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If you have an eating disorder, you are probably aware that there’s a constant inner dialogue telling you all about what you eat and how you should look. These are eating disorder thoughts (ED thoughts).
Eating disorder thoughts include:
- Rules about good and bad foods
- Rules about how much you should eat
- Negative body image thoughts
- Urgency to body check
Thoughts that come about in an eating disorder are often toxic and ever increasing. They often create your eating disorder voice that can make it feel impossible to break free of your eating disorder.
Breaking free of the food and body noise that comes with an eating disorder will require identifying your negative thoughts about food and body and understanding that these thoughts are part of your eating disorder and not your identity.
Lets dig into some of the most common ED thoughts and how to break free of these thoughts and reclaim your peace.
What Are ED Thoughts
Eating disorder thoughts are the distinct individual toxic thoughts that a person with an eating disorder has about their food and body.
ED thoughts are often:
- Repetitive
- Negative
- Increasing in demand
- Consistent from one eating disorder to the next
The eating disorder thrives by making you think that you are the only person that has had a certain destructive thought. The eating disorder also wants to keep these thoughts secret so that others wont know that you are having the thought and potentially try to interfere with you completing the demand of the thought.
Eating disorders also want you to keep your thoughts secret because the negative narrative will tell you that you’re not meeting its demands and you shouldn’t let anyone else know that you’re deficient in meeting social standards of health.
Are Disordered Eating Thoughts Harmful
Yes and no.
Most people will have disordered thoughts about food from time to time. Many people that have recovered from an eating disorder may still have some eating disorder thoughts.
ED thoughts become harmful when:
- They impact your social life
- You have a compulsion to satisfy the thought
- The thoughts cause extreme anxiety, shame, guilt or depression
- The thoughts lead to actions that harm your physical health
Examples of Eating Disorder Thoughts
- “I can’t eat that—it has too many calories.”
- “I’ll lose control if I start eating.”
- “I don’t deserve to eat.”
- “Eating in front of others makes me look weak.”
- “I’ll be fine as long as I don’t eat carbs/sugar/fat.”
- “If I eat this, I have to exercise to burn it off.”
- “Hunger means I’m doing something right.”
- “I’m too fat, no matter what the scale says.”
- “If I lose weight, I’ll be happier.”
- “I’ll never be thin enough.”
- “Everyone is judging my body.”
- “I have to check the mirror constantly to make sure I haven’t gained weight.”
- “Gaining weight means I’m failing.“
- “My stomach/arms/legs look disgusting.”
- “If I don’t lose weight, no one will like me.”
- “I need to be the thinnest person in the room.”
- “I need to compensate for overeating.”
- “I don’t deserve food because I didn’t exercise enough.”
- “I can’t enjoy food—it should only be for fuel.”
- “I should be ashamed of my body.”
- “I’m weak for struggling with food.”
- “If I eat something ‘bad,’ I’ve failed.”
- “Even if people say I look fine, they’re lying.”
- “Eating disorders make me feel in control.”
- “If I can control my weight, I can control my life.”
- “I can’t let myself be weak and eat more.”
- “Perfection means being thin.“
- “I have to stick to my rules no matter what.”
- “If I don’t follow my meal plan exactly, I’ve failed.”
- “Mistakes in eating mean I’m out of control.”
- “I have to earn food through exercise or restriction.”
- “If I eat too much, I have to punish myself.”
- “Thinness is a sign of discipline and success.”
- “People will judge me if they see me eat.”
- “If I eat in public, I look greedy.”
- “Skipping this meal will make me feel better.”
- “I should only eat ‘safe’ foods.”
- “If I eat now, I have to compensate later.”
- “I’ll be more likable if I lose weight.”
- “No one understands what I’m going through.”
- “I don’t deserve to take up space.”
- “If I eat this, people will think I’m lazy.”
- “People will only love me if I’m thin.”
- “I can’t ask for help—it’s embarrassing.”
- “Recovery means losing control.”
- “I can’t trust my body’s hunger signals.“
- “I should feel guilty for eating that.”
- “I’ll never be good enough, no matter what I eat or weigh.”
- “If I gain weight, people will look down on me.”
- “Recovery means I’m giving up my identity.”
Breaking Free From ED Thoughts
In order to break free from eating disorder thoughts, you will need to first acknowledge them as they come and learn to replace these thoughts with healthy thoughts.
You are as sick as your secrets. So keeping your eating disorder thoughts to yourself will only keep your eating disorder alive. The best thing you can do to break up with your ED thoughts is expose them.
Here are 10 steps for breaking free from your ED thoughts:
- Identify your eating disorder thoughts
- Write down each distinct thought as it comes. Make it clear and concise.
- Challenge thoughts with body positive mantras
- Journal about your ed thoughts
- Work with a qualified eating disorder team to help you challenge your thoughts
- Allow the thoughts to exist. Suppressing the thoughts will just make them bigger.
- Practice choosing the next best thought, write it down
- Challenge each ED thought with a healthy action
- Set up your space for success (cover mirrors, ditch the scale)
- Get rid of physical representations of your ED (such as ED clothes that don’t fit)
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