Eating Disorder Test | Do I Have a Problem?

One of the most common signs of an eating disorder is a feeling of anxiety or distress around eating, weight, or appearance, especially related to eating foods a person perceives to be high in calories or fat content. While it’s normal to want to eat healthy, it isn’t healthy to feel high levels of anxiety at the idea of at least occasionally eating something that isn’t part of your regular diet.¹ If you find yourself preoccupied with the idea of confronting “bad” foods or unable to stop thinking about something you ate that was “bad” or “unhealthy,” it may point to a problem.

A common sign of many eating disorders is skipping meals or consuming notably small portions of food when eating.

While it’s true that different people have different levels of appetite, it may point to a problem if you intentionally skip out on food despite feeling hungry or use other measures, like chewing gum or drinking water, to avoid eating.

You might “allow” yourself to eat a larger portion if you promise yourself to “work it off” later. This kind of compromise is called compensatory behavior, with examples including vigorous exercise, periods of fasting after eating large meals or using laxatives or diuretics to help move the extra food out of your system.

In more severe cases, someone may turn to self-induced vomiting after eating. However, unhealthy compensatory behavior can be much more mild or subtle.

That doesn’t mean it’s less dangerous to over-exercise or use laxatives after a large meal. The thinking behind these compensatory behaviors is equally concerning as the actions themselves, especially when this type of pattern happens regularly.

One of the most universal signs of a developing eating disorder is a fixation on the ideas of body shape, size, and weight.

Most of the time, these thoughts will be directed at your own body, but they can also involve other people. Many people with eating disorders unfairly compare their bodies to others or find certain people’s bodies they consider to be “perfect.”

Yet, despite spending so much time looking in the mirror or thinking about the subject, people with eating disorders of nearly all types frequently have a distorted view of their body, and the reality of what they look like is replaced, in their mind, by their own misguided perception.²

Individuals with eating disorders often perceive themselves as much larger than they actually are and may view people who look quite similar to them as much smaller. People with eating disorders often view themselves as overweight, even if they are medically underweight.

Low self-esteem is so common to eating disorders that some researchers have suggested it’s a necessary prerequisite to developing one of these conditions.

It is not uncommon for people struggling with eating disorders to feel disgusted and/or uncomfortable with their bodies. They may hide their form under oversized clothes or avoid places like the gym or the beach, where people tend to show off their bodies.

Frequently, people with these conditions connect their sense of self-worth to their body shape, weight, and size, and this usually functions to further lower their self-esteem, as people with eating

Disordered eating can cause a variety of health problems. A person may have stomach aches, feel nauseous, feel weak, or experience a variety of other symptoms. A fuller list of common signs and symptoms is below, and if you identify with some of these, it could point to a possible issue.

Eating disorders can and have led to fatal consequences when left unaddressed.⁴ In severe cases, disordered eating patterns can lead to a serious electrolyte imbalance, which can cause life-threatening heart complications.³ Malnutrition and other complications that can result from disordered eating can also interfere with many of the body’s key systems.