Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorder
What is the difference between an eating disorder and disordered eating?
To comprehend the distinction between an eating disorder and disordered eating isn’t as black and white as it’s made out to be.
Disordered eating is the unspoken epidemic that lies within our society.
Disordered eating, unlike an eating disorder, is not categorized as a “diagnosis” but should be treated as one. Why, do you ask? Well, have you ever heard of the term, gateway drugs? More often than not, disordered eating, if left untreated, is the gateway *drug* into developing a full-blown eating disorder.
Food shaming, fitness tracking and calorie/macronutrient counting are all normalized in today’s society.
It’s pretty common to hear a friend talking about being “bad” for eating a cookie, or a donut, and then following that they need to go to the gym the next day and work it off. These comments, unfortunately, are so normalized and can be perceived as “comical”, but should NOT be taken lightly. This is a form of food shame. Food shame creates hostility toward food, by making comments that are centered around negative food talk, often followed by body comments (Zucker, 2018).
Disordered eating is present when an individual engages in abnormal eating patterns or food behaviors on a regular basis (Zucker, 2018). This may include skipping meals, restricting certain foods and/or food groups, time restrictive eating… the list goes on.
Disordered eating is often found among people who are uncomfortable with their emotions, or that have high levels of stress in their lives, and do not know how to cope with them. Their “coping mechanism” turns into altering their food intake, searching for a reason to feel in control and a sense of adequacy for their plan being exerted to their degree of desire.
Disordered eating is directly correlated with emotional eating. When we habitually eat
for emotional reasons, as our emotions vary, these emotional eating episodes can turn into
binging episodes, which sets the foundation for an eating disorder (Ekern, 2019).
Now, to distinguish the difference between an eating disorder and disordered eating, is pretty dependent on two factors: functionality and headspace.
When your disordered eating patterns start affecting your functionality throughout the day, that’s when the full-blown eating disorder kicks in.
Some examples of this may include missing out on social events to exercise compulsively, skipping dining out with friends because the calories are not present on the menu, or skipping assignments for school or work due to food avoidance and/or compulsive exercise (Ekern, 2019).
When food starts taking up most of your headspace, that’s when it becomes problematic.
It’s completely normal to think about when your next meal will be, what you want to eat
as your next meal or snack, etc. When these thoughts start consuming your mind, and
there’s little to no room left to think about objectives other than food, which is where the eating disorder starts to run its course (Ekern, 2019).
This food consuming mentality directly affects your brain power and the abilities to focus
on other things throughout the day, such as work, school, whatever it may be. The ability
to stay present is stripped from you, making your world seem very, very small.
Don’t let diet culture strip you of your happiness or confidence.
Food is meant to serve as pleasurable nourishment and provide us with the energy that we need to be our best selves everyday, be active in our communities, and present for ones that we need and love.
References:
Zucker, T. (2018, February 21). Eatings disorders vs. disordered eating: What's the difference? National Eating Disorders Association. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/eating-disorders-versus-disordered-eating.
Ekern, B., Ekern, B., About Baxter EkernBaxter is the Vice President of Ekern Enterprises, & View all posts by Baxter Ekern →. (2019, April 16). Disordered eating vs. eating disorders: What is the difference? Eating Disorder Hope. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/eating-disorders-disordered-eating.
