Figuring out how to tell someone you have an eating disorder can seem impossible. It takes a great deal of courage to not only recognize the symptoms in yourself but also find someone you trust and reach out to them with that information.
Consider this:
Carol has a significant eating disorder. She struggles with binge eating disorder, but she doesn’t know how to tell people. So what she does instead is invite her friend Tiffany over for a game night. At the game night, in front of Tiffany, she eats an entire cake along with handfuls of other snacks meant for the two of them and then excuses herself to the bathroom, where she leaves the door open to purge.
She does this in hopes that Tiffany will notice the aberrant behavior and offer help without Carol having to ask for it.
Let’s consider another example:
Connie struggles with anorexia. She believes that she is incredibly overweight and that no one will ever love her. When Connie looks in a mirror, she sees someone vastly different from what is actually in front of her, and this type of dysmorphia means that she doesn’t believe her friends when they tell her that she is thin.
Nonetheless, Connie hates how she feels; she knows that she has a problem, but her lack of eating has caused several health issues, including depression, issues with sleep, and poor energy. She doesn’t know how to tell anyone, and things get bad enough that it takes a professor at her university to pull her aside privately and refer her to counseling before she is hospitalized for treatment.
In the best-case scenario, after you have gotten up the courage to figure out how to tell someone you have an eating disorder, they will be able to help you, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, when you confide in someone, they want to support you, but they don’t know how.
This is not the end of the world. In fact, it gives an opportunity for you and the person in whom you confided to search for solutions and treatment plans together. Sometimes all you need is an opportunity to say it out loud and let someone else hear you, or to have support in asking the same questions you are asking yourself.
How to Tell Someone You Have an Eating Disorder
Start by figuring out who it is you want to talk to. Consider whether there is a teacher, family member, friend or even a doctor that you trust. There might be someone that you’ve already spoken to about mental health subjects or who has personal experiences with eating disorders.
From there, figure out how you want to start the conversation by writing down the things you want to discuss. This might include:
- How long you’ve struggled with an eating disorder
- How your thoughts or emotions are impacting what you eat or how you eat
- How the person with whom you are speaking can offer you support
As mentioned, getting up the courage to tell someone that you have an eating disorder doesn’t necessarily mean they will respond the way you want. If they have a poor reaction, it is likely grounded in love. It is most likely that they are shocked, confused, or afraid of saying the wrong thing, but knowing that just because one person didn’t give you the reaction you want doesn’t mean that you can’t turn to someone else.
Personalized Eating Disorder Treatment at Casa Serena
Casa Serena offers several programs, including a women’s eating disorder program, which involves different types of educational resources on nutrition and wellness, as well as therapies designed specifically for different types of eating disorders. Our unique eating disorder programs are typically between 10 and 12 weeks long, during which time you’ll come to our facility where certified nutritionists are always on staff, and you can participate in programs like body positivity, intuitive eating groups, Health at Every Size therapy, and more.
At our facility, we are open to women in need and offer services run entirely by women. We offer residential treatment as well as outpatient programs and sober living opportunities. While you are getting treatment, we can help you with co-occurring mental health issues, career counseling, and family therapy.
Figuring out how to tell someone you have an eating disorder can be challenging, and it takes a great deal of strength, but doing so is a crucial step toward admitting to yourself that it’s time to get help. When you are ready for help, you can find personalized women’s eating disorder programs that are run exclusively by women and offer the kind of social support women need when struggling with an eating disorder.
Contact Casa Serena today to learn more about our unique programs for eating disorder treatment.