Orthorexia Nervosa

Orthorexia Nervosa is commonly conceptualized as a hybrid of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and an Eating Disorder.

Similar to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Orthorexia Nervosa consists of both obsessions and compulsions. Orthorexia involves the obsession of maintaining a diet that is “healthy” and “pure”. Individuals with Orthorexia become significantly anxious at the idea of eating any type of food that is considered “unhealthy” or “contaminated”.

Individuals with Orthorexia, compulsively restrict their diet, are often severely underweight, malnourished and unable to perform basic daily activities. At first, they may eliminate a few specific foods from their diet, but over time, their diets often become more and more restricted. Foods that are often avoided are foods that are not organic, vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic or foods that are genetically modified. Eventually, people with Orthorexia may eat only a select number of foods that have been prepared in a manner that they have deemed “correct” or “pure”. Individuals with Orthorexia may experience significant anxiety, consuming foods that are high in calories, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fat, sodium, gluten and dairy. They may also be anxious and/or restrictive about the protein, carbohydrate, fiber, vitamin and mineral content of the food.

Symptoms of Orthorexia

Orthorexia Symptoms Treatment Therapy
  • Excessive research (online and in books) to ensure they do or do not have an illness
  • Recurring reassurance seeking with family members, friends and health professionals
  • Recurring visits to doctors and health professionals about feared illness
  • Seeking excessive “second opinions” by different health professionals about their symptoms or feared illness
  • Checking body for presence or absence of feared illness (E.g. Tanya commonly checked her blood pressure, bowel movements, and umbilical region for signs of a tumor or lump.)
  • Checking body for changes in physical symptoms (E.g. Tanya commonly pushed on her upper abdomen and lymph nodes to check for signs of illness).
  • Avoidance of triggers that may increase their fear of illness (Laney commonly avoided any TV shows about the medical field, magazines, newspapers, etc.)
  • Avoidance of those who have recently been sick (or perceived as being sick)
  • Panic Attacks