Psychological Effects of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder (BED), are serious threats to both physical and psychological health. Besides the damaging physical effects that come from the acts of binge-eating, purging and starving the body, eating disorders contribute to psychological, emotional, and psychosocial problems.

Distorted Body Image

• A common characteristic among people with eating disorders, especially those who suffer from anorexia, is a disturbance in body image. Many people may see an overweight or obese person when looking in the mirror, but in reality are dangerously thin. This can be frustrating and damaging to a person's psychological well-being because of the constant emphasis on perfection. No matter how much weight is lost, the person may never be satisfied with his or her body.

Low Self-Esteem

• Low self-esteem can be both a contributing factor to the development of an eating disorder as well as one of the damaging effects. People with eating disorders may feel that they are not good enough in some way and see weight loss as a path to happiness and success. The negative self-talk and self-loathing that eating disorders present can wear down a person's self-esteem, even lowering a person's self-worth.

Social Withdrawal

• One of the biggest consequences of an eating disorder is social withdrawal. Eating disorders require a high level of secrecy to continue and, unfortunately, make it difficult for the eating-disordered person to maintain any sort of close relationship. Because of the pain and worry that the person's loved one would feel surrounding unhealthy behaviors such as starvation, binging and purging, many people are forced to keep their eating disorders a secret, even lying to people close to them.

Fear of Gaining Weight

• Yet another psychological effect of eating disorders is the tendency for the person to develop an extreme fear or phobia of weight gain. This can become a serious hurdle if and when a person begins treatment for the disorder because this fear tends to stand in the way of a person's desire to become healthy.

Psychological Co-Morbidities

• Eating disorders have a high rate of co-morbidity, meaning that they often occur along with other psychological disorders. Some problems and disorders that are commonly co-morbid with eating disorders are anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and self-injury or self-mutilation. Whether a contributing factor to eating disorder development or a product of it, these disorders are serious and must receive professional attention, separate from eating disorder treatment.