Eating Disorder Awareness Month: Let’s Clear Up What People Get Wrong
If you hear the phrase eating disorder and immediately picture a very thin white teenage girl, you are not alone. That image has been repeated in media, health classes, and even medical spaces for decades. It is also wildly incomplete.
Eating disorders are not about vanity. They are not about attention. They are not a phase. And they are definitely not limited to one body type, gender, race, or age group.
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions with one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric illness. They are rooted in complex interactions between biology, psychology, trauma, culture, and lived experience. They deserve understanding, compassion, and proper treatment.
This Eating Disorder Awareness Month, let’s break down common myths, talk about what eating disorders actually look like, and highlight how therapy and a full support team can make a real difference.
First, Some Real Statistics
It is easy to underestimate how common eating disorders are because they often hide in plain sight.
About 9 percent of people in the United States will have an eating disorder in their lifetime
Eating disorders affect people of all genders, and about 1 in 3 people with an eating disorder are male
People of color are less likely to be diagnosed and less likely to receive treatment, even when symptoms are present
Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental illness due to medical complications and suicide
Many people struggle for years before receiving an accurate diagnosis
These are not rare conditions. They are often missed, misunderstood, or minimized.
Common Eating Disorders You May Have Heard Of
Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
Often associated with severe food restriction, intense fear of weight gain, and body image distortion. It is important to know that someone does not have to look extremely thin to be struggling with anorexia.
Bulimia Nervosa (BN)
Characterized by cycles of binge eating followed by behaviors to compensate, such as vomiting, over exercising, or misuse of laxatives. Many people with bulimia appear to be in an average size body.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
Involves recurrent episodes of eating large amounts of food accompanied by feelings of loss of control and shame. This is the most common eating disorder in the United States.
Eating Disorders You May Not Hear About as Often
ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
This is not about body image. It is about avoidance of certain foods due to sensory issues, fear of choking or vomiting, or extreme pickiness that impacts nutrition and health. It is common in children and adults.
OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder)
This includes eating disorder patterns that do not fit neatly into a single diagnosis but are still very serious and distressing. Many people fall into this category and feel invalid because they think they are not “sick enough.”
You do not have to meet a textbook definition to deserve help.
Myth: You Can Tell Someone Has an Eating Disorder by Looking at Them
You cannot.
Eating disorders exist in all body sizes. In fact, many people in larger bodies are praised for behaviors that are actually disordered, such as extreme dieting, food rules, or chronic restriction. This is where weight stigma and diet culture can hide symptoms in plain sight.
Because of this, people in larger bodies are often under diagnosed and under treated. Their concerns may be dismissed as a need to lose weight rather than recognized as signs of an eating disorder.
Myth: Eating Disorders Are About Food
Food is part of it. But it is rarely the core issue.
Eating disorders are often ways of coping with anxiety, trauma, control, perfectionism, shame, and emotional overwhelm. For many people, food behaviors become a way to manage feelings that feel too big, too painful, or too out of control.
This is why telling someone to “just eat” or “just stop bingeing” does not work. It misses the emotional and psychological roots.
Who Gets Missed and Why
People of color, men, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people in larger bodies are significantly less likely to be diagnosed with eating disorders. Cultural stereotypes about who is “supposed” to have an eating disorder get in the way.
Some examples:
Boys and men may have their symptoms dismissed as fitness or athletic goals
People of color may face cultural stigma around mental health and may not be screened properly by providers
LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher rates of body image distress and eating disorders but face barriers to affirming care
People in larger bodies are often told to diet rather than evaluated for disordered eating
A culturally and trauma informed approach to care means recognizing these gaps and actively working against them.
What Recovery Actually Looks Like
Recovery is not just about eating three meals a day. It is about healing your relationship with food, your body, and yourself.
It can look like:
Learning to notice hunger and fullness cues again
Reducing food rules and guilt
Understanding how trauma or anxiety connects to food behaviors
Building self compassion and body respect
Learning new ways to cope with difficult emotions
It is not quick. It is not linear. And you do not have to do it alone.
Why a Team Approach Matters So Much
Eating disorders affect both mental and physical health. That is why the best care usually involves a team.
This team often includes:
A therapist to work on the emotional, behavioral, and relational pieces
A registered dietitian to support nutrition, meal structure, and food exposure in a safe way
A primary care doctor to monitor medical stability and labs
A psychiatrist if medication support is helpful for anxiety, depression, or OCD that often co occur with eating disorders
Each provider addresses a different part of the puzzle. Together, they create a more complete support system.
How Therapy Helps
Therapy for eating disorders is not about policing what you eat. It is about understanding why food and body became such a loaded space in the first place.
In therapy, you might:
Explore the role anxiety, trauma, or perfectionism plays in your eating patterns
Practice challenging unhelpful thoughts about food and body image
Learn skills to tolerate uncomfortable emotions without turning to food behaviors
Work toward body neutrality and self compassion
Untangle shame that has built up over time
Most importantly, therapy offers a space where you are not judged, rushed, or reduced to a diagnosis.
A Person Centered Reminder
You are not your eating disorder. You are a person who developed a set of coping strategies that made sense at some point in your life.
Those strategies may not be serving you anymore, but they were not random. They were attempts to survive, to cope, to feel in control, or to manage pain.
There is nothing weak or broken about you for struggling. There is something incredibly brave about being willing to look at it.
If You Are Wondering Whether You Need Help
You do not have to be at a crisis point. You do not have to be underweight. You do not have to “prove” that it is bad enough.
If food, eating, body image, or weight thoughts take up a lot of mental space, cause stress, or impact your daily life, that is enough of a reason to reach out.
Eating Disorder Awareness Month is a great time to check in with yourself gently and honestly.
You deserve support that sees you as a whole person, not just a set of symptoms.
Healing is possible. And you do not have to figure it out alone. If you’re even just a little bit curious about what this might look like, please schedule a consultation with Always Blooming Counseling today.
