144. Eating Disorder Behaviours That Aren’t Spoken About (and How to Overcome Them)

Feb 14, 2022

We are familiar with common behaviours seen in the presence of an eating disorder. These are outlined in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for eating disorders. Whilst of course these differ across the eating disorder diagnoses some include:

• A preoccupation with weight and shape, diet and exercise
• Development of rigid rules around food
• Intense fear of gaining weight, or persistent behaviour that interferes with weight gain

These are just a few of the symptoms and behaviours of eating disorders that are easily recognisable in individuals with disordered eating.

However, there are a number of Eating Disorder behaviours that don’t get quite as much recognition. These tend to be less common, and you would not need to display these behaviours to receive an ED or disordered eating diagnosis, but they are prevalent enough to deserve an exploration on the podcast.

In this episode we explore:

• Chew and spit behaviour - its prevalence, complications and how to stop doing it
• Adding lots of condiments to food - how to identify if you're struggling with this, why it's problematic and ways to add more variety into your diet and stop over reliance on one food item
• Hyperactivity - what this looks like in real life and why it happens plus how to allow yourself to rest and recover
• Obsession with food photos, videos and recipes - why this happens during restriction and how it can fuel your disordered eating
• Preparing food for others but not yourself - why you're not allowing yourself to enjoy these meals or dishes and how to give yourself full permission to eat
• Eating with specific plates, bowls or utensils - a sneaky behaviour that's more damaging than you think
• Eating at a very slow pace or cutting food up into certain size pieces - why you seek this control and how to let go of this habit
• Being over informed about nutrition - how applying certain nutrition recommendations can actually be harmful to your recovery
• Eating the same foods or meals every day - understanding your fears around trying new foods and how to calmly integrate more variety into. your diet

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