The first step in understanding if you’re potentially experiencing an eating disorder is acknowledging that something isn’t right, and you may need some additional help.

Often when people engage in eating disorder behaviours, they are trying to cope with a range of challenging feelings, beliefs or experiences. Admitting something is wrong can feel daunting, and there may be resistance to addressing some of the concerning behaviours. It can be helpful to understand the stages of change when contemplating help for an eating disorder. 

It doesn’t matter about age, gender, ethnicity or background — anyone can develop an eating disorder. That’s because eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder are complex mental illnesses without a single identifiable cause.

The symptoms for eating disorders also present differently for each individual, which makes self-diagnosis or diagnosis without a professional’s input difficult and potentially dangerous.  It’s also worth noting that diagnoses and symptoms can change over time, so being guided on your recovery journey with the help of a psychologist or GP is advisable.

If you are looking for common signs and symptoms of eating disorders, please visit our pages on:

• Anorexia nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Binge eating disorder
• ARFID
• Other eating disorders

Below are some tools to help you decide whether you or a loved one need to seek professional help for an eating disorder.

The InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders offers a free, online screening questionnaire which when completed, provides general guidance and next steps.

Upon completion of the screening questionnaire, you are given the option of completing a more formal assessment tool, known as the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). The EDE-Q is a standard tool used by health professionals treating people with eating disorders. It’s important not to try and interpret the results of the EDE-Q, but rather provide the results to a clinician, such as a GP or psychologist.

Feed Your Instinct (FYI) is an interactive tool designed to help people who are concerned about a loved one’s eating and/or body image problems.

The Feed Your Instinct Eating and Body Image Checklist outlines some behaviour changes you may have noticed in a loved one. Once the checklist is completed, FYI will generate a personalised report with a summary of the information you have provided and suggested strategies for you to implement.

This report may help you to make a decision about how to act on your concerns; however, please note that it is not safe to ‘watch and wait’ with possible eating disorders in young people. In addition, Feed Your Instinct will generate a separate printable summary for you to take to your family doctor/GP to help communicate your concerns.

The Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV) Hub is a free and confidential service providing information and support to people who are experiencing an eating disorder or are supporting a loved one with an eating disorder. The EDV Hub isn’t a diagnostic service, however we can talk with you about your concerns and provide resources for the next steps of help seeking.

Telling someone for the first time can be a daunting experience, but can also bring with it a great sense of relief as you are no longer carrying your concerns alone.

You do not need to attempt to tackle an eating disorder alone. Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, so it’s important that you get support from someone close to you, such as a family member, partner or a friend. If you don’t have someone trusted in your life to talk to, you may decide to confide in a health professional like your family doctor. 

Who should I tell?

When you are considering who to talk to, make sure they are someone trustworthy, sensitive and understanding, who you feel comfortable speaking with. Ensure you talk to someone who will support you in finding the best path to getting better.

You may feel more comfortable talking to a family member, close friend, sports coach, teacher (if you’re at school), colleague, or spiritual leader. Sometimes it is easier to open up to someone outside of your immediate circle of family and friends because the level of emotional attachment is less significant.

If you think you may have an eating disorder or if you are diagnosed with an eating disorder, it’s important to start accessing treatment and support services.

There are a number of treatment and recovery support options for people with eating disorders in Victoria. Continue reading the links below for information about:

• Talking with a doctor,
• Treatment pathways for adults
• Treatment pathways for young people
• Types of evidence-based treatment
• Lived experience peer support.