People do Recover Fully from an Eating Disorder

The most pervasive myth about eating disorders is that they are chronic and never go away. This falsehood has become even more widespread through the pandemic as it has been repeated widely on social media.

When unpacked, the myth reveals fears and untruths about the role of eating disorders of our culture.

The centrality of diet culture means that dissatisfaction with weight and body are extremely common and even dominant in many communities. So the concept of restricting food, the desire to lose weight and the virtue of being thin feel like facts to many in our society. As a result, many people who don’t have eating disorders and never did have constant thoughts about food and body.

Second, even though eating disorders are so destructive and severe for many people, these illnesses are still idealized. Anorexia especially is often seen as a triumph for people who have been able to overcome hunger and “control” what they eat. The truth of these disorders is very different.

Last, the explosion of residential treatment centers has diluted the powerful message many smaller programs used to convey. Centers focus on short-term health and treatment but rarely explain and reinforce what full recovery looks like. Thus, the end result of treatment is a partial recovery without further education about how to get better.

The crux of an eating disorder is the pervasive thought process about food and body that leads to compulsive behaviors and actions. These symptoms stem from inconsistent, insufficient eating so the body does not get the steady nutrition it needs to function. Without that sustenance, eating disorder thoughts grow and thrive.

To fully recover, the patients need to follow a meal plan, eat meals and snacks in adequate amounts and spaced through the day for months at a time. The body and brain need to learn that regular, nourishing food will be the norm again. Once that pattern becomes consistent, eating disorder thoughts will fade as life intervenes and becomes the focus of each day.

When this happens over time people get well. This is the truth about recovery. The myths above reflect a lack of understanding of these illnesses and the overvaluing of thinness.

Although the path to recovery is simple, the process of doing so is very hard, if not counterintuitive. Eating disorders are defined by abnormal eating patterns. Getting better means eating normally. I’ll explain this paradox in the next post.