Why Eating Disorders Root From Trauma
Eating Disorders and the DSM
The DSM describes eating disorders as the “persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Eating disorders can look different for different people. Some people go into recovery with a specific disorder and come out recovered. Others may have a more episodic experience with their eating disorder. Additionally, people who have gone a long time without having their eating disorder addressed may see morphs in their disorder, so it is crucial to view eating disorders as a group of eating behaviors.
There can be a lot of overlap between disorders; for example, you may see similarities between anorexia and bulimia but what sets them apart is anorexia’s criteria for a low body count. It is essential that the client works with a treatment team and has a healthcare provider monitoring the physical and nutritional aspects of the disorder. The stigma is that people start eating disorders to change aspects of their appearance; however that is a false assumption. Though elements of vanity pushed from our society may be an encouraging factor, there have been high links in data between trauma and eating…