Do you Have rules around what foods are “good” or “bad?”
Do you restrict food groups, measure portions, count calories, or only eat during a specific window of time during the day?
Do You find yourself alternating between periods of dieting and binge eating?
Are you obsessed with eating “clean” or following a rigid diet plan?
Is the voice in your head critical about what you eat?
Do you use food in a way that feels problematic?
You might think of these traits as part of a “healthy lifestyle”, when they are, in fact, signs and symptoms of a disordered relationship with food.
Diet culture is so pervasive that we have forgotten how to listen to our internal cues about hunger and fullness. We are told instead to eat a prescribed way, at prescribed intervals; we are told that external factors can and should impact how we nourish our bodies.
If you have ever felt resentful that you have to eat, frustrated trying to control what and how much you eat, afraid to eat, or angry at yourself for eating, you have been the victim of a toxic mentality that plagues millions of people around the world.
You don’t need a diagnosed eating disorder to deserve treatment. And you don’t need to struggle alone. Let the trained therapists at Conason Psychological help with your disordered eating.
What is the difference between disordered eating and an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a set of symptoms that meets specific criteria set in the DSM-V including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and others. However, most people struggling with their eating don’t fall into one of the little boxes defined by the rigid criteria in the DSM. “Disordered eating” is a phrase used to capture the experiences of people who have a problematic relationship with food but do not meet DSM criteria for an eating disorder.
Symptoms of disordered eating can include:
• Chronic dieting
• Compulsive eating
• Feeling out of control around food
• Preoccupation and worry around food
• Diet/binge cycles
• Guilt or shame around food
• Rigid rules around food
• Emotional eating
• Any kind of eating that feels problematic to you
These are just some of the symptoms that may indicate disordered eating. At the end of the day, if you experience troubling or distressing thoughts about feeding yourself for any reason, you deserve to find support and work through that struggle.
Why attend therapy without an eating disorder diagnosis?
Just because something isn’t a diagnosed mental illness, doesn’t mean you have to suffer through it. Food is a basic requirement for life, and having a disordered relationship with it means to be burdened by your own basic needs. Having a safe, weight-inclusive space in which to explore your thoughts and feelings about your relationship with food can be a game-changer.
Our therapists will help you to develop a more mindful relationship with your body and your hunger. This can be achieved through any number of therapies, including by not limited to cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and mindfulness based therapy.
These therapies can help you to:
• Develop a more peaceful relationship with food and your body
• Listen to your body’s internal cues to guide your eating including hunger, fullness, taste, food preferences, and how different foods affect your body
• Better understand emotional reasons for eating
• Recognize disordered thoughts, behaviors and patterns for what they are
• Develop resilience to cope with “diet-culture”
• Improve body image and cope better even when you don’t like your body
• Release guilt and shame about food and your body
Treatment for disordered eating in New York City
Conason Psychological Services is a therapy practice based in Manhattan. We offer in-person sessions at our office in Midtown East/Upper East Side and offer virtual sessions across New York State. Some of our therapists also offer services in other states as well.
We specialize in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, psychological issues related to bariatric surgery, and body image. We offer individual, couples, and group therapy.
The therapists at Conason Psychological Services are all trauma-informed and weight-inclusive.
We take a holistic view of health focusing on mental wellbeing which is inextricably linked to our physical health. Our therapists value body diversity and are committed to helping you work towards your goals at any size.
We recognize that many people seeking our services want to lose weight and/or feel unhappy with their body—that is totally okay!
In fact, it is pretty expected in a culture that teaches us that weight loss is the singular path to health, happiness, and all the good things in life.
We will meet you where you are at and find a path forward together.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation call to see if therapy at Conason Psychological Services could be a good fit for you.