Eating Disorders and Trauma

If you’re struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating ~ whether that looks like bingeing, restricting, purging, or obsessing over food and your body ~ you may be wondering why it feels so hard to change.

You may have tried diets, exercise routines, meal plans, or even therapy, and still feel stuck in the same patterns.

What many people don’t realize is that eating disorders are often rooted in deep emotional pain, not just outward problems with food or self-control.

For many of our clients, the struggle with food began as a creative coping strategy ~ a way to manage overwhelming feelings, protect themselves and their bodies, and/or feel a sense of control in an unpredictable or painful world. A way to manage their physical and psychological response to trauma.

Trauma isn’t always one big life-threatening event, like a car accident or assault. It can be a buildup of less threatening, but still very painful, experiences over time:

• Growing up in a home where you didn’t feel emotionally safe or supported
• Being criticized, neglected, or made to feel “too much” or “not enough”
• Surviving abuse, abandonment, or chronic stress
• Being in relationships where you had to silence your needs or take care of everyone else

When these experiences aren’t fully processed, your nervous system can stay in a state of high alert. Eating disorder behaviors ~ like restricting, bingeing, or obsessing over your body ~ can become a way to manage all of that internal chaos and overwhelm. It’s not about vanity or weakness. It’s about survival.

At A New Beginning, we help you gently explore ~ and resolve ~ what’s underneath the eating disorder with compassion and curiosity, not judgment or shame.

We understand that food is just one piece of the puzzle, and that FULL Recovery rests on getting to the “deeper roots” of what created your psyche’s need for an eating disorder in the first place.

Our highly-regarded, trauma-informed therapists are trained to help you:

• Connect-the-dots between what you do with food and what you do with feelings
• Restore a sense of safety and calmness in your body
• Understand and heal the emotional wounds driving your behaviors
• Learn new ways to cope with your feelings that are self-loving and sustainable
• Reconnect with your authentic Self

There is a reason for the way you feel. There is a way through all of this. And we’re here to walk this journey to Full Recovery with you!

To learn more, please contact our friendly Client Care Coordinator, Lauren, at (480) 941-4247 or contact@anewbeginning.com.