People with anxiety are more likely to develop eating disorders
Research consistently shows a strong overlap between anxiety and eating disorders.
Anxiety isn’t just a symptom of eating disorders—for many people, it’s part of the foundation.
When anxiety goes untreated, eating disorder symptoms are more likely to develop, persist, or return.
Here’s what the research tells us:
For some, anxiety shows up long before any eating concerns. For others, the eating disorder becomes a way to cope with anxiety. Either way, research makes one thing clear: The two conditions frequently co-occur and influence one another.
Anxiety around food is not always an eating disorder
Not all anxiety-related changes in appetite signal an eating disorder. Anxiety can affect the body in many different ways that can make us:
Afraid to eat in public
Eat less when stress is high
Binge eat during periods of anxiety
Skip meals without intending to
Feel disconnected from hunger cues
These experiences can be signs of anxiety, but they don’t automatically mean that someone has an eating disorder.
At the same time, anxiety-based changes in eating behaviors can cause real distress, health concerns, and emotional strain. These patterns, if not managed safely, can increase the risk of developing an eating disorder.
An important reminder: You do not need to put a label on your experience to take it seriously. Support is available even without a diagnosis.
Why do eating disorders and anxiety often go together?
Security and control are often at the center of the connection between eating disorders and anxiety.
Research suggests that people with eating disorders are more likely to get stuck in cycles of worry and rumination.[3] This looks like repetitive, negative thoughts that don’t resolve on their own. These thought loops can increase emotional distress and make certain eating behaviors feel like a way to cope or find relief, even if only temporarily.
The table shows how anxiety can show up across eating disorder presentations.
Presentations | How Anxiety Often Shows Up |
Anorexia nervosa |
|
Binge eating disorder |
|
Bulimia nervosa |
|
Anxiety disorder |
|
These patterns alone are not intended to diagnose an eating disorder. They simply show how anxiety can attach to food and eating in different ways.
Eating disorders offer a false sense of security
People often ask why certain eating disorder behaviors sometimes reduce their symptoms of anxiety. When anxiety feels overwhelming, these behaviors can offer brief relief by quieting distress or creating a sense of control.
That relief can show up in different ways:
Restriction may feel calming by creating order or control when anxiety feels out of control.
Binge eating may temporarily numb anxious thoughts or emotional overwhelm.
Purging may briefly reduce discomfort or fear after eating.
Over time, these patterns tend to reinforce anxiety rather than resolve it. And eating disorder behaviors can create an illusion: “My eating disorder helps me. I’m not anxious because I have my eating disorder.” Recovery requires deconstructing this false sense of control or safety.
Social anxiety and eating disorders
Social anxiety, including eating in front of others, can feel overwhelming, pulling people back toward old coping habits. This is especially true for teens and young adults, who often have overlapping anxiety and eating concerns.[4]
Anxiety around eating in social settings can show up as:
Fear of being watched, judged, or doing something “wrong” while eating
Avoiding meals with others or skipping social events
Creating rigid rules to feel safer around food
Increasing isolation, which can strengthen anxiety over time
This anxiety can make recovery more challenging, which is why treatment often includes exposure work, confidence building and skills-based support.
Relapse: How do stress and anxiety trigger setbacks in recovery?
Major life stressors, uncertainty, or emotional overwhelm can make old coping strategies feel tempting again and can trigger a relapse. But relapse does not mean failure. It means:
Your anxiety needs attention
Your coping skills need reinforcement
Your body and brain are asking for support
In recovery, stress is inevitable and triggers will happen. What matters is learning how to respond to anxiety without putting barriers between you and your feelings. Slips don’t erase progress; they offer information. And even in those moments, you still have choices.
How Eating Recovery Center can help
At Eating Recovery Center, we treat eating disorders and co-occurring anxiety together. Our teams understand how closely these experiences are connected and why addressing only one often isn’t enough.
Care is tailored to where you are right now. That may include:
Individual and group therapy
Learning skills-based approaches for anxiety
Reading through our resources on practical skills to help manage triggers
Exposure therapy
Psychiatric and medical care
Even if you don’t meet the criteria for a more severe or longstanding eating disorder, you deserve support.
Not sure what you need? We can help.
Click here to schedule a free introductory call or call (866) 622-5914 to speak with a master's-level clinician. Calls require no commitment and are 100% confidential.