Perfectionism and Eating Disorders: A Complex Battle
For many, the pursuit of perfection has become so routine, that it can be hard to recognize just how draining perfectionism can be.
And, how much it impacts your sense of self, sense of belonging and enoughness in the world.
Whether it’s striving for the thin ideal, grinding and pushing for achieving, being recognized, or keeping up the appearance of having seemingly unmatched self-control, the pressure to meet society’s, and at times family of origin’s, high standards take a toll and can be overwhelming.
The quest for perfection often intertwines with eating disorders, creating a complex battle that can have a serious impact on your mental and physical health.
Perfectionism is often seen as a desire to be seen in ways that appear flawless, and as having very high standards in many aspects of your life. Self-identified perfectionists often report setting extremely high goals for themselves, and relentlessly working to pursue and achieve what they believe to be excellence.
On the other side of this is often praise and affirmation from people in their lives, creating a cycle that is hard to escape.
Many perfectionists live in fear of giving up what makes them feel seen, enough, loved and valuable.
So, they continue to cling to the safety of striving for flawlessness, despite the toll that it takes on them.
Perfectionists often experience fear of failure, intense self-criticism, internalized shame, and exhaustion from working to achieve goals that others may consider unrealistic.
The pressure to be perfect is mirrored by the thin ideal; the idealized, moralized, culturally praised image of a woman’s body type.
Decades of research have shown that working to achieve this thin ideal leads to high levels of body dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, and the risk of developing an eating disorder.
Eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and orthorexia are influenced by genetic predisposition, environment, cultural influences, and exposure to trauma. The pursuit of the thin ideal, or perfect body, is often a strategy to gain control and safety over your life and can drive you toward eating disorder behaviors.
Perfectionistic tendencies can fuel restrictive eating behaviors, leading to extreme dieting, rigid eating patterns, or excessive exercise in pursuit of the culturally defined ‘perfect’ body
The relentless pursuit of perfection contributes to body image dissatisfaction, body dysmorphia, anxiety, and an unhealthy preoccupation with appearance. The rigid and inflexible self-beliefs (that you are only worthy or valuable when you achieve or appear “xyz”) that fuel perfectionism, create a fertile ground for the maintenance of eating disorders.
Eating disorders can also reinforce and perpetuate perfectionism.
The hypervigilance around control and rigidity associated with eating and movement patterns can provide a sense of accomplishment and control. This often feels like safety in the moment, but, can lead to cyclical self-criticism, shame, and guilt when you cannot meet the impossibly high standards for the long term.
From a nervous system perspective, the pursuit of perfectionism is an activating, or energetically charged pursuit. The reliance on appearing, or producing, ‘perfectly’ can serve as a strategy to feel safe and secure in the world.
Similarly, folks who are struggling with disordered eating often experience similar activation, or hypervigilance, by using food rituals, obsessive thoughts about food, excessive exercising, purging, and anger turned toward their body.
Like perfectionism, we see eating disorder symptoms as strategies: attempts to find ways to feel safe and regulated in a world that has not been safe, attuned and secure.
The reliance on perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms can be an indication that by relying on them, you are protecting yourself from something that feels scary. And, the conscious or unconscious belief that without these strategies, something bad will happen.
For some people that can be a fear of lack of love, acceptance, nurturance, and validation. For others, it can be fear of disconnectedness and hopelessness.
The reliance on symptoms that keep you in a protective, hypervigilant state, makes sense if there is fear or an unconscious belief that without them, you or your sense of self will collapse.
Recovery from perfectionism and an eating disorder can be challenging. But, it is very possible when you have a team to support, affirm, believe, and move through recovery with you.
The therapists at Reclaim are trauma-informed, specialized eating disorder therapists iN Pennsylvania.
We hope to help our clients understand the why behind their symptoms and begin to form new strategies to move through recovery that are supportive of living value-driven, connected lives based in enoughness and self-honoring.
If you are looking for eating disorder therapy in Pennsylvania, or support to recover from the exhausting cycles of perfectionism, our therapists are ready to support you. You can receive support from Reclaim Therapy today!
🧡,
The Reclaim Therapy Team Provides In Person and Online Therapy in Pennsylvania
Our team of therapists specializes in providing eating disorder therapy in Pennsylvania, online therapy in Pennsylvania for PTSD, CPTSD, body image concerns, and loss and grief. We also offer support via EMDR and trauma treatment. Our therapists are trauma-informed and have an unrelenting belief that all people are deserving of recovery and are worthy of reclaiming their lives from disordered eating.