Three Reasons People Do Not Seek Eating Disorder Treatment
Are you contemplating if you should seek treatment for an eating disorder?
You may not even know if you have an eating disorder, as we live in a culture that normalizes disordered eating behaviors. However, there is some part of you that is seeking change in relation to food and body. Today we are sharing just three, of many, reasons why folks struggling with eating disorders do not seek help.
A doctor has never expressed concern over weight being too low.
We know eating disorders do not discriminate based on weight, age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, culture and more. Eating disorders are not something that are diagnosed based on how a body looks. Eating disorders are a complex biopsychosocial mental health issue. Unfortunately, there is a lot of weight bias in the medical system to the point where the possibility of an eating disorder can be overlooked if a person is not in a body of very low weight. We know the truth is that most folks suffering from a variety of eating disorders are not in bodies of a low weight.
Lab values are always within normal limits.
Ultimately, the body will compensate in ways to create homeostasis in the body. Homeostasis is a fundamental biological concept that refers to the body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite external changes. Serum levels keep us alive at the expense of other processes that are halted when nutritional intake is poor, so the blood test looks normal even when nutrient stores are dangerously depleted. The other factor is dehydration, as volume-dependent labs can look normal when someone is dehydrated. All in all, normal labs do not indicate a body is not in trouble.
Friends and family may applaud disordered behaviors connected to food and exercise.
We know our society overall has a very disordered scope of what “health” is. A majority of people think dieting is helpful and through research on Intuitve Eating, we know this is far from the truth. Hearing how “great” or “disciplined” someone is only further perpetuates the eating disorder and invalidates how harmful eating disorder thoughts and behaviors truly are.
We want you to understand that eating disorders are serious and you do not have to suffer in silence. Practitioners who specialize in eating disorders will take your symptoms and your story seriously.
Are you interested in working with an in person or online Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in Florida or Georgia?
At Namaste Nourished we understand finding a treatment team for eating disorder recovery can feel overwhelming. We are here to make that process as smooth as possible, providing you with the proper support, guidance, nutrition education and behavior change tools to help you on a path of life that you want to experience.