Eating Disorders (ED) are a very complex psychological phenomenon, given that they involve both a direct impact on mental health and a dynamic of self-sabotage that also progressively deteriorates mental health.
This process of weakening emotional stability means that the coexistence of another psychopathology is quite common among people with eating disorders, which, in principle, has nothing to do with adopting a dysfunctional relationship with food. In this article about Comorbidities of Eating Disorders We’ll see what they are.
As its name indicates, an eating disorder, or Eating Disorder, is a psychopathology in which a person manifests the symptoms of their psychological problems through their way of relating to food. It should be noted that when we are faced with an ED, the problem is never of an organic nature related to the digestive process (for example, a deficiency in intestinal transit or a problem in the absorption of nutrients); In any case, if these health alterations appear, it is as a consequence of the behavior of the person who has been eating poorly for some time.
The main types of eating disorders, and the best known, are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, although what is known as binge eating disorder is also relatively common. In all these alterations, the person internalizes a series of routines and rituals that lead him to not eat what he needs to eat, or he binge eats without needing to (and in these cases they are usually high-calorie foods).
The most common mental disorders among people with an eating disorder
These are the most common psychopathologies in those who have developed an eating disorder.
1. Anxiety disorders
In this sense there are no surprises; Anxiety disorders are the most common group of psychopathologies among human beings in general, and this does not change if we focus on people who have developed an eating disorder. However, in this segment of the population, these are more than twice as common compared to the rest of the citizens: They occur in approximately 62% of cases
Within this category we find disorders such as phobias, generalized anxiety, or panic disorder.
2. Mood disorders
In this case, The prevalence among people with an eating disorder is 54% of cases, approximately. Although this type of psychopathology is significantly less frequent among people with an ED compared to previous ones, it is worth noting that in this segment of the population, the increased risk is threefold. That is to say, the increase in the percentage of cases among people with an eating disorder in relation to the general population is significantly greater than that with anxiety disorders among people with an eating disorder compared to the rest of the population.
On the other hand, major depression is the most common type of anxiety disorder also within this person profile, just as it happens with the rest of citizens in general; Bipolar disorder follows.
3. Drug addiction
Addictive disorders are also significantly more common among those who have developed an ED; Above all, chemical addictions to easy-to-find drugs predominate. This type of drug dependence problem occurs in approximately 30% of cases.
Regarding the two main types of eating disorders, there are some differences in the degree of frequency in which these alterations occur:
3.1. Bulimia
Among bulimic people, it is notable how common it is to have developed some form of addictive disorder, since It occurs in more than half of the cases. This could be explained as a consequence of the impulse regulation problems that these people usually have with regard to experiences that they see as a way to immediately escape their discomfort.
3.2. anorexia nervosa
In the case of people with anorexia, drug addiction is also much more common than among the general population, although somewhat less than among people with bulimia. This greater probability of having developed an addition is especially notable in the case of those who have purgative anorexia nervosa in contrast to cases of restrictive anorexia nervosa (that is, in which there are no purging behaviors such as inducing vomiting).
4. Post-traumatic stress
Post-traumatic stress occurs in just over 22% of cases; It is possible that it has a common cause with ED, since many people develop these patterns of harmful behavior towards their own body precisely as a response to conflicting feelings about the Self, as an attempt at improvement through self-punishment and the search for perfection in the body. This type of psychological alterations associated with a feeling of guilt and self-hatred are common in victims of traumatic experiences, who often feel responsible for what happened in their past.
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If you need psychotherapeutic support to overcome an eating disorder, contact me.
My name is Blanca Ruiz and I have experience helping people with eating disorders, trauma, self-esteem problems and emotional disorders.
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
