As an eating disorder therapist who works with women struggling with eating disorders, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact they can have on a person's physical, emotional, and mental health. Eating disorders can take many forms, and it's essential to understand the differences between each type to get the best treatment and support you need. To help you decide what support and treatment you need, this post will describe the different types of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, orthorexia nervosa, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED). By increasing our understanding of these conditions, we can work towards reducing stigma and ensuring those struggling with eating disorders get the help they need to recover and thrive.
What are the types of eating disorders?
These are common eating disorders that individuals struggle with. All but orthorexia nervosa are diagnosable mental health disorders recognized by the DSM-5. It’s essential for you to know that if you don’t feel like you fit in any of these categories but know you have a problematic relationship with food and your body, you still deserve help. Your experience and condition are not any less valid because it doesn’t fit perfectly into one of these categories.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is the eating disorder that people most commonly recognized. It's usually the one you learn about in health and nutrition so sometimes it's seen as the most common eating disorder even though it's not. Anorexia is a serious and life-threatening eating disorder. Symptoms of anorexia include persistent restriction of food types, calories, or entire food groups. Anorexia can lead to dangerously low body weight but it can also be normal body weight or "overweight". People that are "overweight" but have anorexia symptoms are often given the subtype of "atypical anorexia." Although I typically work with women, anorexia also impacts men. People with anorexia may have an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even when they are already underweight. They may engage in excessive exercise or other behaviors to burn calories and lose weight. People with eating disorders often have a body image issues and don't see themselves accurately. Anorexia can have serious physical and psychological consequences, including malnutrition, organ damage, and other physical consequences. Mental health conditions with anorexia include depression and anxiety.
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder in the United States. BED involves frequent episodes of consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time. These binges often feel out of control. Unlike bulimia, people with BED do not engage in compensatory behaviors such as purging, fasting, or excessive exercise after a binge episode. BED is an eating disorder that experiences a great deal of shame and embarrassment because of behaviors. They have a fear of seeking help for fear of judgment. These binges cause feelings of guilt, shame, and distress, which can cause more binges. People with BED often believe they need more willpower in order to stop binging. Society often reinforced this belief as well. The reality is BED is often the consequence of the previous restriction of food.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is a type of eating disorder involving recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by purging behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, or excessive exercise. People with bulimia may feel a lack of control during binge episodes and may engage in purging behaviors in an attempt to compensate for the calories consumed during the binge. Bulimia is extremely dangerous and has serious physical and psychological consequences, including electrolyte imbalances, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular issues along with anxiety and depression.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a relatively new diagnosis in the field of eating disorders. ARFID involves a persistent and often extreme avoidance or restriction of certain foods or food groups. Individuals with ARFID may experience significant anxiety or disgust when faced with certain foods, and they may have a limited range of acceptable foods or textures. Unlike anorexia nervosa, individuals with ARFID may not have a distorted body image or be trying to lose weight. However, ARFID can still have serious physical and psychological consequences, including nutritional deficiencies, weight loss or failure to gain weight, and social isolation. People with ARFID struggle with the sensory experience of food. People with autism or ADHD are more likely to have ARFID than those who don't have these diagnoses.
Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)
Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) is a diagnosis given to individuals who experience disordered eating behaviors that do not meet the full criteria for anorexia, bulimia, ARFID, or binge eating disorder. OSFED has become the catch-all for other disordered eating behaviors. OSFED can include a wide range of eating disorder symptoms, such as binge eating, purging, and restrictive eating, driven by body image and weight concerns. Despite not meeting the full criteria for a specific eating disorder diagnosis, OSFED still often has serious physical and psychological consequences. People with OSFED may struggle with feelings of shame, guilt, and low self-esteem. OSFED doesn't seem to many people like a legitimate eating disorder even though it is, and it's just as concerning as all the other eating disorders.
Orthorexia Nervosa
Orthorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder that involves an obsession with healthy eating and an extreme fixation on consuming foods that are perceived as pure, clean, or natural. Orthorexia is not yet recognized by the DSM-4 as an eating disorder but this doesn't mean it isn't problematic or treatable. People with orthorexia become preoccupied with the quality and purity of their food, and may experience significant anxiety or distress when faced with foods that they deem unhealthy or impure. People with orthorexia may only eat organic or vegan foods. The obsession with healthy or clean eating, can lead to rigid dietary restrictions and limit the types of food they can eat. This can in turn lead to malnutrition, weight loss, and social isolation.
