When Fear Foods Feel Justified, I Talk About This

Something that often comes up for clients when they’re challenging their eating disorder and trying to incorporate foods that have felt off limits for them, is all of the content they’ve seen out there about how xx food is poison. This is so hard, because it makes it feel justified to avoid these foods or ingredients at all costs, which keeps the eating disorder entrenched in food choices. In these conversations, I agree with clients that an apple has more nutrients and less additives than the fear food in question, but I like to share with them this….

Of all the studies we read and learned about when I was in university for my dietetics degree, this one stood out to me the most and made the greatest impression on me. It just really hit home, validating my own beliefs about how complex we humans are, and how this translates to the physical realm as well. Health is about so much more than what we put or don’t put into our bodies. We are so much more than this.

I don’t remember the actual title of the study, and with a google search there are actually many on this topic that confirm the same thing. And this is that, for humans, the experience of loneliness, of truly feeling that ache of being more isolated than we want to be (I clarify this since I am an introvert who loves quality alone time), is more unhealthy for our bodies than smoking 15 cigarettes per day. And I love this study because it is so helpful in discussions with clients, who are scared to add a new food and worry that they’re actually harming themselves, practicing the opposite of the self care they’ve been trying to improve during their recovery journeys.

And so I share with them about this study. About how there is so much more that affects our health than the food we eat, even the chemicals we take in. That our mental and emotional experiences matter too, and so prioritizing the cleanness of our diets while ignoring how these choices impact our social, emotional, and spiritual wellness, is the eating disorder grasping at reasons to be able to stay feeling safe and unchallenged, and is also a far too limited view of what our bodies truly need to feel balanced and at their optimal level of health.

So the next time that guilt or fear kicks in when you think about challenging your eating disorder with xx food, remember that by fighting back against a disorder that leads to isolation and so much mental, emotional and spiritual distress, you are doing the healthiest thing possible for your body. And that your body craves so much more than clean ingredients and a lack of additives in its diet to feel healthy and whole. And that fighting for a life that will some day include freedom with food, which will also mean freedom within yourself and your thoughts, and more joy and harmony and presence in your connections with others, is the healthiest thing you could possibly do.

In hope and strength,