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How High School Can Trigger Disordered Eating
- Hannah Choi
- Jul 10, 2022
- 4 min read
High school is a notoriously stressful time. With life changes, academic pressures, and the desire to fit in, high school can resurface or cause disordered habits around food.
What is disordered eating?
According to Eat Right, disordered eating is a term which describes a range of irregular eating habits. These habits could call for the diagnosis of an eating disorder.
Disordered eating contains a range of behaviors including:
Restricting food
Binge eating
A feeling of guilt, loss of control, or shame around food
Obsessing over food, weight, or appearance
Rigid eating habits/patterns
Skipping meals
Dieting
Life Changes
While it may seem like first-year students are the only ones in high school battling changes like harder classes and a new school, students in all grades undergo similar situations. Losing friends, balancing schoolwork with extracurriculars, maintaining friendships, moving, and being bullied are stressors that plague students of all grades. As a result, an individual can be left feeling out of control. These individuals may resort to fixating over something that they feel they have power over, their food. On the other hand, an individual might eat an excess amount of food in one sitting to cope with their emotions.
Academic Pressures
With expectations to achieve high, coupled with constant comparison between peers, it is no surprise that students battle stress and anxiety in high school. In times of high stress and anxiety, individuals are more vulnerable to feeling as if they are powerless and exhibit low self-esteem.
Additionally, a school with a competitive environment houses many potential triggers to disordered eating. Constant comparison between peers and the prioritization of school over mental health breeds high stress levels. One might feel like they are underperforming in school, thus turning to fixate over their appearance. The individual might do so in the hope of finding success in at least one aspect of their stressful life.
The catalyst to disordered eating is often underlying anxiety, stress, perfectionism, depression, or other psychological factors. While these may not be the sole cause of disordered eating, it can be the push that drives individuals to develop unhealthy habits.
Social Media and Desires to Fit in
Most, if not all, high schoolers are active on social media. On apps such as Instagram and TikTok, posts featuring thinner, leaner bodies are favored and pushed out by algorithms. As a result, if a user has a body that does not look like the ones on social media, they feel as if they themselves need to change. Diet culture perpetuates the belief that once someone is thinner, their quality of life will automatically improve. Consequently, an individual might alter their eating habits with the notion that once their body looks a certain way, their problems will dissipate.
If a student faces discontentment in themselves, their brain will compare what they are doing with those who look happy. Things like “Why do I not look like that?” “What are they doing right that I am doing wrong?” “If I do what they do then I will look and feel like them” clouds their mind. Thoughts like this push individuals to develop unhealthy habits, worsening their mental wellbeing.
Comments from peers about appearance and food can further trigger disordered eating. Hearing a friend call themselves “fat” or talk about going on a diet sends a message that if an individual is thinner, then they will be more likable. One might receive more attention and compliments when they alter their appearance, further driving them to engage in disordered eating.
Tips to Manage Triggers:
1. Identify your triggers
Identify what causes your disordered eating habits or urges. Do you feel out of control because of your performance in school? Does social media make you feel worse about yourself? Do you turn to excessive eating in times of stress? Recognizing the root of the issue can help you develop ways to establish preventative habits and coping strategies.
2. Get your feelings out
Writing down or even recording a voice memo is a healthy way to feel in control of your emotions. Talk about everything you are feeling, verbalizing it can help you make sense of the situation. This allows you to explore your emotions in a way that is not self-destructive. The main goal is to avoid further suppressing your emotions as it can compound and cause more stress and anxiety.
3. Create a plan to handle triggers
While some triggers can be avoided, you will inevitably be faced with things that tempt disordered eating. Creating an action-plan when triggered will help you avoid reacting impulsively.
If thinking about your grades leaves you overwhelmed, consider only checking them once every few weeks. If you hear a friend talking negatively about themselves, you can remind yourself that there is more to you than your appearance. If you are craving control, take deep breaths.
When you feel yourself being self-critical take a step back. Ask yourself why you are feeling that way, what you can do for yourself, and if your beliefs or expectations need to be adjusted.
4. Support systems
Reaching out to your friends, family, or trusted adults can provide you with support and compassion in times of stress. A support system helps you rationalize your emotions and guides you in deciding how you respond to situations.
Resources
Disordered eating should be taken seriously. The consequences of minimizing disordered eating include the development of an eating disorder, increased anxiety, stress, risk of obesity, and social isolation. Talking to a registered dietician can aid in treating and further preventing disordered eating. Below are resources to learn more about disordered eating and how to find support.
Sources
Anderson, Contributors: Marci. “What Is Disordered Eating?” EatRight, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 26 Oct. 2018, https://www.eatright.org/health/diseases-and-conditions/eating-disorders/what-is-disordered-eating.
“Binge Eating Treatment Center & Binge Eating Treatment Facilities.” Eating Recovery Center, Eating Recovery Center, https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/conditions/binge-eating.
Daniels, Elayne. “4 Things to Know about How Stress Can Cause Eating Disorders and Depression.” Dr. Elayne Daniels, Dr. Elayne Daniels, 28 Nov. 2021, https://www.drelaynedaniels.com/4-things-to-know-about-how-stress-can-cause-eating-disorders-and-depression/.
“Disordered Eating & Dieting.” Disordered Eating & Dieting, National Eating Disorders Collaboration, https://nedc.com.au/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-explained/disordered-eating-and-dieting/.
Ekern, Baxter. “The Illusion of Control in the Development of Eating Disorders.” Eating Disorder Hope, Eating Disorder Hope, 4 Sept. 2020, https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/illusion-control-development-eating-disorders.
Horton, Anisa Purbasari. “5 Mindfulness Techniques for Letting Go of Control.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 8 Nov. 2019, https://www.fastcompany.com/90424137/5-mindfulness-techniques-for-letting-go-of-control.
Rao, Anthony, and Paul Napper. “Seven Ways to Feel More in Control of Your Life.” Greater Good Magazine, University of California Berkeley, 15 Apr. 2019, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_to_feel_more_in_control_of_your_life.
“Stressed for Finals? It May Trigger Eating Disorders.” The Meadows Ranch, The Meadow Ranch, 16 Feb. 2021, https://www.meadowsranch.com/schooltriggers/.
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