Client Quote #31: bloating

Yes. ED can definitely escalate bloating in two ways.

Physically, when the body hasn’t been used to consistent and adequate intake of food, digestion will be impaired. So when we try to eat again, bloating can occur to a larger degree. This will pass when we persist with eating as the gut re-learns to digest more efficiently. 

Bloating is physically uncomfortable for sure, it can be hard to tolerate. And at the same time, folks with ED do exceptionally hard things physically all the time. Ignoring hunger is hard, dealing with fatigue is hard, being unable to sleep is hard, muscle cramping is hard, headaches are hard,  functioning while malnourished is very hard. If anything, I see folks with ED tolerate hard things physically ALL THE TIME…so it’s not usually about the physical discomfort is it…

Perhaps, for most, it’s the mental trigger of what bloating and fullness MEANT, the stories these sensations create. And that is hard to tolerate beyond all else for the ED. The unhelpful beliefs from this experience about the future of our bodies is what can cause an emotional spiral. Once fear and anxiety takes place, it becomes very hard to tolerate bloating. 

This means it is also a valuable opportunity to explore what kind of stories and assumptions we’re making around this experience. What we can do to challenge unhelpful beliefs about food and bodies that make bloating, in the very least, a mentally neutral experience again.