Explore the link between social media and orthorexia with BALANCE, understanding the impact of digital platforms on healthy eating obsession and mental health.
“Having an eating disorder” can bring up ideas of many symptoms that seem to only fall into two categories of eating disorders: anorexia or bulimia. Due to this incomplete picture of these illnesses, other eating disorders, such as orthorexia, might go unnoticed, leaving many eating disorders inaccurately diagnosed or not diagnosed at all. It is important to bring awareness to eating disorders that can fly under the radar, such as orthorexia.
Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID, and OSFED may be the most notorious eating disorders, but many lesser-known conditions often fly under the radar, going undiagnosed and untreated. Though they may not have made it to the pages of the DSM or receive an official diagnosis, they're just as real and devastating.
While eating disorders all share certain commonalities, it is essential to distinguish between each type of eating disorder to receive proper individualized care. Orthorexia has gained significant popularity over the past 10-20 years, and while it is not officially recognized as an eating disorder in the DSM-5, it is often confused with anorexia nervosa. Some aspects of these disorders overlap, but each presents differently, and it is crucial to distinguish between the two.
