Symptoms of Orthorexia
Orthorexia is a term that has been around for some time- in 1998 it was the term used to describe an obsession with healthy eating.
Despite how long orthorexia has been acknowledged as a form of disordered eating, it wasn’t acknowledged within the eating disorder field until recent years as a dangerous and prevalent eating disorder.
In fact, orthorexia still isn’t included in the diagnostic statistical manual as a clinical diagnosis.
As eating disorder specialists, we’ve seen firsthand how insidious, dangerous, and consuming orthorexia can be.
Often starting from a well-intentioned place to be more “healthy”, folks who have a vulnerability to developing an eating disorder (biological, cultural, and psychological vulnerabilities) can easily find themselves in a place that is quite unhealthy.
Fad diets and new “wellness” trends encourage cutting out food groups, labeling certain foods good or bad, and hypervigilance around what is deemed “healthy” “clean” “healing” or “good” by societal trends.
This is one of the reasons why orthorexia can fly under many professionals’ radar- the vast majority of our society views these types of behaviors as a good thing.
Something that we should be doing and how we should be taking care of ourselves by prioritizing our health.
The extreme beliefs and behaviors related to orthorexia are not health-promoting.
In fact, they often result in social isolation, escalating symptoms of depression and anxiety, poor self-esteem, and malnutrition.
So, what are the signs of orthorexia?
→ Overly Concerned With Food
Folks struggling with orthorexia become all consumed with this healthy eating, fixating on what to eat, how much to eat, what the food consists of, and how to maintain a lifestyle of this type of eating pattern. The focus is typically on eating clean, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods. And, significant morality is attached to being able to do so.
→ Struggling with Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is gained from the ability to eat clean and/or pure. Oftentimes this escalates into a sense of being better than, or doing better than others because of rigidity and devotion to “healthy” eating and lifestyle.
→ Tearing Yourself Down When You Slip Up
When a slip-up occurs, folks can quickly fall into a place of self-deprecation and punishment by more rigid eating patterns, fasting, or exercising to “undo” the unclean foods that have been consumed. The emotional turmoil that comes along with orthorexia and the expected maintenance of rigid food/movement/lifestyle expectations is real. Someone struggling with this eating disorder is likely to experience significant anxiety, shame, or depression if their plan is not followed.
→ Food Anxiety
Folks struggling with orthorexia often have significant anxiety around certain health conditions and lean on food to treat, cure or prevent illness.
→ Unintentional Weight Loss
Weight loss is not always a marker of someone with signs of orthorexia but can be an indication of an unbalanced diet or malnutrition. Many people struggling with orthorexia don’t set out to specifically lose weight, but the rigidity that comes along with this eating disorder disrupts their ability to eat a wide variety of foods. This often results in weight loss in the desperate pursuit of “health”.
If these symptoms sound familiar to what you’re experiencing, please know that you deserve help and support.
Below are two tools to help you assess if you’re experiencing these signs of orthorexia.
*Please note that these assessments are in no way not meant to self-diagnose. They are tools to help you become curious about your beliefs and behaviors around food. If you are concerned that you have an eating disorder, please contact a professional who can support you*
The Bratman Test
- Do you spend more than 3 hours per day thinking about your diet?
- Is the nutritional value of your meal more important than the pleasure of eating it
- Do you plan your meals several days ahead?
- Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet has increased?
- Have you become stricter with yourself lately?
- Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthy?
- Have you given up foods you used to enjoy in order to eat the right foods?
- Do you feel at peace with yourself and in total control when you eat healthy?
- Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat out, distancing you from family and friends?
- Do you feel guilty when you stray from your diet?
ORTO-R Assessment
- Are your rigid and restrictive dietary choices conditioned by your worry about your health status?
- Would you agree that eating healthy food increases your self-esteem?
- Do you believe that strict consumption of only healthy food may improve your appearance?
- Does eating healthy food change your lifestyle (Frequency of eating out, friends…)
- In the last 3 month did thoughts of food make you feel guilt, ashamed or anxious?
- Does thinking about food excessively worry you for more than 3 hours per day?
If you answered “yes” to some or many of these questions, you could be dealing with orthorexia. Like other eating disorders, if you’re experiencing these signs of orthorexia, your physical and mental health could be at risk. We encourage you to reach out for a formal assessment.
With eating disorder treatment or body image therapy, your symptoms can improve and you can enter recovery to live your life in a way that is in alignment with your values and what is most important to you.
If you’re experiencing signs of orthorexia, then begin eating disorder treatment at Reclaim Therapy!
Here at Reclaim Therapy in Pennsylvania, we believe that if you’re struggling with your relationship with food and your body, you deserve individualized and effective treatment and support.
Orthorexia can be as insidious as it is dangerous. And, we relentlessly believe that you deserve more.
You deserve freedom and peace with food.
In fact, you deserve to reclaim your life from disordered eating
When you’re ready, we’ll be here to support you.
🧡,
Here at Reclaim Therapy, we’re body image, eating disorder, and trauma specialists who provide in-person counseling and online therapy in Pennsylvania.
We have a passion for treating eating disorders and helping people see and feel that recovery is truly possible. We’re passionate about helping our community find freedom from disordered eating and body image issues, binge eating, trauma, EMDR, and grief. We’re ready to help you shape what your recovery can look like!