Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Understanding the Connection Between Trauma and Disordered Eating
Eating Disorders Awareness Week is an important time to reflect on the complexities of disordered eating and to challenge common misconceptions associated with eating disorders. Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions which are often misunderstood as being solely about food, weight, or appearance. However, for many people, they are deeply linked to trauma, emotional regulation, and trying to regain a sense of control.
Trauma and Eating Disorders: What’s the Link?
Many people who develop eating disorders have a history of trauma—whether that’s childhood neglect, (sexual) abuse, bullying, or other distressing experiences. Trauma overwhelms the nervous system, leaving a person feeling unsafe in their own body. In response, disordered eating can emerge as a way to cope. Restricting, bingeing, purging, or over-exercising may provide a temporary sense of control, relief, or emotional numbing.
Eating Disorders Are About More Than Food
It’s important to remember that eating disorders are not just about food itself, but about feelings. The way a person treats food may serve an emotional function—whether it’s to feel more in control, to self-soothe, or to dissociate from painful experiences. However, they might not always be consciously aware of the purpose this behaviour is serving.
Studies have shown that those with PTSD are at a higher risk of developing eating disorders. For some, an eating disorder serves as a way to disconnect from painful emotions. For others, it might be a way to punish themselves due to deeply ingrained shame.
How Trauma Shapes Body Image
Trauma can create a negative body image or a poor sense of self-worth. In some cases, individuals blame themselves—and their appearance—for what happened to them - this is especially common if someone has experienced sexual abuse. As a result, a person may use food to modify their body shape, as a form of self-protection, or to relieve their feelings of anger and self-loathing.
Both PTSD and eating disorders have high rates of dissociation—a feeling of being disconnected from oneself. Some people turn to disordered eating as a way to cope with painful experiences, using their eating habits as a means to numb traumatic memories and emotions.
Emotional Dysregulation, PTSD, and Eating Disorders
One of the key ways PTSD and eating disorders are linked is through emotional dysregulation—the difficulty in managing emotional reactions.
When someone struggles to regulate their emotions, they may turn to harmful coping mechanisms, including using drugs, alcohol or disordered eating. PTSD, in particular, can make a person feel completely out of control—over their emotions, their body, and the world around them. In response, controlling food intake (whether by restricting, bingeing, or purging) can provide a certain sense of control. If it also serves as a distraction or numbing mechanism, the behaviour is reinforced and can quickly spiral into an eating disorder.
For some, purging may act as a symbolic release—a way of ridding the body of unwanted emotions, memories, or intrusive thoughts. This reinforces the cycle of trauma and disordered eating, making recovery particularly challenging.
Healing from Trauma and Disordered Eating
Recognising the deeper emotional roots of an eating disorder is an important step toward healing. Since trauma and disordered eating are often intertwined, recovery may require exploring past experiences, learning safer ways to regulate emotions, and finding alternative coping strategies that promote self-compassion rather than self-punishment.
Conclusion
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, you don’t have to face it alone. Support is available, and seeking professional help can be a powerful step toward healing. With the right guidance, it’s possible to rebuild a healthier relationship with food, your body, and yourself.
If you're ready to take that first step, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
