When you’re a trauma survivor, the effects can manifest in many ways, and one common experience includes disordered eating. Because the trauma you’ve experienced is out of your control, food can become a coping mechanism as well as a way to find control in your life. 

If there is one thing that I want you to know, it’s that it is possible to break free from disordered eating and find the care you need to work through your trauma. As a trauma therapist in Denver, CO working toward my Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) certification, I can help you understand the intersection of trauma and disordered eating to create a healthier relationship with yourself and with food. 

Let’s dive in today.

How Trauma and Disordered Eating are Linked

Trauma and disordered eating are linked in complex ways, and it isn’t easy to determine why someone with trauma might develop disordered eating while someone else may not. 

We do know that trauma like childhood abuse or neglect, sexual or physical assault, bullying, and other types cause psychological, emotional, and physiological effects. Disordered eating is just one way that many people who deal with these types of traumas try to manage their emotions or regain a sense of control. 

Disordered eating can also manifest differently from person to person. It might look like restrictive eating, obsessive calorie-counting, on-and-off dieting, or binging and purging. However it looks, disordered eating is when your relationship with food adversely affects your emotional and/or physical health. 

Understanding the Connection Between Trauma and Disordered Eating

When someone faces trauma, it alters both their brain and their body. Essentially, your body develops physical responses to adapt to ongoing stress, such as muscle tension, insomnia, and fatigue, and your brain does the same by rewiring itself. 

These changes happen when we don’t even realize it, but they can lead to effects in our day-to-day lives, thinking patterns, and sense of self. Disordered eating usually develops from any of the following factors that stem from trauma: 

• Coping: Because trauma causes overwhelming emotions and stress, disordered eating can be a coping mechanism to distract from the emotional effects.  

• Control and agency: Since trauma is out of our control, altering our eating habits can provide a temporary sense of agency. 

• Emotional regulation: The changes brought on by trauma can make it hard to regulate emotions, and disordered eating can become a way to self-regulate whenever feelings like anxiety, overwhelm, anger, and sadness occur. 

• Shame and guilt: Trauma can often make us feel shame and guilt over what we’ve experienced, and altering how we eat can be a method of self-punishment 

The Role of therapy in Healing from Trauma

Trauma-informed therapy can help you address and work through the underlying issues that are causing your disordered eating. By focusing on the root cause, you can rewire your body and brain to regulate emotions in a healthy way.

While each person is different, I often recommend the following types of therapy for trauma survivors: 

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): EMDR is a technique that helps your brain reprocess traumatic events so that they’re no longer overwhelming, enabling your body and brain to eliminate the need for coping mechanisms.

• IFS (Internal Family Systems): IFS allows you to examine all of the parts of yourself in order to acknowledge and understand them, allowing you to understand your trauma with compassion and heal the symptoms of your trauma.  

• Body-focused work: Body-focused therapy techniques can help you restore trust in yourself and work toward healthier self regulation. Techniques like somatic experience and breathwork emphasize your brain-body connection to give you more control over your reactions to different emotions. 

Why Addressing Trauma is essential in Breaking Free From Disordered Eating Patterns

By understanding the cause of your disordered eating, you have the power to work through it and break free. As a licensed trauma therapist, I’ll help you work to better understand yourself in a safe, encouraging environment. Through a collaborative approach, we’ll get to the root of your experiences and move forward in the way that makes the most sense for your individual journey. 

Schedule a consultation with me today to get started on your healing journey–I’m happy to provide the support you need to reclaim a healthier life.