Since you are here I’m guessing that you have trouble with you eating behaviour, your body image, your self esteem, with some or all of the above. Let’s start by differentiating an eating disorder with a disordered way of eating. An eating disorder is a mental health disorder with specific criteria, that have to be met. However, it is more common to be a person struggling with food and body image, not meeting the criteria for an eating disorder, which is actually leaving you more confused, as you see in your every day life how affected you are when you have to deal with food. In this second category we can also include emotional eating, or overeating for reasons that are not related to hunger.
No matter if you belong in the first or the second category our goal when working together will be the same, to improve your relationship with food. Once we start eliminating this preoccupation, more space is created, which we can now start filling with things you enjoy and promote the best version of yourself.
How are we going to do that?
As you might already know, I have been working with people with eating related problems for a few years now. This has helped me identify specific patterns. Many people with difficulties like yours have trouble listening to their bodies. This could be a problem when we eat, as we need the ques to tell us when we are hungry and when we are full and need to stop eating. So together, we will assess your ability to identify those ques, understand what you need to eat and why.
In addition to that, we will try to work on the underlying issues that might be leading you to dysfunctional coping mechanisms, such as bingeing or restricting. Let’s see some common themes that I have encountered.
- Black and white way of thinking, which is surely more simple and safe, but a colourful life is so much more interesting
- Perfectionism, often hidden behind procrastination
- Low self-esteem. Here many people seem confident to others but inside they feel like a fraud or not good enough
- Excessive need to satisfy other people or prioritising other people’s needs over your own
- Need for constant control or fear of losing control
- Excessive smoking or drinking, possibly in the past before overeating started
Of course, not everyone deals with all those issues, sometimes you might even not have any of these.
Are you able to point out what might be leading you to your behaviour?
As we identify the causes together, we will try to figure out more helpful ways of dealing with things. We will base our tactic on your strengths, your goals and ambitions, to create the life that you want and finally feel free of those food related thoughts.
