may seek control over food to feel competent or rely on disordered eating patterns to distract........

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