How Neurodiversity and Eating Disorders Overlap (& How to get help in London, UK)
Since the pandemic began, an increasing number of my California eating disorder therapy clients have demonstrated neurodiverse traits. If you live in or around London, UK, you likely have been watching social media, and when posts and videos come up about ADHD, OCD, or ASD traits, you may relate. It’s true that the stress and trauma of the pandemic have affected (and still affect) all of us. It’s also true that if you have a binge eating disorder, it’s likely that your behaviors have increased, and if you’re neurodivergent, your traits have become more noticeable. So let’s explore how neurodiversity and eating disorders in London, England, UK overlap and how you can get help for it in London, England.
What is Neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is an umbrella term developed in the late 1990s to describe and destigmatize people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It was about moving away from seeing ASD as pathological and toward accepting ASD as a way of having a brain that works differently than the majority of individuals, who are considered neurotypical.
Neurodiversity and Eating Disorders
Since that time, the umbrella of neurodiversity has broadened to include other traits; specifically, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), sensory processing sensitivity (SPS; aka “highly sensitive person” or HSP), and some folks chronic anxiety or depression.
How Do I Know if I’m Neurodiverse?
It depends on who you ask. For some, you need to meet specific diagnostic criteria for ASD, ADHD, and OCD. For others, it’s about how you identify. If you want a very simple TikTok-worthy answer, ask yourself these questions:
Have you commonly felt as though there were things happening in conversations with others that you didn’t quite get? (ASD, ADHD).
Do you have sensory issues in that bright lights, clothing tags, and loud voices bother you much of the time? (ASD, ADHD, SPS)
Do you really struggle with life transitions, and sometimes even task transitions? (ASD, ADHD, OCD)
When you feel overstimulated, you shut down and/or retreat from people. (ASD, ADHD, SPS)
Why Do Neurodivergent Individuals Experience Eating Problems?
Neurodiverse folks can struggle with all types of eating issues. There is a higher prevalence of ADHD binge eating and neurodiversity and eating disorders when compared to the neurotypical population. One reason is that sensory issues are so common with neurodiverse people, and eating involves many of the senses, including sight, smell, and taste. Another reason is that a lot of neurodiverse folks can feel overstimulated with the world around them, and overstimulation can decrease or increase appetite.
ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
ARFID is a diagnosis that emerged with the publication of the DSM-V in 2013. Also known as selective eating or extreme picky eating, there are three subtypes of ARFID. The first has to do with having adverse experiences with food and eating, which can lead to food and eating phobias. The second is when people have aversions to sensory components of certain foods (smell, texture, taste, how it looks, etc.). The third occurs when folks have little-to-no interest in food and eating. Individuals can meet criteria for one subtype, or have a combination of 2-3 subtypes.
Hyperfixation
Hyperfixation is when neurodiverse people are overly focused on eating one type of food, which they eat over and over again, sometimes to the point at which they can become tired of eating it. Many individuals with ADHD binge eating, OCD, and sometimes ASD experience hyper fixation. For example, someone can get REALLY interested in eating chicken nuggets to the point at which they eat it every day, sometimes more than once per day.
Hyperfixation can actually be beneficial in some cases, especially when teens with ARFID need to weight restore. It’s a way for them to increase weight easily, as they feel safe with the food. It’s different from binge eating disorder (BED) because they don’t binge on the food; they just eat it a lot.
ADHD Binge Eating Disorder
When someone eats an inordinately large amount of food in the span of 2 hours, at least 1x/week for 3 months, they meet the criteria for BED. Neurodiverse folks sometimes struggle with binge eating in part because they are looking to soothe themselves when they feel overstimulated. Impulsivity is a common ADHD trait, and issues with impulse control also show up in fMRI brain scans of individuals with BED.
People with OCD can feel obsessed about food, eating, and body image issues. The obsessive thoughts often lead to compulsive behaviors like ADHD binge eating. With SPS, folks can feel so much sensory overload that they are looking to numb out just to feel some eating disorder relief, and binge eating can do that—temporarily. The overstimulation rushes back afterward, and it’s even worse because their tummies feel uncomfortably full.
Are you neurodiverse? Start Working with an Eating Recovery and Binge Eating Coach for ARFID and Binge Eating Treatment in London, England, and all across the United Kingdom.
🌂 Take the first step toward binge eating recovery in the INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY PROGRAM*, which combines a comprehensive online binge eating class with a private, hidden Facebook group where you can get support. It’s an online course for high performers who aim to transform their relationships with food. It is available to you in perpetuity as long as I’m offering the course and the binge eating support group (years!).
Begin Working with Marianne Miller, An ADHD Binge Eating Coach Available in London, England (UK), Toronto, Ontario (CA), NYC (US), and Many Other Locations Online.
🌂 Sign up for the ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD**. It’s a 3-month, online binge-eating coaching + an online class for professionals, students, athletes, and all-around high achievers who just want to gain balance and control of food.
Catch Marianne Miller, Eating Disorder Therapist, and ADHD Binge Eating Coach on Social Media
🌂 Watch my Instagram LIVES on Thursdays from 12-1p PST (3-4p EST, 8-9p GMT) . I have conversations with professionals such as eating disorder dietitians and therapists on many topics, such as binge eating, BED, bulimia, body image, etc. Subscribe to my Instagram @drmariannemiller, and you’ll get bulimia and BED info sent to your phone with my reels, posts, etc.
Disclaimers for Body Image, Binge Eating, and My Virtual Online Binge Eating Program
*The INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY PROGRAM is online binge-eating education and private virtual group support via a Facebook Group. The aim of this course is to help people reduce and eliminate any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY COURSE is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment program and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.
**The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is virtual binge eating education and LIVE virtual coaching support. The goal of this program is to help people stop any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment program and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.