Assessing Your Eating Behaviors: How to Self-Screen For Signs of Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders

Thrive • Feb 01, 2022

By Eating Disorder Program Clinical Lead and Therapist Mollie Pierce, MA, LCPC, NCC

DISORDERED EATING BEHAVIORS

Due to the prevalence of diet culture , it’s more common than not for individuals to possess eating patterns that aren’t exactly healthy. The eating disorder treatment community refers to unhealthy eating habits as “disordered eating behaviors.” Disordered eating behaviors are any that prevent you from nourishing your body adequately, consistently, and with a wide variety of foods.

They can include:

A preoccupation with food, weight, or body image
Avoiding social situations involving food
Deriving a sense of self-worth from body shape or size
Engaging in fasting, purging, or exercise to “counteract” the effects of eating “bad foods”
Engaging in rigid food rituals or exercise routines
Experiencing anxiety around certain foods
Feeling a loss of control when eating
Feeling guilty or ashamed about eating
Frequent dieting
Obsessive calorie counting
Practicing certain rules around food or eating

Almost everyone possesses some degree of disordered eating behaviors. Sometimes, disordered eating patterns can be remedied by simply gaining more insight into the dangers of diet culture and alternative eating approaches that involve intuition and mindfulness.

EATING DISORDERS

Depending on their severity, disordered eating habits can be extremely dangerous and may lead to or be predictive of an eating disorder. Generally, eating disorders cause severe mental, emotional, or physical distress and drastically limit individuals’ ability to function normally in their school, work, and social spheres.

Types of eating disorders include:

Anorexia nervosa : Characterized by inadequate caloric intake, intense fear of gaining weight, preoccupation with weight or shape, deriving a sense of self-worth from weight or shape, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of low body weight.
Bulimia nervosa : Characterized by episodes of bingeing followed by purging, fasting, or exercising excessively.
Binge eating disorder (BED) : Characterized by episodes of overeating and feeling a loss of control while eating.
Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED ): A category that encompasses significant eating disorders that don’t meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or BED.

Eating disorders can be deadly. Because eating disorders involve many disordered eating behaviors, only mental or medical health practitioners can determine whether an individual is struggling with an eating disorder. If your eating habits are impeding your daily life, we encourage you to seek clinical support .

15 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR EATING BEHAVIORS

To gain more insight into your eating behaviors and assess whether there is cause for concern, you can ask yourself the questions below.

Do you often find yourself thinking about food?
Do you often find yourself thinking about your body?
Do you ever avoid social situations because you’re worried about how you look?
Do you ever avoid social situations because you’re worried about eating in front of other people?
Do you avoid going to restaurants out of fear of eating “unhealthy” food?
Do you often compare your body size to other people’s body sizes?
Do you often compare the amount you’re eating to the amount others are eating?
Do you experience a sense of guilt or shame after eating?
Do you avoid specific nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, sugars, etc.?
Are you afraid of gaining weight?
Do you ever experience a sense of losing control when eating?
Do you ever eat to the point where you feel physically sick?
Do you have “food rules” that you follow, such as no eating after 8:00 pm?
Do you ever make yourself throw up after eating?
Do you feel compelled to exercise even when you’re sick or injured?

Answering yes to any of the questions may be a sign that you’re struggling with disordered eating habits or potentially an eating disorder.

If you suspect this is the case, there are many resources available to help you establish a healthy, balanced, and confident relationship with food, your body, and your mind. You can always reach out to Thrive for support. Additionally, you can contact the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline .

THRIVE’S EATING DISORDER TREATMENT WORKS TO HEAL YOUR MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT

Eating disorders are complicated conditions that involve the mind, emotions, body, and behaviors. Through individualized care plans that can include psychiatric and nursing care, intuitive eating counseling, nutrition therapy, and mindful movement, Thrive’s healing community helps foster recovery from eating disorders in a holistic way that encompasses clients’ mental, physical, and emotional health. Contact us to learn more about how Thrive can help you heal your relationship with food and your body and rediscover your inner strength.

About the Author

Mollie Pierce, MA, LCPC, NCC — Eating Disorder Program Clinical Lead and Therapist

After earning a degree in clinical mental health counseling at Gonzaga University and spending nearly a decade in Spokane, Washington, Mollie Pierce returned to her hometown of Reno where she joined Thrive Wellness. Navigating her mental health challenges throughout her teenage years inspired her to dedicate her career to helping others process their pain while nurturing their growth and fostering their healing. She believes mental health is equally as essential as physical health and is committed to providing a safe space for those struggling to feel seen, heard, and supported in ways they may not experience elsewhere.

