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Top 5 Signs It’s Time to Seek Help for Your Eating Disorder: A Guide for College Students 

By Margherita Mascolo, MD, CED-S| 5 Min Read | October 7, 2024

As October settles in, college students are starting to navigate the midpoint of the semester. The combination of academic pressures, social activities, and the changing season can add stress that might go unnoticed at first but can take a toll over time. For some, these stressors may trigger or worsen eating disorder behaviors as they attempt to cope with the demands of college life. 

At Inner Haven Wellness, we understand how stressful college life can be and how easily eating disorder symptoms can arise or intensify. Our Intensive Outpatient (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization (PHP) programs are structured to offer flexible, effective support that fits around your academic commitments. 

Whether you’re struggling with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or atypical eating disorders, we’re here to help you prioritize your health and well-being. 

Understanding Eating Disorders: What You Need to Know 

Before diving into the signs that it might be time to seek help, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the different types of eating disorders. Each of these disorders is dangerous and can have severe physical and emotional consequences if left untreated. All forms of disordered eating pose serious risks to your health and well-being, and they warrant professional help. Recognizing the specific nature of these disorders is the first step toward understanding why early intervention is crucial and why seeking support is vital for your recovery. 

  • Anorexia Nervosa: This disorder is characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image, leading individuals to severely restrict their food intake. While they do eat, they don’t consume enough calories to meet their body’s needs, which can result in significant weight loss and malnutrition. Anorexia has two subtypes: the restricting subtype, where weight loss is achieved through dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise, and the binge-eating/purging subtype, where individuals engage in purging behaviors such as vomiting or using laxatives. 
  • Bulimia Nervosa: This disorder involves cycles of binge eating, or eating large quantities of food, followed by compensatory purging behaviors, such as vomiting or using laxatives, to prevent weight gain. Over-exercise is also a common component of bulimia, where individuals may engage in rigorous workout routines to counteract the calories consumed during a binge. 
  • Binge Eating Disorder (BED): This disorder is marked by episodes of eating large quantities of food in a short period, often accompanied by feelings of loss of control and distress. Unlike bulimia, individuals with BED do not regularly engage in compensatory purging behaviors. 
  • Other Eating Disorders: These include behaviors that don’t fit the strict criteria of the above disorders but are still harmful and distressing. Examples include avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where individuals severely limit their diet due to sensory issues or fears of negative consequences, rumination disorder where individuals repeatedly regurgitate, re-chew, re-swallow or spit out food, and atypical anorexia nervosa where individuals have the behaviors associated with anorexia nervosa and their body weight is at or above the healthy range. 

Top 5 Signs It’s Time to Seek Help 

Recognizing when you need help is the first step toward recovery. Here are five undeniable signs that it’s time to reach out for support: 

  1. Obsessive Thoughts About Food, Weight, or Body Image: If you find yourself constantly thinking about food, calories, exercise, or your body’s appearance, to the point where it’s interfering with your daily life, it’s a sign that your relationship with food is becoming unhealthy. 
  1. Avoiding Social Situations Involving Food: Whether it’s skipping meals with friends, avoiding parties, or making excuses to eat alone, isolating yourself to control your eating is a red flag that your eating disorder behaviors are intensifying. 
  1. Physical Symptoms: Weight loss or gain, fatigue, dizziness, digestive issues, thinning hair, decreased libido, or irregular menstrual cycles can all be physical indicators that your body is struggling to cope with your eating habits.  
  1. Mood Changes or Emotional Distress: If you’re feeling increasingly anxious, depressed, or irritable—especially in situations involving food or exercise—it may be a sign that your eating disorder is affecting your mental health. 
  1. Engaging in Extreme Exercise or Purging Behaviors: Over-exercising, vomiting, or using laxatives to control your weight are serious behaviors that can have dangerous consequences. If you’re engaging in these activities, it’s essential to seek help immediately. 

Taking the Next Step 

If you’re experiencing any of these signs, it’s important to take action. Early intervention can make a significant difference in your recovery journey. Inner Haven Wellness offers flexible treatment programs that fit around your college schedule, so you can prioritize your health without sacrificing your education.

Our experienced admissions counselors are ready to help you understand your options. We also offer a free quiz on our website to help you assess whether you might have an eating disorder, as well as a free phone assessment to discuss your needs in more detail. 

Take the first step toward recovery today. Visit Inner Haven Wellness or call us to learn more about our programs and how we can support you on your path to healing.