Disordered eating is a big problem, especially for women and girls. Globally, almost a third of girls demonstrated disordered eating, and the prevalence of disordered eating continues to increase. While the DSM-V only includes five diagnosable eating disorders– anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED)– there are many other disordered patterns that can have major impacts on your life.
Today, we’re talking about one of these disordered patterns that is increasingly prevalent due to social media: orthorexia.
Defining Orthorexia
Orthorexia nervosa, a term coined by Dr. Steven Bratman in 1997, describes an eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with healthy eating. His idea was that sometimes, the effort to maintain a healthy diet could result in unhealthy outcomes like social isolation, anxiety, a mentally unhealthy preoccupation with food, and even malnutrition. Unlike other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, which primarily focus on the quantity of food consumed, orthorexia revolves around the quality of food. People with orthorexia become fixated on consuming foods they perceive as clean, pure, or natural, often to the point of obsession.
Recognizing the Signs of Orthorexia
Identifying orthorexia can be challenging, as the behaviors associated with it often overlap with those of a health-conscious lifestyle. However, there are several signs and symptoms to watch for:
- Obsessive Focus on Food Purity: People with orthorexia may spend excessive amounts of time researching, planning, and preparing their meals to ensure they meet their strict criteria of healthfulness. They will demonstrate black and white thinking about food and whether or not it’s “healthy” or “bad.”
- Social Isolation: They may avoid social gatherings or situations where they cannot control the quality of food served, leading to isolation from friends and family.
- Anxiety and Guilt: Feelings of anxiety or guilt may arise when “unhealthy” foods are consumed, leading to self-punishment or stricter dietary restrictions.
- Physical Consequences: Orthorexia can lead to nutritional deficiencies, weight loss, fatigue, and other physical ailments due to an imbalanced and restricted diet.
It’s not a bad thing to be conscious about the food you eat– but when food restrictions control you, it can lead to detrimental effects on both your physical and mental health. The bottom line is that orthorexia hinders your ability to enjoy life fully and engage in other important aspects of well-being.
Orthorexia and Social Media
Orthorexia has a strong correlation with social media use. In one study of instagram users, orthorexia was present in 49% of respondents, compared to just 1% of the average US population. Disordered eating content on social media is a rising problem; a study in 2020 found that in just 30 minutes, a new teenage user on TikTok is exposed to dangerous eating disorder content. The rise of everything being shared online contributes immensely to disordered eating, since people feel pressured to share their eating habits and are frequently judged for them.
This is especially problematic for kids, particularly girls, who are still developing their body image. Kids need to eat well, of course, but kids with orthorexia often aren’t getting the calories they need to grow. And social media often reflects a relationship with food and with body image that just isn’t healthy or sustainable– for anyone.
Social media platforms frequently feature influencers, celebrities, and fitness enthusiasts showcasing their toned bodies and promoting certain diets or lifestyles as the key to achieving similar results. Constant exposure to these idealized images can create unrealistic expectations and pressures to attain a certain body type, leading people to adopt extreme dietary practices to reach those standards. The pervasive diet talk and restrictive language of “clean eating” creates a perfect storm for orthorexia to take hold.
How To Help Someone With Orthorexia
If you suspect that someone you know may be struggling with orthorexia, it’s essential to take proactive steps to show them that they are supported and that they are more than their eating disorder. Here are some strategies for helping someone with orthorexia:
Be Supportive
A strong support network makes a big difference for people with disordered eating. Encourage connection with supportive friends and family members who can offer understanding, empathy, and encouragement throughout their recovery journey. Support groups and mental health professionals who specialize in eating disorders can also be a big help. They can provide personalized treatment and support tailored to the person’s needs. Support groups are particularly helpful because they show the person with orthorexia that they aren’t alone; that others have gone through similar experiences and struggles. Connection is key for recovery from any kind of disordered eating.
Encourage Holistic Well-Being
Encourage your friend or loved one with orthorexia to cultivate self-compassion and challenge perfectionistic tendencies. Remind them that it’s okay to enjoy a variety of foods in moderation and that health is about balance, not perfection. Emphasize the importance of holistic well-being, including physical, emotional, and social health. Encourage activities that promote relaxation, enjoyment, and fulfillment outside of food-related concerns.
Challenge Distorted Beliefs
This is hard, but important, and it’s one of the reasons that mental health professionals and support groups are so useful for recovery. At its core, orthorexia is a pattern of distorted thinking and distorted beliefs about food. People with orthorexia need help to identify and challenge any distorted beliefs or fears surrounding food, nutrition, and body image. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques can be particularly effective in addressing these thought patterns, so encourage them to seek a therapist who has experience with disordered eating and CBT techniques. CBT is one of the most successful techniques for treating disordered eating.
Navigating Recovery
If you are struggling with orthorexia, there is hope. Recovery is possible with the right support, guidance, and treatment. Here are some tips for navigating the recovery process:
Set Realistic Goals
Set realistic and achievable goals for recovery, focusing on gradual progress rather than perfection. Celebrate small victories along the way to maintain motivation and momentum.
Focus on creating a balanced relationship with food. Remember, there’s no such thing as a perfect diet. Food doesn’t have to meet a certain standard of perfection in order to nourish your body.
Practice Mindful Eating
Cultivate mindfulness practices such as mindful eating, which involves paying attention to hunger and fullness cues, savoring the flavors and textures of food, and fostering a non-judgmental awareness of eating habits. Work with a therapist or nutritionist to develop a balanced and flexible approach to eating that prioritizes overall health and well-being rather than rigid rules or restrictions.
Look At The Big Picture
Working with a mental health professional can help you explore and address any underlying emotional, psychological, or environmental factors that may contribute to orthorexia, such as perfectionism, low self-esteem, or past trauma. Orthorexia doesn’t come out of nowhere, and a therapist can help you figure out the cause of the disorder– and how to deal with it.
Stay Connected
Without a support system, recovery from disordered eating becomes much more challenging. Stay connected with supportive friends, family members, or support groups who can provide encouragement, understanding, and accountability throughout the recovery process.
If you or someone you love is struggling with orthorexia, a supportive mental health professional can help you find the road to recovery. There are ways forward– you don’t have to let your relationship with food define you. Reach out to the therapy team here at Love Heal Grow to get started.
