Trauma, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders: Understanding and Healing
Trauma and anxiety are often interconnected with eating disorders. In fact, of the estimated 70 million folks across the globe who live with an eating disorder, anywhere from 55 to 95 percent have a co-occurring mental illness, with anxiety and post-traumatic stress being two of the most common.
This high prevalence of anxiety and trauma can lead to more severe eating disorder symptoms and poorer treatment outcomes—but healing is still within reach. Let’s explore this connection and how to start your healing journey.
The Relationship Between Trauma and Eating Disorders
At their core, eating disorder behaviors are coping mechanisms that stem from overwhelming emotions or circumstances. They often emerge in response to low self-esteem, perfectionism, relational conflicts, and lack of impulse control, all of which can signal unresolved trauma. In fact, in this research, 43.8 percent of individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder reported at least one traumatic incident.
Additionally, those who were raised in unstable environments of abuse, neglect, or dysfunction often exhibit eating disorders early in life. Whether they restrict food intake or binge and purge their meals, these behaviors can be a way to seek control over their bodies in otherwise chaotic and powerless situations.
While more than 62 percent of eating disorder sufferers will experience trauma before they turn 18, the majority of those who have dealt with multiple traumas are from marginalized communities. Discrimination itself can be traumatic, whether it’s due to race, gender, sexual orientation, size, weight, or physical abilities.
The chronic stress from having to confront—or conform to—societal narratives of how a person should look can fuel body image insecurities or dissatisfaction, which could further amplify eating disorder behaviors, the research continues.
The Relationship Between Anxiety and Eating Disorders
Anxiety is the most common mental illness on a global scale, according to the World Health Organization. This debilitating mental illness can cause panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, emotional distress, lack of concentration, sleep disturbances, and even physical tension or sickness. It can also increase the overall risk of an eating disorder.
Of women with clinical anxiety, 13 percent also meet the criteria for a lifetime eating disorder. What’s more, nearly 40 percent have experimented with at least one related behavior such as caloric restriction, emotional eating, or compulsive exercise. On the other hand, only three percent without anxiety meet this eating disorder criteria.
The correlation between anxiety and bulimia nervosa is particularly high—more than 80 percent of adults with bulimia also suffer from anxiety. In fact, chronic anxiety and eating disorders have a reciprocal dynamic.
The thing is: harmful eating patterns can cause erratic mood shifts, while negative ruminations or emotional dysregulation can influence eating habits to cope with those mood shifts. This creates a vicious pattern in which both illnesses continually feed into each other.
Diet Culture’s Impact on Trauma, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders
Diet culture is a social norm that views thin bodies as superior to larger bodies. This leads to inaccurate and harmful messages—for instance, that a person’s weight reflects their moral goodness.
Although external appearance is not a barometer for health, that assumption often causes weight stigma toward folks with larger bodies, which can pressure them into disordered eating behaviors and patterns. Physically, it can also elevate cortisol, which increases the risk of chronic anxiety.
What’s more, compensatory weight-control behaviors tend to be more prevalent in those with post-traumatic stress. Even if someone isn’t conscious of their motivation to either restrict or overeat, the beliefs that traumatic experiences have internalized in them can cause mistrust of their own physical needs.
All of this creates fertile soil for body dissatisfaction and diet culture to take root.
Healing in the Midst of Anxiety and Trauma
The connection between trauma, anxiety, and eating disorders can feel pretty bleak—and it is. If you’re struggling with all three, it can feel impossible to get out from under. What we want you to know first and foremost is that—yes, this is hard, but no, it’s not impossible.
This healing journey can look different for everyone. Here are a few steps that can help you move forward in your healing journey, no matter what yours looks like.
Curate your social media feed to abstain from weight loss content.
The messages you consume on social media can impact how you feel about your own appearance. A recent study in the Eating Behaviors Journal found that what you view on these platforms will affect your mental health more than how much time you spend on them.
You don’t have to delete social media entirely—just unfollow accounts that endorse weight loss or diet culture. Then, curate your feed with content that encourages body acceptance, self-care, and holistic wellness. This will soothe anxiety and nurture recovery.
Lean into self-compassion.
Healing requires intentionally reframing self-criticism and transforming it into self-compassion. As research shows, those who extend themselves compassion feel less shame, which cultivates a healthier body image.
If this sounds like a foreign concept to you, begin with incremental shifts like simple compassionate affirmations that you repeat to yourself when you wake up or right before bed. Slowly it will begin to feel natural.
Introduce more nurturing activities into your routine.
Find coping mechanisms that alleviate stress and anxiety, regulate emotions, and promote self-care. For example, head outside, if even only for a few minutes for a walk or just to stand and breathe in the fresh air.
One research review found that 10 to 20 minutes of daily nature exposure calms the nervous system to enhance feelings of balance and refreshment.
Consider trauma-informed support.
Licensed mental health professionals who understand the complex role of both trauma and anxiety in eating disorder behaviors are best suited to support your healing journey.
Trauma-informed therapy makes it easier to identify the root causes of your surface-level compulsions. This work can help you resolve traumatic experiences safely and cultivate healthier strategies to process and stabilize your emotions moving forward.
If you want professional help but aren’t sure where to start or whether you can afford it, here are a few resources:
Find ED Help: This directory, created by the National Alliance for Eating Disorders is a great place to begin your search for a mental health professional who specializes in supporting folks with eating disorders.
Project HEAL Treatment Placement Program: Apply for this program if:
You have received a diagnosis and can’t get into eating disorder treatment because of barriers like financial limitations, size-based discrimination, insurance limitations, etc.
You know you need treatment and might know the level of care, but you need help paying for it.
You need a higher level of care but are concerned about facing discrimination; instead, you might want to build a substantive outpatient team.
Free Eating Disorder Support Groups: There are many free online support groups. This can be a good way to start learning more about what you’re experiencing, be around people who understand your struggle and start healing.
Don’t Let Your Trauma or Anxiety Stop You From Healing
Healing is not about erasing the past or pretending your anxiety doesn’t exist—it’s about learning to move forward with compassion for yourself. Your trauma or anxiety may feel like a roadblock to eating disorder healing, but it doesn’t have to define your journey.
Small steps, consistent self-care, and the willingness to seek support can make all the difference. You are worthy of healing, even on the days it feels impossible.
Trust that growth is happening, even in the moments when you can’t see it.
Keep showing up for yourself—because you deserve to live a life that isn’t dictated by fear, but guided by resilience and hope.
