Eating disorder and OCD

[neurosies]

Hey everyone, 

Along with OCD, I have an eating disorder (not sure what kind. My psychiatrist doesn't think it's important) and I feel like the two cross over a lot and was wondering what other people's experiences might be. I am absolutely obsessed with my torso and stomach and have to look in the mirror 20-30 times a day to make sure I haven't gotten fatter. I even take pictures so that I can check my body in any room of the house. I also have a problem with weighing myself- if I get the chance, I weigh myself 5+ times a day (luckily I usually don't get the chance, if my parents are around I can't, which is obviously anxiety provoking for me but probably for the best.) I feel like I do these things more to relieve anxiety than anything else, which makes me think it has to do with OCD. I'm not sure how to go about fixing this problem if I don't know whether it's OCD or my eating disorder. Has anyone else experienced this? Any thoughts? 

[taurean]

What you have written is jam packed full of obsessions and compulsions! 

[neurosies]

Just now, taurean said:

What you have written is jam packed full of obsessions and compulsions! 

That's kind of what I thought too, but I wasn't sure. Thank you for the feedback!

[kaheath80]

Hello, I’ve had both too. I did find it hard to know what was OCD and what was the eating disorder. I would weigh myself up to 12 times a day and make myself do 25 press up and sit ups after eating something ‘bad’, if not I felt huge anxiety. I still struggle with this, I have to do a certain amount of exercise and walking a week otherwise I stress I’m going to get fat- but I’m much less obsessive about it than I was and only weigh myself once every few days now. So don’t give up, there is hope!

[neurosies]

9 minutes ago, kaheath80 said:

Hello, I’ve had both too. I did find it hard to know what was OCD and what was the eating disorder. I would weigh myself up to 12 times a day and make myself do 25 press up and sit ups after eating something ‘bad’, if not I felt huge anxiety. I still struggle with this, I have to do a certain amount of exercise and walking a week otherwise I stress I’m going to get fat- but I’m much less obsessive about it than I was and only weigh myself once every few days now. So don’t give up, there is hope!

Wow, I can relate. I walk until my feet bleed everyday :/ I'm so proud of you for improving, it's so difficult and you did it! Can I ask what you've done to become less obsessive? I don't exactly know how to confront my compulsions. Thank you so much for the inspiration! 

[GreyCat]

Hi,

I've also had both. Aneroxia was diagnosed when I did not know anything about OCD yet but also with my knowledge now I don't know what was OCD and what was the eating disorder. It's an addiction so it's normal that it "occupies" you completely. I also had to weigh myself several times a day, I was constantly checking if the distance between my stomach and the trousers was still the same (checking with bottles or other items). I was counting calories and if I ate too much I had to exercise obsessively. I ran on exact the same days, exact the same distance.... To be honest until today I don't know how much of this was OCD and how much was the easting disorder. I would tend to attribute it more to the addiction. Unfortunately I can't contribute much in the sense of how to overcome it. I banished the scales, I bought a new pair of trousers so I could not compare the past with the present. I stopped running completely and changed to more relaxing "sports" like walking. It was so hard in the beginning! Of course the eating disorder is still present, it's an addiction so it's a lifetime issue but it's more in the background. Unfortunately I shifted the addiction so as said above I  cannot contribute anything in the context of how to overcome it.

[neurosies]

12 hours ago, GreyCat said:

Hi,

I've also had both. Aneroxia was diagnosed when I did not know anything about OCD yet but also with my knowledge now I don't know what was OCD and what was the eating disorder. It's an addiction so it's normal that it "occupies" you completely. I also had to weigh myself several times a day, I was constantly checking if the distance between my stomach and the trousers was still the same (checking with bottles or other items). I was counting calories and if I ate too much I had to exercise obsessively. I ran on exact the same days, exact the same distance.... To be honest until today I don't know how much of this was OCD and how much was the easting disorder. I would tend to attribute it more to the addiction. Unfortunately I can't contribute much in the sense of how to overcome it. I banished the scales, I bought a new pair of trousers so I could not compare the past with the present. I stopped running completely and changed to more relaxing "sports" like walking. It was so hard in the beginning! Of course the eating disorder is still present, it's an addiction so it's a lifetime issue but it's more in the background. Unfortunately I shifted the addiction so as said above I  cannot contribute anything in the context of how to overcome it.

Addiction is a horrible thing! Great job on getting rid of your scales, stopping running, etc. That's still an awesome achievement. I honestly too find it really hard to tell the difference- OCD and eating disorders both cause addictive behaviours. 

I hope you get better with your current addiction quickly!  

[kaheath80]

I forgot about the calorie counting! I had an eating disorder when younger and it was because I read that people should only eat a certain amount of fat, but I decided I needed to eat less than the recommended amount in case I got fat. It was diagnosed as anorexia but I read my medical notes a while ago and they said at the time that I had many traits of OCD....

Re. your questions- I had CBT and as part of that I had to take a leap of faith and stop doing as much walking. I made slight progress, I still feel the need to walk a certain amount. But I’ve mostly stopped counting it all, which I could only do by deciding to take the hard path and force myself not to measure it.

[neurosies]

3 hours ago, kaheath80 said:

I forgot about the calorie counting! I had an eating disorder when younger and it was because I read that people should only eat a certain amount of fat, but I decided I needed to eat less than the recommended amount in case I got fat. It was diagnosed as anorexia but I read my medical notes a while ago and they said at the time that I had many traits of OCD....

Re. your questions- I had CBT and as part of that I had to take a leap of faith and stop doing as much walking. I made slight progress, I still feel the need to walk a certain amount. But I’ve mostly stopped counting it all, which I could only do by deciding to take the hard path and force myself not to measure it.

Oh god, calorie counting is killing me! Great job on reducing your calorie counting. Honestly, I'm impressed by the fact that you had the willpower to stop yourself, I will try to do the same. And thanks for the tip, I'll try CBT in the future!