Therapy for disordered eating and body image in Glasgow & online
Stop letting your shape and weight dictate how your day is going to go
How are food noise and the constant self-criticism of how you look getting in the way of enjoying your life?
Does this sound like you?
You let the number on the scale dictate if you’re going to have a good day
You scrutinise every bit of food that you eat, labelling it as “good” or “bad”
You check your body for signs of change - positive or negative - at every possible moment, like looking at your reflection in mirrors, store-fronts, even the side of a car
You avoid social gatherings that might have food, because you’re embarrassed to eat in front of others
You’ve “failed” every diet you’ve been on, eventually giving in to temptation and over-eating your favourite foods that you’ve been depriving yourself of
You often tell yourself “The diet starts Monday” and treat yourself to a Last Supper of all the foods that you won’t be able to eat ever again
People hear the term “eating disorder” and they often have a mental image of a teenage girl, struggling with anorexia or bulimia. This can make people think that they don’t have an eating disorder because they’re not young enough, thin enough, or don’t have the right behaviours like bingeing or purging.
Eating disorders affect people of all shapes, sizes, ages, genders and backgrounds. Problems with food and body image aren’t dependent on weight or engaging in certain behaviours.
You may struggle with…
Bulimia Nervosa
An eating disorder where people binge eat at least once a week for three months, and engage in compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain, and judge themselves based on their weight and shape. Bingeing is when someone eats a large amount of food in a short space of time, often feeling like they can’t stop, like they’re out of control. Compensation can be lots of different behaviours, like purging (vomiting or taking laxatives), over-exercising or skipping meals to compensate for the binge.
Anorexia Nervosa
An eating disorder where people try to keep their weight as low as possible, and have a fear of gaining weight. Not all people who struggle with anorexia nervosa are underweight; this eating disorder can affect people of all weights and shapes. People with anorexia often see their bodies as larger than they actually are.
Binge Eating Disorder
This is an eating disorder where people feel compelled to binge eat regularly. This involves eating a large amount of food in a short period of time, like they’re out of control. Sometimes bingeing is triggered by emotions like stress, anxiety or depression and doesn’t necessarily happen when the person is hungry. Sometimes binges are planned ahead of time, and involve “special” binge foods that the person doesn’t eat on their normal day-to-day meals. Some behaviours are common in Binge Eating Disorder; eating quickly, eating until you’re uncomfortably full, eating alone, or eating when you’re not hungry. Binges are usually followed by feelings of guilt, disgust or shame.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
An anxiety disorder that causes a person to spend a lot of time worrying about how they look. They often have a distorted view of how they look, and can be focused on weight, shape, overall attractiveness or a specific body part (skin, nose, hips). In extreme cases, it can prevent people from leaving their home. A person with this disorder can become so fixated on their body image that it gets in the way of their social life, work, or relationships.
Emotional Eating
Emotional eating or comfort eating refers to any eating (or undereating) that’s caused by a psychological or emotional trigger, rather than hunger. For example, a person who’s facing a stressful work project might soothe their difficult emotions with food rather than using more helpful coping mechanisms. Emotional eating can often result in feelings of powerlessness, guilt, shame or frustration.
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder
Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder are diagnosed when a specific set of criteria are met. Often, a person’s experiences don’t match these diagnoses, and they may be given a diagnosis of “Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder” (OSFED). OSFED isn’t just about the behaviours, but also the thoughts and feelings that come with them.
Ultimately, you don’t need an official diagnosis to get help for problems with food and eating. Having a label can make it easier to express what your experience is like, or sometimes having a label can feel limiting and like it doesn’t quite fit. Whether you have a diagnosis or not, a label that feels right to you or not, you deserve to free yourself from the restriction of disordered eating and body image.
And I can help you get there.
I’ll help you through this process, tailoring each step to your unique experiences, needs, and circumstances
My approach to therapy for eating, food and body image concerns comes from a deep understanding of the impacts they have on day to day life. It can affect so many other parts of your life outside of meals, and learning how to navigate something that you can’t reasonably avoid can be a long and difficult road. I’m here to walk alongside you, so that you don’t have to do it alone.
We’ll spend time helping you to understand where your relationship with food and your body started to change, and take your power back from food and the thoughts that stop you from being able to enjoy your life to the fullest.