I’ve been trying to understand my eating patterns, but I don’t seem to fit neatly into one diagnosis. Some days I restrict and feel very in control, then other times I eat far past comfort and feel embarrassed afterward. There isn’t always a clear pattern, which makes it hard to explain to a therapist or doctor without feeling like I’m exaggerating.
A few years ago, I started keeping snacks in my car because I was afraid I’d suddenly feel overwhelmed and eat everything at home. That helped for a while, but it also made me realize how much mental space food was taking up.
I’ve heard the term eating disorder not otherwise specified, but I’m not sure what support is supposed to look like when symptoms don’t match one specific box. Has anyone found a useful way to talk about this with a professional?
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Shelley, the snacks in your car sound like they gave you some immediate control, while also showing how much planning and fear were wrapped up in food. That seems worth mentioning to a professional, even if the strategy helped at the time.
When I’ve struggled to explain something messy, writing down a few concrete examples has worked better than trying to label the whole pattern. Things like what happened before restricting or overeating, how you felt afterward, and how much it disrupted your day. A diagnosis can help, but you still deserve support based on what’s happening, not whether it fits one box.
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The concrete examples idea is really useful. I tend to think I need to explain the whole pattern perfectly, then end up leaving out the parts that actually show how disruptive it is.
Writing down what happened before and after could also help separate hunger from anxiety, shame, or that need to feel in control. I’d probably keep it brief so it doesn’t turn into another food rule, but having a few examples to bring in seems much less overwhelming than trying to explain everything from memory.
The point about support not depending on a perfect diagnosis really landed with me. I’ve delayed bringing things up before because I thought I needed a neat explanation first, and that usually just meant the most useful details got left out.
I like your suggestion to focus on what happened before and after, especially how much it disrupted the day. Do you find it easier to write those examples down immediately, or wait until you can look back at a few of them together?