Food Rituals and Eating Disorders

Today, I explore food rituals in eating disorders. These are often safety behaviours and can include things like: -

A list of common food rituals (not limited to this)

• Cutting food into teeny, tiny pieces and taking extremely small bites.

• Eating food types in a very specific order, with no food combining.

• Rearranging food items on the plate, so they do not touch.

• Tearing food apart and eating the different components.

• Chewing food for a specific number of bites.

• Meticulous weighing, measuring and calorie counting of every morsel.

• Eating at precise mealtimes, as the clock strikes the hour. Not one second before or after.

• Hiding food or throwing it away.

• Excessive seasoning of food or using bizarre concoctions of sauces.

• Drinking volumes of fluid before, during and after eating.

• Eating on child size plates and using little cutlery.

• Engaging in activity rituals to burn calories before or after eating.

• Having to clean the kitchen or visit the bathroom before eating, doing things in the ‘right’ order.

• Buying quantities of food to feel safety in its presence but never eating it, 

  rather filling the cupboards to overflow and hoarding.

I talk about different types of food rituals and how to change your relationship with them. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

🌐 If you're looking for more support in your recovery journey, you can explore my work here: https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/

 💬 Have you used psychological formulation? What do you think about it as a tool?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Welcome to the official Podcast channel of Harriet Frew, The Eating Disorder Therapist.* This channel is dedicated to supporting you in finding peace with food, improving your relationship with eating, and overcoming disordered eating. My aim is to create a space that feels safe, informative, and encouraging, where recovery is not only possible, but realistic for anyone willing to take those steps.

➡️ I’m a BACP qualified therapist with over 20 years of experience working in eating disorders, and I’m also an expert by experience, having fully recovered from bulimia nervosa. This allows me to bring both professional knowledge and personal understanding into the work that I share here. On this channel, you’ll find a combination of solo episodes and conversations with guests. I speak with individuals about their recovery journeys, interview professionals working in eating disorders and mental health, and share practical tools, insights, and reflections from the therapy room that you can begin applying in your own life.

 

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