An eating problem is any relationship with food that you find difficult.
Food plays an important part in our lives and most of us will spend time thinking about what we eat. Sometimes we may try to eat more healthily, have cravings, eat more than usual or lose our appetite. Changing your eating habits every now and again is normal.
But if food and eating feels like it's taking over your life then it may become a problem.
Lots of people think that if you have an eating problem you will be over- or underweight, and that being a certain weight is always associated with a specific eating problem. This is a myth. Anyone, regardless of age, gender or weight, can be affected by eating problems.
Eating Disorder
Symptoms
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restrict the amount of food you eat
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eat more than you need or feel out of control when you eat
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eat a lot in secret
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feel very anxious about eating or digesting food
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eat lots of food in response to difficult emotions (when you don't feel physically hungry)
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only eat certain types of food or stick to a rigid set of diet rules and feel very anxious and upset if you have to eat something different
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do things to get rid of what you eat (purging)
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stick to rigid rules around what you can and can't eat and how food should look – and feel very upset if you break those rules
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feel strongly repulsed at the idea of eating certain foods
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eat things that are not really food
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be scared of certain types of food or eating in public
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think about food and eating a lot or all the time
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compare your body to other people's and think about their shape or size a lot
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check, test and weigh your body a lot – and base your self-worth on how much you weigh or whether you pass your checks and tests.
"My eating disorder has always gone hand in hand with depression and anxiety in such a way that they haven't felt like distinct, discrete illnesses but like one issue"