As a therapist at Thrive Wellness Reno, Mollie specializes in treating those recovering from eating disorders and related mental health conditions. When working with patients, Mollie applies a narrative therapy approach and incorporates modalities such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) among others. She is especially passionate about supporting and empowering members of the LGBTQ+ community and promoting equality, kindness, and compassion for all.

The post Assessing Your Eating Behaviors: How to Self-Screen For Signs of Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders first appeared on Thrive Wellness.

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Clean House, Healthy Mind: Spring Cleaning Benefits for Mental Health

By Sage Tippie • 23 Apr, 2024

Spring Cleaning Benefits for Mental Health Spring is a time of new beginnings, change, and transitions, including in our homes. With the warmer weather kicking motivation into high gear, Spring can be a prime time to do a deep clean. Not only is a clean space aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it can also help to improve your mental health. Learn about how tidying up your space can also tidy up your thoughts below along with tips for cleaning when you’re struggling with your mental health. 4 Reasons Why Cleaning is Beneficial to Mental health 1.Decreased Stress Not only does an uncluttered space provide a sense of calm, but the physical act of cleaning can release feel-good endorphins, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. As you cross tasks off your checklist, your body also releases Dopamine. Also known as the “happy hormone”, Dopamine provides a sense of accomplishment and pride that can promote motivation in other areas of our lives. 2. Improved Focus Studies have shown that an uncluttered space can also lead to an uncluttered mind. Your focus can be drawn away from important tasks by a chaotic, messy space. Research has also shown a connection between procrastination and clutter, as an unwillingness to tackle larger chores like cleaning can translate over into various areas of our lives. By keeping your space tidy, it can inspire you to stay on top of other major tasks like work and school assignments. 3. Regulated Emotions According to this 2015 study , cleaning can function as a practice in mindfulness, providing an increased sense of calm and inspiration. Slowing down while cleaning gives you room to relax and free your mind of burdens, stressors, and irritants that can affect your mental health. Cleaning can even be considered a practice of self-care as the action helps you to connect with yourself and the outcome allows you to better enjoy your own space. 4. Sense of Order and Control When experiencing mental health struggles, people may feel a lack of control over their lives and emotions. Cleaning even small areas of the home can provide an increased sense of order and control as you cross tasks off your to-do list. Through realizing your own power by simply completing minor tasks like cleaning, it can reaffirm your ability to do more. 10 Tips for Cleaning When Struggling with Mental Health Mental health struggles and disorders commonly create barriers to one’s ability to clean and properly practice personal hygiene. Although these behaviors are normal side effects of mental health disorders, we want to work to aid our clients in cleaning to the best of their ability even in difficult times. Below, Thrive Wellness occupational therapist Meadow Deason shares some helpful tips she gives to clients when they struggle with cleaning due to mental health conditions: 1.Ask For Help Having support to clean can make a huge difference. Do the cleaning with the person helping you and have them hold you accountable. 2. Don't Wait for Motivation Motivation might not come before action, but it can build as you begin to see the results of your efforts. 3. Start Small Start with one area or one task and go from there. For example, concentrate on your bedroom first and then move on to the living room and bathroom. 4. Do Something Daily Even if you do only one small cleaning task a day, doing that one task creates momentum and prevents small tasks from building up and becoming overwhelming. 5. Use Sensory Modulation Change your environment by playing music, adjusting the lighting, or using aromatherapy. This can help to put you in a new headspace for cleaning. 6. Start with "High Impact" Tasks Start with more intensive or all-over cleaning tasks such as picking up clutter or doing the dishes. The visual "noise" of some tasks makes a large impact on the entire space, building motivation to continue cleaning. 7. Make a To-Do List Write a detailed to-do list of tasks and cross them off as you go. Physically marking down what you’ve accomplished can promote increased motivation. 8. Reward Yourself Set up a reward system where you reward yourself with a favorite activity or item when you complete a task as an incentive to clean. 9. Use the Rocket Method Don't think about it, just choose a task, countdown from five or ten and then start. This can help you to avoid potential anxiety and dread that can prevent you from cleaning. 10. Gamify Tasks Make up a game for your tasks or time yourself to promote increased engagement in cleaning. Your ability to complete tasks can be affected by a multitude of different factors and conditions including OCD , anxiety, depression , ADHD , and more. If you are struggling with motivation due to your mental health, help is here at Thrive Wellness.

child getting bandaid from doctor while mother smiles

The Importance of Whole Family Primary Care: A Q&A with Dr. Stephanie Wright

26 Mar, 2024

By serving the whole family, physicians are able to have a better understanding of family dynamics, family health care goals, and history of disease in the family.