Eating Disorders Overlap With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Among the more disabling elements of disordered eating is obsessive thought patterns. A person with bulimia, for example, doesn't just stop her otherwise normal day, binge and purge, and go back to her day. Much of that day involves thinking about what will happen in the binge, whether there will be a convenient place to purge, who will be nearby who could get in the way, and so forth.

It's the same for restricting anorexia, but thoughts are often centered around how many calories are in a carrot stick, how much has been eaten during the day, and how to arrange so that the exact amount of calories the person thinks is "okay" are eaten in just the right ways.

When these symptoms go far enough, they can slip into the territory of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD.

What fewer people probably recognize is that many of the obsessions and compulsions present for those with eating disorders have nothing to do with food.

• How eating disorders and OCD interact
• Personality disorders also not uncommon with EDs
• Obsessing about getting big?