The stereotypes for eating disorders indicate that people with disordered eating habits are malnourished and skinny, however, the full spectrum of eating disorders goes far beyond these preconceived notions. In fact, your friend or family member may be struggling with an eating disorder and you may have no idea.
People Can Look Healthy
It is common for people to think that eating disorders only affect those who are underweight, but eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. Just because someone looks healthy, doesn’t mean they are eating right or taking care of their bodies.
Families Are Not to Blame
Eating disorders are not caused by dysfunctional families or their eating habits. In fact, eating disorders have more to do with the individual’s mental health and their insecurities than the pressures of those around them.
If you’ve recently learned that a loved one has an eating disorder, do not blame yourself. At this time, your loved one needs nonjudgmental support and nothing but love.
An Eating Disorder is a Health Crisis
To some, an eating disorder may seem like a minor roadblock, one that’s easy to get over, but because these disorders affect a person’s psychological well-being, it isn’t that simple. Eating disorders often co-occur with other mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.
Eating Disorders Are Not a Choice
Eating disorders are not a choice. They are serious mental illnesses that can have life-threatening consequences. Disordered eating may start as a choice to lose weight or fit into new clothes, however, once the habits take over, it can become a subconscious issue.
Eating Disorders Can Affect Anyone
Eating disorders do not discriminate. They can affect people of all genders, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. There’s truth to the notion that young women are the highest-risk group for developing eating disorders, but that doesn’t mean that men — or any other demographic group — are immune.
There is an Increased Risk for Suicide
There’s no shortage of the health risks that eating disorders can carry. The Academy of Eating Disorders released notes that the mortality rate for eating disorders is second only to opioid use disorder when it comes to psychiatric illnesses.
Using data from a sample of more than 36,000 respondents, researchers looked at the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts in adults with an eating disorder history. They found that the prevalence of suicide attempts was 24.9% among those with a history of anorexia, 31.4% of those with a history of bulimia, and 22.9% of those with a history of binge eating disorder.
Full Recovery is Possible
Anyone who’s tried to change their eating habits knows that it isn’t as simple as just flipping a switch. The same goes for people with eating disorders who are trying to revert to healthier eating habits.
Recovery from an eating disorder is a long and difficult journey, but it is possible. With the help of a treatment team that specializes in eating disorders, along with the support of family and friends, anyone can make a full recovery.
Eating disorders are serious mental health illnesses that come in all shapes and sizes. If you or someone you know is struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out for help.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Avalon Hills tailor residential eating disorder treatment programs specifically for adolescent females?
Adolescents are treated in their own residential home in rural Utah, separate from our adult program, so that clinical work, peer group and daily structure all fit where a teenager actually is developmentally. Each client is assigned a primary therapist and an individualized plan built from our intake assessment, alongside medical monitoring, dietary support and experiential therapies such as equine work and outdoor recreation. Families are part of treatment rather than observers of it, with weekly family sessions built into the schedule. An on-site education coordinator works with the client’s school so that academic progress continues during her stay.
What approaches does Avalon Hills use to support adult women in recovering from eating disorders at any age?
Our adult residential home offers the same depth of care in a setting built for adults, many of whom arrive after years of managing an eating disorder around careers, parenting and caregiving. Treatment combines individual and group psychotherapy, medical monitoring, nutritional rehabilitation and experiential therapies, guided by our “treat to outcome” philosophy — an individualized plan rather than a fixed program length. Because shame and the belief that treatment is only for younger people keep many adults from seeking care, we work to make asking for help at any age feel possible. As discharge approaches, graduated home passes and relapse-prevention planning help translate progress in the home into life outside it.
In what ways does Avalon Hills address the mental health aspects and insecurities underlying eating disorders in their treatment plans?
An eating disorder is a serious mental illness, and interrupting the behaviors alone rarely produces lasting recovery — which is why our work centers on what is driving and maintaining the disorder. Treatment begins with one of the most in-depth psychotherapeutic assessments available in the field, including clinical interviews, personality and cognitive testing, and a medical and nutritional review. From there, each client works with a primary therapist on the psychological, biological and interpersonal factors underneath the eating disorder, including co-occurring anxiety, depression and trauma. Treatment moves through stages — building awareness, exploring readiness for change, practicing new patterns, and preparing for transition — rather than through a checklist.
How does Avalon Hills incorporate understanding of social media’s impact on eating disorders into their recovery programs?
We recognize that constant exposure to filtered, idealized images is linked to body dissatisfaction and can reinforce disordered eating in vulnerable people. During residential treatment, cell phone use and internet access are limited, which protects clients from pro-eating-disorder content and the comparison cycle at the point when they are most susceptible to it. That space is then used for the harder work: understanding where body-image beliefs came from and rebuilding a sense of self that is not organized around food or appearance. Experiential therapies — equine work, yoga, time outdoors, creative activities — help clients rediscover what they enjoy and who they are apart from their body.
What distinguishes Avalon Hills’ residential treatment center for adults from other eating disorder facilities?
Avalon Hills is a privately owned residential program, not part of a national franchise, and our adult home is intentionally small so that care stays personal rather than institutional. We treat to outcome: our focus is the psychological work underneath the eating disorder, supported by one of the most in-depth assessments in the field and by applied neuroscience, including quantitative EEG brain mapping used to inform each client’s plan. Our staff receive ongoing, intensive continuing education, and we advocate with insurance companies on our clients’ behalf rather than discharging when coverage runs out. The setting matters too — a home in rural Utah, with a Joint Commission accredited program behind it.
