The Lie We Tell Ourselves

“The doctor told me everything is fine, therefore I must not have an Eating Disorder.” Ever say this to yourself or others? Well I have two responses for that: 

1. If you feel that you have to explain why you don’t have an Eating Disorder, it is likely that you are struggling with eating issues, and therefore could benefit from getting help and;
2. The doctor telling you that everything is fine is not 100% indicative that you do not have an Eating Disorder and are not struggling with eating issues.

Let me expand further on my 2nd point:

1. You may be at the beginning stages of an Eating Disorder: You may not be at the point where it has had significant impacts on your weight and health just yet. However, this does not mean that it will never get to that point. If you continue to have disordered eating, it will start to impact your physical health, eventually.
2. Eating Disorders aren’t just physical: Eating Disorders definitely cause physical problems, however it is a mental health issue. Doctors typically aren’t looking at your mental health in physicals. The very word “physical” is an indication that the doctors are checking your physical being, and not your mental being. The mental health issue begins prior to the onset of the Eating Disorder and continues to deteriorate through the continuation of the eating disordered behaviors. Unfortunately, there isn’t a blood test that detects mental health struggles at this time, which makes it unlikely to be uncovered at a doctor’s appointment.
3. Weight: As I have mentioned in previous posts, and will continue to assert in my future posts, weight is not a necessary factor in determining whether someone has an Eating Disorder or not. This isn’t to say that weight may not have changed drastically as a result of eating disordered behaviors and that it doesn’t indicate a problem, but it doesn’t have to be a factor to determine that a person, in fact, has an Eating Disorder. If you are within the parameters of a healthy “BMI,” the doctor usually will not express any concerns with your weight. And yes, I used quotations for “BMI” because, in my opinion, it is not a very accurate measurement of health and it causes many of my clients more harm than good. However, I digress. The takeaway here is to not think that your weight has to be outside of a healthy range for you to have an Eating Disorder or that your weight is a precursor to needing treatment.
4. “But, my blood tests show everything is good” : Getting a blood test where everything reads well is wonderful. However, it is not to say that something isn’t wrong within the body. Our bodies are amazing; they will do anything to stay healthy and to maintain itself. Despite harm that we do to our bodies every day, it continues to be a warrior and fights for our health and survival. Our blood does this by doing anything it can to maintain homeostasis, better known as balance in the state our blood should be in when our bodies are healthy and normal. How does our blood do this? It draws what it needs from other sources in our bodies when we aren’t fueling it properly with our nutrition. For example, our blood will draw down the calcium in our bones to keep the blood’s calcium at a steady level. Therefore, our blood tests come out normal. However, what we aren’t seeing in a typical physical is our bone density beginning to decrease which leads to bone brittleness, Osteopenia and early-onset Osteoporosis.
5. “But, I’m still getting my period” : Great, again while that is a good indication that everything is working well, it isn’t 100%. Some of my clients, despite detiorating health, have never lost their periods. I will discuss bone density and losing your period more in my post next week.

What I ask of you is to not rule out the need for treatment just because your doctor is not concerned and because your health stats are showing up good. If you can begin addressing the issue before it becomes more detrimental, why not? If you feel you are struggling with eating, treatment can help to alleviate the mental anguish. And addressing it can also help to avoid potential physical health consequences later on.

If you feel that a preoccupation with food or your body image is affecting the quality of your life, you could benefit from treatment. You do not need to suffer physical consequences before getting help. If it’s affecting your life, that is enough of a reason to get help so that you can work toward a healthier relationship with food and to your body.

I hope this post was helpful and that it helps to encourage you to move forward on your path toward your State of Balance!

Please let me know if you have any questions or have a request for a post by leaving a comment or messaging me privately!
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