Eating Disorder 101
Explore the basics of eating disorders—from common types to treatments, prevention, and recovery—and see how a Care Manager can help you navigate next steps.
What is an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are complex health conditions that emerge from a mix of biological, psychological, and social factors. While they often show up through changes in eating patterns and concerns about body image, they are about much more than food, shape, or weight. For many people, eating disorder behaviors develop as a way to manage painful emotions, reduce anxiety, cope with stress, or feel a sense of control.
Over time, eating disorders can harm self-esteem and body image and lead to serious mental and physical health complications, including chronic illness, disability, and reduced quality of life. Eating disorders are among the deadliest mental health conditions, second only to opioid use disorder. But with early recognition, compassionate support, and appropriate treatment, recovery is possible.
Common Eating Disorders
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Anorexia Nervosa
A condition marked by restrictive eating, intense fear of weight gain, and a distorted sense of body shape or size.
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Bulimia Nervosa
A serious eating disorder involving episodes of binge eating, purging, restricting, or over-exercising to “make up” for the binge.
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Binge Eating Disorder
Binge Eating Disorder includes binge eating episodes marked by loss of control and emotional distress, without purging.
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Orthorexia
Orthorexia involves an unhealthy fixation on “clean” or “healthy” eating that begins to harm physical or emotional well-being.
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Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
ARFID involves extreme food avoidance or restriction driven by sensory sensitivity, low appetite, or fear of choking or vomiting.
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Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED)
OSFED includes serious eating disorder symptoms that don’t fit one specific diagnosis but still cause significant harm and distress.
Treatment Types
In-Patient Treatment
Determined by one's physician, in-patient treatment is used when an individual requires medical or psychiatric intervention resulting in a hospital stay.
Outpatient Treatment
Used when individuals do not require 24/7 care or partial hospitalization care but do require mental health and/or psychological interventions, such as individual, family or group counseling. Visit The Healing Connection’s website to learn more.
Intensive Outpatient
Often used as a step down from Partial Hospitalization or step up from Outpatient. This level of care usually operates a few days per week and includes individual, group, and family therapies, as well as nutritional counseling and meal-time assistance. Visit The Healing Connection’s website to learn more.
Partial-Hospitalization
These programs offer a full range of specialized treatments. Programming includes individual, group, and family therapies, as well as nutritional counseling, meal time assistance, psychopharmacological evaluation and medication management. Visit The Healing Connection’s website to learn more.
Residential Treatment
Provides a full range of specialized treatments including individual, group and family therapies, as well as nutritional counseling, meal time assistance, psychopharmacological evaluation and medication management.
Additional Support
Many resources such as support groups and peer mentoring can be used in conjunction with medical and psychological treatment for those with eating disorders.
Connect for free with our Care Manager to learn more.
Note: The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)'s website has a chart of guidelines for appropriate level of care based on medical status, motivation to recover, co-occurring disorders, etc.)