ED Deep Dive: Eating disorders definitions
Recovery Writes has been live for a few months now, but some of you may not be as well-versed in the symptoms, terminology, and diagnoses as others. Maybe you’re passing through because you’re concerned about a loved one, or you’re starting to take a closer look at your own behaviors. Whatever the reason, you are welcome here, and I hope you find Recovery Writes to be as informative as it is therapeutic. So let’s start with identifying the types of eating disorders.
According to the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)—which as of 2021 was last updated in May 2013—eating disorders can be broken down into 10 subcategories.*
Anorexia nervosa (AN)
Bulimia nervosa (BN)
Binge eating disorder (BED)
Other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED)
Pica
Rumination disorder
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
Unspecified feeding or eating disorder (UFED)
Body dysmorphic disorder
Orthorexia nervosa (ON)
Phew, that’s a lot. So let’s take them one at a time.
During the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing blog posts that go deeper into each of these 10 eating disorders, interspersed with some other general blog posts.
Be well, and see you next week!
*A quick note: Eating disorder symptoms can be extremely fluid. You may find that your symptoms fall into more than one category, or don’t fall into any of these categories. Psychiatrists mainly use these classifications for diagnostic purposes in order to satisfy insurance requirements. But just because you’re “diagnosed” with one of these disorders does not necessarily mean you meet all the criteria or aren’t at risk for the others. If you feel like you identify with any of these eating disorders, please visit the Recovery Writes Rules & Resources page to find support near you.
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