Are You at Risk for the Most Underrecognized Mental Health Disorder?

We are living at a time where “health and wellness” marketing preys upon our insecurities. By worshipping thinness, portraying unattainable beauty standards, and promoting purification of the body as a sanctity, restrictive food practices are being manipulatively and dangerously applauded.

What is even more damaging is that many health influencers, intentionally or unintentionally, are contributing to the normalization of praising disordered eating patterns.

My concern is that our current “wellness space,” if not careful, could be perpetuating and fueling part of the mental health crisis of health anxiety, false anxiety, and eating disorders.

I am on a mission to combat this.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been discussing diet and wellness culture, food addiction, and eating disorders.

In my last post, I began my discussion on eating disorders. I provided an overview and some statistics on them so that you could recognize if you or your loved ones could be suffering from one.

Eating disorders can be fatal and are insidious.

We must inform ourselves of what they are and how they differ from nourishing nutritional practices. Otherwise, we could mistake true sustenance for shallow “health and fitness” goals disguised as virtuous.

Equipped with the facts and clarity on what is “normalized” and what is truly diagnosable as an eating disorder, perhaps I may be able to shed some light and hope that one can have a nurturing relationship with food and still be healthy.

Keeping with my vision, my latest post discusses specific risk factors and characteristics of eating disorders.

My desire is that this knowledge will help to address root causes and combat stigma. If one can understand that eating disorders are the result of a complex interaction of genetic, biological, and social factors, one may be less apt to harshly judge themselves or others. They also may be more likely to get help.

Click here to read about the brain aspects, biological, and psychosocial risks to eating disorders.

Please take this information to heart. You may be able to save someone’s life, or your own.

If you are a healthcare provider, this blog could be a wake-up call for you.

Please comment below and share this article with all who are willing to listen.

*Important Note:

If you struggle with mental health or an eating disorder, please reach out for support.

You may also wish to consider implementing holistic resources and partnering with a naturopathic doctor.

For example, I offer mind-body support for general mood issues using a functional medicine and wellness-oriented approach. I also practice a non-diet, HAES approach to nutrition.