Anxiety or Personality Disorders

Underlying Mood, Anxiety, or Personality Disorders

Many people who suffer from eating disorders also suffer from one or more other psychiatric problems, such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder, or borderline personality. In fact, the disordered eating behaviors (e.g. binge eating, compulsive exercise, obsessive counting and controlling of calories) may be adaptive responses to an underlying chemical imbalance in the brain, which is causing the depression or anxiety.

For instance, serotonin and cortisol are neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) that affect mood, sleep, and appetite. Low levels of serotonin (or high levels of cortisol) are often associated with depression, anxiety, poor sleep, and increased appetite. People suffering from low serotonin levels (or high cortisol levels) often participate in maladaptive behaviors that work to raise or lower them, respectively. Carbohydrate binges, compulsive exercise, and obsessive thinking all work to increase serotonin levels; so these behaviors temporarily correct the chemical imbalance in the brain. (NOTE: Cigarette smoking and excessive alcohol consumption may serve similar functions, as coping mechanisms for underlying biological or psychological problems.) Fortunately, there are several health-promoting behaviors that can normalize the balance between serotonin and cortisol (e.g. yoga or meditation, massage, expressive hobbies, full spectrum lighting, moderate physical activity, professional counseling, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine). Regular participation in these health-promoting behaviors can decrease the need to engage in more damaging ones.

Several prescription medications are also available to help normalize the balance between serotonin and cortisol. These medications may be required, along with the health-promoting behaviors listed above, to correct underlining chemical imbalances in the brain.

If you experience extreme feelings of sadness or anxiety, difficulty sleeping, or change in appetite, talk to a clinician at the Ashe Center or a counselor at Counseling and Psychological Services.

Emotional Eating (or Not Eating)

Throughout our life, we are conditioned to turn to food for security, comfort, and pleasure. As babies, the most powerful comforter when we were distressed was our mother’s milk. As toddlers, we were offered cookies and milk when we fell in the playground and got hurt. Throughout our school years, we were rewarded with sweet treats when we brought home good grades and punished for bad behavior by being sent to our rooms without dessert. It’s little wonder that as college students, food becomes a tranquilizer when we’re anxious and stressed out, a mood elevator when we’re depressed, a comforter when we’re lonely, a reward when we’ve had a hard day, and an entertainer when we are bored. We learn to cope with uncomfortable feelings by stuffing them all down with food. Just like cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, food becomes a temporary relief or escape.

In other situations, people learn to suppress feelings they’re ashamed of by focusing intently on their body weight and size. These are much “safer” issues. People often complain, “I feel so fat!” But, since when is fat a feeling? You don’t feel blonde or brunette; how can you feel fat? What are you really feeling when you feel “fat.” Are you feeling inadequate, insecure, sad, overwhelmed, abandoned? By becoming so absorbed in counting calories and worrying about weight, people can avoid thinking about these more painful and more difficult feelings.

Psychological Issues

Control

In some cases, eating disorders can be rooted in past traumas. That is, sometimes eating disorders can develop, in part, from an attempt to manage difficult feelings around experiences from a person’s past. For example, imagine growing up with an alcoholic parent(s). In this case, no matter what the child does or how hard he tries, he cannot control or predict his world. Violated and hurt, this person might seek an area of life that she can control: her diet and weight. In other cases, individuals with eating disorders may have had or perceived their parents to be very controlling in their lives. Again, eating patterns and restrictive behaviors are an area over which the parents cannot force them to conform, giving them some sense of control over their lives.

Fear

In cases of sexual abuse, disordered eating may serve as a protective shield from further abuse or attack. For instance, in anorexia nervosa, self-starvation may be a way for a young person to delay puberty and prevent developing an adult body to avoid further abuse. In binge eating disorder, overeating and being obese may be a way for a person to feel less attractive, less desirable, and more invisible (so future attacks are less likely to occur).