Eating disorders are severe psychiatric illnesses which are often misunderstood. This leaflet will address some of the common misconceptions surrounding eating disorders.

Eating disorders are not about vanity

Eating disorders are a serious, diagnosable psychiatric illness and are not about being vain or just wanting to look a certain way. They are not a phase, lifestyle choice or someone being attention seeking. People often go to great lengths to hide their eating disorder from others.

Eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice

A lifestyle choice is about someone making changes to their lifestyle to increase wellness. Eating disorders can be detrimental to a person’s physical, mental, and emotional health and decreases wellness in all these areas.

If you don’t want to get better, there is still something we can do to help

One possible symptom of an eating disorder can be not having the motivation to recover or the commitment to do so. There are many things that can help with this and support you and your family to make positive steps to better your life in all areas. Recovery takes time, and motivation to change is something that fluctuates.

The idea of ‘just eat and you will be fine’ is false

Eating disorders are complex illnesses that are often not just about food. People often have other difficulties around eating such as anxiety, a need for control and managing difficult emotions that may arise. Regular eating is only the first step and later support may focus on other individual difficulties.

Everybody experiences an eating disorder differently so keep an open mind and be curious.