Dr.
Dr. Basant Singh
AnxietyDepressionTrauma
10+ years experience
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Condition Guide
Eating Disorders
Get support for food, body image, control, shame, and recovery.
Overview
Eating disorders are serious health conditions, not a choice or a failure of willpower. They can involve restrictive eating, binge eating, purging, compulsive exercise, intense preoccupation with food or body shape, or other behaviours that affect physical and mental health. They occur in people of all body sizes, genders, ages, and backgrounds. Only a qualified professional can assess and diagnose an eating disorder, and medical risk can be present even when a person does not “look ill.” Fainting, chest pain, vomiting blood, severe dehydration, confusion, or inability to eat or drink safely need urgent medical care.
Important medical informationThe signs on this page can have different causes. Only a qualified health professional can assess or diagnose you. Do not start, stop, or change prescribed treatment based on this guide.
How Therapy Helps
Care should be coordinated and matched to medical and psychological needs. Therapy may include evidence-based eating-disorder approaches, coping skills, body-image work, and relapse-prevention planning, while a physician and appropriately qualified dietitian monitor physical health and nutrition when needed. Some people need a higher level of care, especially when there is medical instability, severe restriction or purging, or immediate safety risk. This page is not a meal plan, diagnostic tool, or substitute for medical assessment.
Common Signs & Symptoms
You might be experiencing one or more of these symptoms:
Strict food rules, calorie tracking, fasting, or fear of certain foods
Feeling out of control during eating episodes or eating in secret
Purging, overexercising, laxative use, or other compensating behaviors
Intense fear of weight gain, body changes, or not feeling "in control"
Avoiding meals with others, social events, mirrors, photos, or body-related talk
Mood swings, shame, isolation, or constant preoccupation with food and body size
About this guide
Published by the TherapyHelps editorial teamLast updated: This guide provides educational information and does not replace an individual diagnosis or emergency care.Urgent support: If you or someone else is in immediate danger, at risk of self-harm, or experiencing a medical emergency, call 112 in India or go to the nearest emergency department. Do not rely on TherapyHelps as your only source of urgent help.
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Specialized Therapists
Our qualified counselors and mental health professionals with experience supporting Eating Disorders.
Consultant Psychologist
Priyanka Saha
AnxietyDepressionTrauma
8+ years experience
Kolkata, West Bengal
Therapist
Pooja Sindhu
AnxietyDepressionTrauma
3+ years experience
AMRELI, GUJARAT
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