The role of emotional abuse in eating disorders

There are many different types of abuse. Some, like physical abuse, can leave behind obvious signs, like marks or scars. However, abuse doesn’t have to involve bodily injury to seriously harm. Emotional abuse can be harder to detect but can be just as damaging to a person’s mind and body. It occurs when someone uses an imbalance of power to manipulate, isolate, or otherwise control another person. 

Emotional abuse is a form of trauma that can lead to mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, and self-harm. Research has found that it can also contribute to the onset of eating disorders. 

Learning more about the link between emotional abuse and eating disorders can help you better understand how these experiences can affect a person’s mental health and physical well-being. It can also help you detect the signs of emotional abuse and eating disorders in yourself and others so that more people can get access to the support they need. 

The connection between emotional abuse and eating disorders

Children who experience emotional abuse may be more likely to develop an eating disorder later in life. Researchers hypothesize that this might be due to the ways abuse impacts emotional skills. Emotional abuse can make it difficult to identify and express emotions and may lead to poor distress tolerance. In response, a person may engage in disordered eating as a way to manage uncomfortable feelings, like shame and self-loathing. 

Emotional abuse can also leave a person feeling powerless. A victim may experience a loss of control over many important aspects of their life, including their own body. So, sometimes, eating disorders can become a way for a person without autonomy to feel a sense of control over something, even if it’s in an unhealthy way. 

People who experience abuse often also experience low self-esteem. This might lead them to mistakenly believe that if they achieve a certain weight or body type, their abuser might treat them differently and accept them for who they are. So they may engage in disordered eating in an attempt to improve the dynamics of their relationship and how they’re treated.

How trauma from emotional abuse presents itself in an eating disorder 

As you reflect on the following information, keep in mind that not all people who experience emotional abuse will develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders stem from complex and individualized risk factors, not just experiencing emotional abuse. However, the following examples are designed to illustrate some of the ways that trauma and emotional abuse can impact eating patterns. 

Some behaviors in people with eating disorders who have experienced emotional abuse could include:

• Restricting food: Eating disorders like anorexia are characterized by a person severely restricting their caloric intake. This can be a means of managing the emotional pain and suffering that abuse can cause.
• Binge eating: Binging involves consuming larger amounts of food than intended in short periods of time. It’s sometimes followed by purging via laxatives, self-induced vomiting, or overexercising. This behavior can be a way to numb the emotional pain brought on by abuse. 
• Perfectionism: Survivors of abuse may be more likely to be perfectionistic. This could be due to a desire to maintain rigid control over some aspect of their lives, like their eating habits or body size. 
• Self-harm: There’s considerable overlap between people with eating disorders and those who engage in self-harm (like cutting). Both of these behaviors can stem from emotional trauma and abuse. 
• Isolation: Emotional abuse and eating disorders can both lead a person to withdraw from people, places, and activities they used to enjoy.
• Eating in secret: Survivors of emotional abuse often carry a deep sense of shame that can negatively affect their self-image and the way they feel about their bodies. Feeling embarrassed or ashamed of themselves can lead to secretive eating. 

Overcoming emotional abuse and disordered eating

If you need help for emotional abuse and disordered eating, know that effective treatment is available. A therapist with a trauma-informed, integrated approach to care can help ensure that you receive comprehensive support that reflects each of the challenges you’re facing. 

As you might imagine, addressing an eating disorder without addressing the trauma of emotional abuse (and vice versa) wouldn’t provide the best outcome. Instead, your provider can incorporate treatments that have been shown to positively impact both concerns. For example, this could include:

• Cognitive processing therapy: A form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), it’s used to help people challenge and change the beliefs they hold about past traumas.
• Exposure therapy: This type of therapy is designed to elicit behavior change by reducing the distress brought on by triggers and improving coping skills.
• Acceptance commitment therapy (ACT): ACT leverages elements of mindfulness to promote positive behavioral change and encourage people to use their personal values as a guide for growth.
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT): This form of CBT is specifically designed to support youth and their families who have experienced trauma, including emotional abuse.

Of course, these are just a few of the many different types of therapy that can support you or a loved one in healing from emotional abuse and disordered eating. You and your therapist can work together to decide on the best options for your needs and co-create a treatment plan that’s right for you.

Find care with Rula

On the surface, eating disorders seem to revolve around food and weight. But these complex conditions can occur for many reasons besides a desire for thinness or a certain body type. Often, eating disorders arise, in part, due to trauma in the form of emotional abuse. And for treatment to be effective, both experiences must be addressed simultaneously. 

Fortunately, with Rula, the comprehensive mental healthcare you deserve is just a few clicks away. No matter the mental health challenges you’re facing, our therapist-matching program makes it easy to find a provider who takes your insurance and offers the integrated care you deserve. In just a few minutes, you can select a therapist and schedule your first appointment for as soon as tomorrow.

Find a therapist with Rula