Eating Disorder Treatment Options
When it comes to eating disorders, it’s important to seek the right level of care for you. Some people with eating disorders need day treatment or hospitalization before they are able to work toward outpatient therapy. Alone with therapy, if you are struggling with an eating disorder, you need to see your primary care provider, meet with an eating disorder dietitian for nutritional counseling, and maybe even receive medication management. These treatment options are therapy approaches that I use with my clients when they are stable enough for an outpatient level of care.
EMDR for Eating Disorders
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy approach that can be helpful in treating trauma and other emotional or psychological issues that may be related to the development of an eating disorder. EMDR is a structured therapy focused on recalling memories or past experiences paired with bilateral stimulation, which helps with the processing and resolution of these experiences. When it comes to eating disorders, EMDR can be used to help you process and resolve any underlying experiences or negative beliefs about yourself or your body that could be contributing to disordered eating behaviors. You may have experiences where you were shamed for your body shape or size which contributed to you using food to change what you looked like. EMDR can help reprocess and resolve these negative beliefs and memories.
Research has shown that EMDR is effective for treating those with eating disorders, particularly when used with other psychotherapy models. However, it is important to note that EMDR is not a standalone treatment for eating disorders and should be used in addition to other treatment approaches.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of therapy that can be helpful in treating eating disorders because it promotes psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and aligning behaviors with your values. In the context of eating disorders, ACT can help you identify and accept difficult thoughts, emotions, and body sensations related to disordered eating behaviors, rather than trying to suppress or avoid them. This can be important for those who struggle with anxiety, depression, or shame related to their eating disorder, as avoiding or suppressing these feelings can actually make eating disorder symptoms worse.
Health At Every Size
The Health at Every Size (HAES) approach is a weight-inclusive approach to health. HAES recognizes that health is far more complex and can't be determined just by body weight or size. Instead, HAES focuses on the importance of promoting healthy behaviors rather than focusing on weight loss or body size. A HAES approach can help those in eating disorder recovery to develop and practice self-compassion towards their bodies and focus on promoting healthy behaviors rather than obsessing over weight or body size. This can involve developing a positive relationship with food and exercise and using an intuitive eating approach.
Intuitive Eating
Intuitive eating is the best approach to eating disorder recovery. Intuitive eating is an approach that focuses on developing a healthy and positive relationship with food and your body. It involves paying attention to internal hunger and fullness cues, rather than following strict diets or other rules around food. When it comes to eating disorder recovery, intuitive eating can be helpful in promoting a more positive approach to food and eating. People with eating disorders may have a strained relationship with food and a negative body image. They also struggle with restrictive eating patterns followed by binge episodes. Intuitive eating can help individuals to develop a more balanced and flexible approach to food and to reconnect with their internal hunger and fullness cues.
Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah can help
As an eating disorder therapist, I know how powerful therapy can be when you are struggling with an eating disorder. Therapy can help you gain an understanding of the root causes of your eating disorder and the areas of your life that are keeping it alive and well. By exploring these underlying issues in therapy and learning the coping skills to work through them, you can begin to change their relationship with food and improve their overall mental health. Eating disorder therapy is about providing you with support and safety in a non-judgmental space. You can work through the challenges of recovery and find a way to ditch your eating disorder forever. With the help of a skilled therapist and your desire to recover, process, you can recover fully from your eating disorder and start enjoying your life again.
Begin working with an eating disorder therapist in Utah
You don’t have to try and recover from your eating disorder alone. You deserve the help of someone that can help you through it. Eating disorder therapy can help. This Utah Counseling Clinic has an eating disorder therapist specializing in helping women fully recover from their eating disorders. To begin counseling follow the steps below:
Meet with a caring therapist
Start recovering from your eating disorder
Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah
When you are struggling with an eating disorder, it’s important to work with a therapist who has experience in treating eating disorders. Not every location in Utah has a therapist that fits the bill. This is why I offer online therapy in Utah. Online eating disorder therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy without having to travel to a therapy session.
Online counseling also means I work with clients all over the state of Utah. I work with clients in St. George, Cedar City, Logan, Heber City, Provo, Salt Lake City, and more.
Other mental health services available at Maple Canyon Therapy
Eating disorder therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided by this Utah Counseling Practice. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include anxiety therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, EMDR therapy, birth trauma therapy, counseling for college students, and body image therapy.
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt is a licensed clinical social worker at Maple Canyon Therapy near Provo, Utah. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a bachelor's degree in family life and human development both from Southern Utah University. She received her masters degree in social work from Utah State University. Ashlee has been working with eating disorders since 2013 and has worked with eating disorder clients at all levels of care. She worked in an inpatient psychiatric hospital for eating disorders and learned to help women recover from their eating disorders fully.