WHY DO WE DEVELOP EATING DISORDERS?

What a ballsy question for me to do my best answering...

- Victoria Kleinsman

There are, of course, many layers as to why one might develop an eating disorder, as everyone is unique and has experienced different life experiences. I have, however, seen many similarities in my clients (including myself) as we've peeled back the layers and discovered the root cause.

Trauma

Eating disorders usually arise from trauma and codependency as a child (more about this shortly).

Poor body image is usually an outcome/consequence of trauma, not the root cause of an eating disorder.

Some professionals focus primarily on changing eating behaviours with some basic body image work to support clients through recovery but in my opinion, this isn't enough. If a fear of weight gain is still present or if the client doesn't love themselves then we're looking at quasi-recovery at best... and that's not enough. Why only partially recover when you can love in total freedom and self-love?

Only focusing primarily on changing eating behaviours with some basic body image may be enough for some, especially for those with a similar experience to Tabitha Farrar who had “no childhood trauma” (her own words) and developed the eating disorder simply by epigenetics – a genetic response to being underweight for those with the genetics for anorexia.

But for most people with eating disorders in order to fully recover fully, we have to go deeper.

Societal pressures

Many people (including myself years ago) think that poor body image/fear of weight gain is the cause of eating disorders by attempting to fit into society and receive praise, validation and love.

That can absolutely be the case, especially due to the societal pressures we live in.