Dissociation and Disordered Eating

There is a strong link between eating disorders and dissociation.

Many folks who suffer from eating disorders are dissociated from their bodies and their bodily functions. This means they may not know if/when they are full or hungry. They also may not know if they are injured or if they need to go to the bathroom.

Those with Bulimia and a history of trauma have much higher rates of dissociation than patients with other diagnoses. And there is often a dissociative element in the bingeing behavior where there is a trance-like quality to the eating or the post-binge period.

Many folks who have Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or OSDD have disordered eating, often related to trauma around eating, body image or dieting. It is also possible that eating disordered behaviors are restricted to only certain parts of the personality.