And, the podcast was 100% fabulous…Erin did a great job. I can’t say enough good things about it. I actually have sent many clients to listen to it.
And as I listened, I thought of two friends who would also benefit from the podcast, @Donna. This is a reminder for me to connect with them. 
One of the things I remember @Emacfarland saying was that she felt that the anorexia genetic trait gets “switched on” when a certain weight is reached rather than being developed through environment etc. What @Donna says about it being a reaction to trauma could actually be viewed as one and the same. If you regard severe weight loss as trauma then the anorexia “switching on” is a reaction to trauma - the trauma of a certain amount of weight lost. Your genetics will influence how sensitive that switch is.
As someone who is probably on the autism spectrum, I am prone to black-and-white thinking.
Which may be why intermittent fasting works well for me…either it’s time to eat or it’s not.
Yes @Daisy, one MUST have the genetic predisposition to develop a clinical eating disorder. As @Donna mentioned genetics are not sufficient to develop one but the genes must be triggered by the individual reaching a certain weight, which is specific to their physiology, that would trigger the ED (and here I am talking about restrictive eating disorders such as anorexia and exercise bulimia. Binge eating disorder and bulimia have different manifestations but are based on similar genetics). So for example, I had disordered eating tendencies from childhood on, but developed anorexia at 33 because my body reached a weight (or more likely body fat percentage) that triggered the anorexia. This was not intentional in my case but was the result of weight loss after the birth of my son. Trauma is often common in the personal histories of those with EDs but trauma does not cause them.
Addendum…even those who are classified as “overweight “ can develop anorexia. Everyone’s “set point” is different and if someone’s natural body weight is “high” then dropping below that point will trigger anorexia if they have the genes. Eating disorders are defined by a set of behaviors and thoughts and not necessarily body weight or size.
I was trained as a child and adolescent therapist so I have worked with a lot of neurodevelopmental disorders.
And, this makes total sense to me! Schedules and things like IF are very comforting for peeps with Autism, because Autism dislikes change and unpredictability; it causes stress and anxiety at best, and at worst people can be completely overwhelmed and unable to function. ADHD is the same way for many of us.
Erin! I saw this article and thought of you!! I keep forgetting to send it so I may as well post it here, since other people might be curious!
This is 100% absolutely right…and it’s just as devastating. I’ve seen people post-WLS develop anorexia and it goes untreated for this reason.
I wonder how common that is? I suspect fairly. I certainly saw how easily I could fall into bulimic tendencies when I had the band and spent 6 months throwing up 90% of what I ate which wasn’t that much to start with. It was seductive.
Sadly, no idea. They don’t study it often, as it’s very hard to catch since we eat so little anyway. This…annoys me.
Yes and weight loss is more often than not fast. The only time it gets picked up I suppose if that weight loss carries on past what is considered a healthy point by which time it is very late in the game. Sad thing is that those people will have been getting huge pats on the back up until that point for “doing so well”.
@Donna yes…anorexia in people in larger bodies is incredibly dangerous because they are often praised for restricting and over exercising. It’s sick. We punish people for their body size.
Awesome info in here. Thank you all for sharing. I fit the black and white thinking and ptsd. This is somewhat concerning to me but helps me understand better why my wife doesn’t like my monthly Zorn fast. I think another rabbit hole is opening up. Not to go complain on the dang you keto thread. Too much research needs to be done.
Anorexia is misunderstood in general, which is horrible because it quite literally kills people. That’s why stuff like you being willing to do the podcast is so important. It gives people hope and lets them know that it’s quite possible to overcome it while being healthy and whole.
That’s why I talk about BED despite being a clinician. Even though we are discouraged from doing so, I think it does peeps a disservice.
But now this is preaching to the choir so I will stop >.>
In America anyway, a diagnosis of anorexia is tied to BMI, so many people are under the illusion you can’t get it if overweight. Technically it becomes OSFED (other specified feeding or eating disorder) with an anorexic suptype (otherwise non specified eating disorder). This minces clinical hairs, though.
I’d still typically consider standard AN far more dangerous potentially, but the OSFED subtypes many people are unfamiliar with so they often go underdiagnosed. Most clinicians don’t treat eating disorders, never mind screen for them. It’s possible, in theory, for an OSFED disorder to be just as dangerous (if not more so) than the “big 3” EDs. They just don’t fit into other diagnostic criteria.
