It’s not uncommon for someone with an eating disorder to have a history of anxiety. Anxiety can be a risk factor for developing an eating disorder, and eating disorders can also exacerbate anxiety. Regardless of which existed first, it’s important to establish regular eating habits and restore nutrition before focusing on anxiety symptoms.

You don’t need to be fully recovered from an eating disorder before you start addressing anxiety or depression. However, it’s important to focus on establishing regular eating habits and resolving any malnutrition (and gaining weight, if needed) before working on other mental health goals. That’s because when your body and brain don’t have the fuel they need to work properly, you can’t make real progress on other treatment goals.

Additionally, many symptoms of anxiety and depression lessen or even go away completely once you’re consistently eating enough food.

Very common. According to research, over 70% of those with eating disorders have at least one other mental health diagnosis. Common co-occurring conditions include anxiety, depression, OCD, and neurodivergence.

Eating disorders often co-occur with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), so all our providers are trained to understand and adapt care for this overlap.

Our approach is personalized: providers work with patients to understand how their autism and sensory processing issues impact their eating behaviors, and then develop a plan that takes those unique needs into account. With this tailored approach, we’ve seen great success in treating eating disorders in Autistic individuals.