Eating Disorder Psychology: Contracts & Pitfalls

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Living with eating disordered behavior involves navigating complex psychological dynamics, including how self-control is perceived and its interplay with cognitive biases that influence disordered eating patterns and behaviors. In this article, we’ll delve into the intersection of self-control, psychology, and eating disorders, examining the concept of psychological contracts we make with ourselves and the pitfalls individuals may encounter on their journey to more healthy eating patterns.

Individuals with eating disorders or disordered eating patterns may experience cognitive biases such as attribution bias, the illusion of control, and hindsight bias, which influence their relationship with luck and their relationship with food and eating.

Attribution Bias: Individuals may attribute weight fluctuations, food-related behaviors, or treatment outcomes solely to internal factors like willpower or self-discipline, overlooking the role of external factors like genetics, environment, and luck. This bias can contribute to feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy. This negative spiral can lead to more difficult eating behaviors and patterns of self-hatred or feelings of worthlessness. 

Illusion of Control: The desire for control is often heightened in individuals with eating disorders, leading to a belief that they have more control over their bodies and behaviors than they do. This illusion of control can manifest in rigid dietary rules, obsessive exercise routines, or compulsive behaviors aimed at maintaining control over weight and body image. 

On the other hand, many with disordered emotional eating patterns often sense a lack of control and attribute their struggles to having bad luck and not being able to control themselves. Thus they often feel a sense of defeat and struggle that impacts implementing healthier behavior patterns and feel like a failure before they even give themselves a chance at a better experience with food, their body, and acceptance of their current weight. 

Hindsight Bias: Looking back on past behaviors or treatment outcomes, individuals may perceive them as more predictable or controllable than they actually were. This bias can lead to self-blame, regret, and a distorted perception of personal responsibility.

Many times people forget how difficult a situation was. They may disregard a lack of options at an event or be unclear about how psychology and physiology interact when stressed.

This interaction often creates a loop of addictive coping to feel better and food becomes the drug of choice. When your physiology becomes imbalanced, your body just wants to correct it. This can lead to cravings, mood lability (emotions are all over the place) feelings of depression or anxiety, and mindless overeating to “fill up” a hungry soul. 

Psychological contracts are implicit agreements individuals form with themselves, others, or society regarding expectations, roles, and responsibilities. In the context of eating disorders, these contracts may involve unrealistic expectations for weight, appearance, or achievement, which can lead to internal conflict, dissatisfaction, and self-destructive behaviors. Common psychological contracts in eating disorders include:

The Thinness Contract: The belief that thinness equates to worthiness, acceptance, or success. Individuals may engage in extreme dieting, purging, or over-exercising in pursuit of an idealized body image, often at the expense of their physical and mental health.

The Control Contract: The belief that controlling food intake, weight, or body shape provides a sense of security, identity, or validation. This contract may manifest in restrictive eating patterns, binge-eating episodes, or compulsive rituals aimed at managing emotions or alleviating distress.

The Perfectionism Contract: The belief that perfectionism is necessary for love, approval, or achievement. Individuals may set unrealistic standards for themselves in various areas of life, including academics, careers, relationships, and appearance, leading to chronic stress, anxiety, and self-criticism.

In my office, I often see people with disordered eating patterns trying to manage one of the contracts listed above. 

It’s not that they developed this contract with themselves on their own. Often these are handed to us from childhood, our communities, society at large, or an influential person in our lives. 

However, it has become a dysfunctional way of viewing ourselves and the world when it creates disordered eating behaviors. These negative psychological contracts become rigid and oppressive leading to a variety of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, negative self-talk, and shame that sense that something is irreparably wrong with us. Those feelings often lead to despair and self-harming behaviors beyond self-inflicted nutritional destruction.

Living with disordered eating patterns involves navigating numerous challenges and pitfalls, including:

Self-Stigma: Internalized beliefs about shame, unworthiness, or weakness can perpetuate self-stigma and inhibit help-seeking behaviors.

Social Stigma: External stigma and societal pressures surrounding weight, appearance, and food can exacerbate feelings of isolation, shame, and inadequacy.

Treatment Barriers: Limited access to specialized treatment, financial constraints, and misconceptions about eating disorders can hinder recovery efforts and prolong suffering.

Addictive Coping and The Way it Helps: Eating disordered behaviors fall under addictive coping strategies to manage ourselves and our environment. One of the things that people often overlook is the way disordered eating and the process of following through with addictive behavior help you feel better.

Some of these positive sensation is related to physiological changes in the body, like endorphins, and endocannabinoids, and changes in your chemistry as a result of starving or throwing up when your body tries to help you navigate these stressful situations and stay alive.

Other chemical dumps come when you feel successful sneaking things or breaking the rules by not eating. You start to play psychological games with yourself about “winning” or “being good” when you can stick to a plan even if it is a self-destructive one. Addictive coping is difficult because it is not just about how you think, it changes your chemistry and brain experiences. These are not easy to overcome, but many people have done it and you can too.

Recovery from an eating disorder is a courageous journey that requires compassion, support, and resilience. Here are some empowering strategies for navigating the challenges and pitfalls listed above:

Self-Compassion: Cultivate self-compassion by practicing mindfulness, self-care, and self-acceptance. Challenge self-critical thoughts and replace them with affirming and supportive messages.

Even moving from a negative self-talk statement to one that is neutral makes a huge difference in helping you begin the process of healing.

Seeking Support: Reach out to trusted friends, family members, or healthcare professionals for support, encouragement, and guidance. Consider joining a support group or seeking individual therapy to connect with others who understand and validate your experiences.

If you cannot find a local group or treatment provider, you might want to look online for a healthy and supportive treatment option that helps you feel connected to yourself again, and to others going through similar experiences.

Group support is exponentially healing compared to one-on-one therapy and is very helpful when you are struggling with disordered eating.

Challenging Psychological Contracts: Identify and challenge unrealistic or harmful psychological contracts related to body image, perfectionism, and control. Replace these contracts with values-based goals and intentions that promote well-being, authenticity, and fulfillment.

If this seems confusing, basically put, it is about deciding what kind of person you want to be and allowing yourself to choose the values you want to live by. Once you have your values outlined – I recommend aiming for 2-3 to get started – then you can determine how someone who believes that value would behave.

After that, you begin acting that way. Even if you don’t feel it at first, fake it till you make it. It gets easier to find that congruence after you’ve had some practice being the person you want to be.

Holistic Healing: Embrace a holistic approach to recovery that addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of health.

Explore therapeutic modalities such as somatic psychology interventions, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), expressive arts therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions to support healing and growth.

Disordered eating patterns are not just about how you think. There is a delicate but powerful relationship between your psychology and physiology.

Once your physical chemistry and neurological system get out of whack you must rebalance your physical systems to be successful with your thoughts and emotions. Your physical self is the most concrete and tangible aspect of you, however it is also what has happened.

It is evidence of how you have treated yourself in the past, thus if you want it to be different tomorrow you have to treat it differently today. Physical changes take time and are a product of multiple interactions. Be patient with yourself and seek help to reset your physical system so you can more successfully manage your psychological self.

Navigating the complexities of self-control, psychology, and eating disorders requires courage, resilience, and compassion.

By understanding the psychological contracts at play and recognizing the pitfalls and challenges inherent in the journey to recovery, individuals can cultivate greater self-awareness, resilience, and empowerment.

Remember, healing is possible, and you are deserving of love, support, and acceptance on your path to recovery.

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