FEELINGS MEALTIMES CAN CREATE
Guilt and shame:
The feelings of shame and guilt can vary between the food that’s been consumed. Foods that eating disorders label as “good” and “bad” could play a part in the intensity of the emotion that follows. The feelings of worry, stress and shame produced should be dealt with, but distraction from these feelings can be the most proactive way to navigate the post mealtime. Thus, taking obsessive focus away from the bodily sensations created by the eating disorder and prevent unhealthy behaviours being practised to ease the feelings of discomfort and lack of control. These feelings of guilt often make it harder to break the restriction behaviours and cycles.
Factors maintaining anorexia:
Restricting nutritional intake for those with anorexia is maintained partially through reinforcement and practiced behaviours which have become ingrained. These reinforced messages and beliefs encourage behaviours by adding enjoyable stimuli or taking away adverse stimuli. The restriction patterns in anorexia are primarily encouraged through the reinforcements related to emotions. The overriding feelings of guilt during and after meals, often reinforce the symptoms of anorexia as its commonly seen as the automatic way to avoiding or numbing the feelings of guilt which are created by the illness. Fear is also an important emotion to recognise as a barrier to challenging anorexia. One of the most overwhelming feelings anorexia sufferers often experience during mealtimes is fear and anxiety. Studies which have been carried out to analyse the behaviours displayed by anorexia patients found that those struggling have a higher level of fear and anxiety around food compared to control groups, as would be expected given the nature of the illness. These feelings result in those struggling to avoid food and riding the wave of emotions that arise because of anorexia.
Fear:
The more fear a meal creates, the less nutritional intake achieved by the end of the mealtime. Its positively correlated with later restriction which gives anorexia power and causes the anorexia sufferer to dwindle and become weaker and unable to fight anorexic cognitions. Avoidance of the stimuli that possesses fear and uncertainty causes the fear to increase. Fear of food and avoidance of food creates a cycle in which avoiding food becomes the only way of coping. Avoiding the feelings of fear can become a deep routed issue and a maintenance factor for anorexia sufferers.
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Guilt:
Guilt is the most common feeling experienced once an individual challenges anorexia’s food rules and engrained beliefs and behaviours. Studies have found that anorexia suffers feel more guilty surrounding their eating behaviours than a control group. The increase of guilt experienced can cause anorexia to encourage further restriction and thus creating food being perceived in a more negative way. The guilt experienced around eating a meal can reflect the individual’s level of restriction and other anorexic symptoms. Guilt can become the root of anorexia symptoms.
Consequences of eating disorder guilt:
The guilt works on your brain in such a manner that you begin to trust the voice of your guilt more than your bodies needs and requirements. Guilt acts as a trap in eating disorders and this encourages the reliance on safe foods and prevents change or challenging the eating disorder. It’s important to understand that the guilt is the eating disorder speaking and not the individual. After all, the guilt accompanying anorexia and eating is unpleasant and isn’t a normal function in everyday life or healthy brain function.
Combatting the feelings:
Reducing the emotional reinforcements associated with anorexia symptoms is an important aspect of the treatment of anorexia. Exposure therapy can be a term to describe the therapeutic approach applied to anorexia’s food rules. Over time the stimuli fear should decrease and the fear and guilt surrounding food and eating should lower. Although exposure therapy doesn’t explain the cause of the feelings, therefore other forms of therapies can be useful to address the emotions individuals with anorexia feel relating to eating and food. Addressing these emotions in treatment is vital because the negative emotions that remain after physical restoration and nutritional intake, could trigger relapses. Therefore, understanding the emotions that influence anorexia symptoms are important in implementing effective treatment.
Help and support for eating disorder guilt:
No matter how hard you battle anorexia and the guilt, the nasty thoughts that surround eating and mealtimes can seem never-ending and an uphill battle. Even if you understand that the feelings to restrict isn’t what’s best and the most productive answer to cope with your emotions, allowing yourself to ignore anorexia seems like a betrayal to the illness. When its refusal to listen to the lie’s anorexia speaks and its slowly relearning how to listen to your needs and not confuse them with anorexia’s needs. There are many support systems and techniques accessible to every individual to help combat anorexia and the work completed alongside a therapist can help heal the body and the mind and reframe your thoughts.