DIFFERENT CONDITIONS. SHARED PATTERNS. RIGID RULES THAT CAN MAKE YOUR WORLD small.
OCD and eating disorders are distinct conditions, but they can overlap in complicated and confusing ways. You may have rules or rituals around food and exercise that feel impossible to break, intrusive thoughts about your body, what you eat, and your health or an intense need to know you’re doing things “the right” way.
Sometimes its hard to tell what is a driving behavior, is it your eating disorder, OCD or both? Understanding the why behind a behavior matters because effective treatment depends on treating the function of the behavior not just what it looks like from the outside.
OCD and Eating Disorders Can Overlap
When OCD and Eating Disorders overlap, it can look like:
Is this my OCD or my eating disorder?
Sometimes there isn’t a simple answer, OCD can attach itself to food, exercise, appearance, health, and/or bodily sensations. Eating disorders can also involve anxiety, rituals, checking, avoidance, rigid rules, and attempts to feel more in control.
When OCD and an eating disorder show up together, working on one in isolation can leave the other running the show. I look at both together, so progress in one area supports recovery in the other. Rather than getting stuck trying to perfectly categorize every thought or behavior, we'll work together to understand the patterns that are keeping you stuck.
We may explore questions such as:
What are you afraid might happen?
What does following the rule or ritual help you avoid?
What happens when you don't do it?
Are you trying to reduce anxiety, change your body, gain certainty, prevent a feared outcome or some combination?
What would moving toward recovery look like here?
DISTINCT CONDITIONS, SHARED THEMES
Shared Themes between OCD and ED:
A THOUGHTFUL, INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH
How I Treat OCD and ED
Treatment is collaborative, compassion, and grounded in evidence-based approaches. We work together to understand the function of the behaviors and choose interventions to support your overall recovery.
ERP
To help you face feared situations and respond differently to intrusive thoughts, compulsions, avoidance, and safety behaviors.
Eating Disorder Informed Care
Weight Inclusive framework and body neutrality practices to help improve your relationship with food, body image, exercise, and movement.
To build psychological flexibility, tolerate uncertainty, manage difficult emotions, and take values-consistent action.
ACT, CBT, DBT
Collaborative Support
I collaborate with other members of your team, such as dietitians, nutritionists, primary care providers, psychiatrists to ensure comprehensive support and coordinated support.
Treatment Isn't About Getting Everything “Right”
If you struggle with OCD, an eating disorder, or both, it's easy for recovery itself to become another place where perfectionism shows up.
You might wonder:
Was that an OCD behavior?
Did I challenge it correctly?
Was that my eating disorder talking?
Am I doing recovery the right way?
What if I make the wrong choice?
Our work isn't about becoming perfectly certain about every decision. It's about developing more flexibility in how you respond to thoughts, feelings, urges, uncertainty, food, your body, and the situations that matter to you. Over time, the goal is for fear, rituals, and rigid rules to take up less space so you have more room for what is truly important to you.
You don't need to know whether something is “OCD enough,” “eating disorder enough,” or exactly which diagnosis explains what you're experiencing before seeking support. Figuring that out can be part of our work together.