Challenges for people with eating disorders and ADHD
The relationship between eating disorders (EDs) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is bidirectional. On the one hand, having ADHD is associated with a higher risk of disordered eating and developing an ED in adulthood. This risk is three times higher for people with ADHD compared to the general population.
The initial reaction to receiving an ADHD diagnosis is often concern due to a lack of understanding of what it means to have this condition. However, not everyone knows what ADHD entails. Therefore, the first step once ADHD is suspected, and once it has been diagnosed, is to provide information about what it involves and how to manage it.
The relationship between ADHD and eating disorders
This knowledge should be provided to the person and, if necessary, to their immediate environment, allowing time to assimilate it and resolve any doubts that may arise.
Another reaction that may also appear, mixed with or separate from relief, is frustration, stemming from having experienced situations of misunderstanding and even mockery or contempt from others (parents, teachers, or classmates). Unfortunately, bullying is all too common in cases of ADHD , as with other learning difficulties, although, like dyslexia, it has nothing to do with low intelligence. It can even be the opposite: having high abilities but poor academic performance.
Once people understand what ADHD entails, most tell us they feel a sense of acceptance after the initial shock of the diagnosis. Sometimes they express relief at finally understanding behaviors or difficulties that have often been with them since childhood, when these tend to be more noticeable in areas such as behavior or learning.
It should also be noted that, in the case of ADHD, a triple diagnosis can occur, because it is often associated with other learning difficulties such as dyslexia , or also with tics , insomnia , anxiety , or depression …
Next, it's important to consider the relationship between ADHD and eating disorders. Most often, when ADHD and eating problems coincide, it's a binge-eating disorder or bulimia, because these are usually related to the impulsivity characteristic of ADHD and the difficulty in delaying gratification. Individuals with ADHD are more prone to compulsive eating behaviors such as excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, and binge eating.
I've been diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, now what?
We listened to the experiences of people with dual diagnoses
By talking to people who are struggling with an eating disorder and have been diagnosed with ADHD, we can better understand how they feel and what difficulties they face. We spoke with teenagers and adults at different stages of their journey with the disorder, and these are their reflections.
What has it meant for you to receive a double diagnosis of eating disorder and ADHD?
"Now I understand many of my everyday behaviors that I don't see in others. I'm always doing several things at once. I forget what I was going to look for and have to go back several times. I've struggled with change since childhood. It was very difficult for me at school. I passed by underlining and copying, through repetition."
I've always needed to move around, and most teachers didn't understand and scolded me. There was one teacher who let me move around, I passed, and it was my best year. Sometimes people get annoyed because I repeat things to them.
We need to understand why we've spent our entire childhood feeling different.
What things do you see in yourself that you don't see in other people with eating disorders?
"I have to constantly hold myself back."
"I need time to process information, from childhood. They have to explain things to me little by little."
"My mind is always racing, I wish it would shut up."
"I've reached a point where I don't know how to stop (with food). I try, I understand it's necessary, but I can't."
"Sitting down to a meal is a challenge, due to the internal activation."
"I'm more absentminded than others. You can tell me something now, but if I don't write it down, I won't remember it."
"I have more difficulty maintaining attention during therapy sessions."
What would you advise to be taken into account in the treatment of other people who have both problems?
"Understanding the added difficulties: During my hospitalization they told me I ate very fast, and it's because I do everything very fast."
People with eating disorders and a late diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood have conveyed to us their impression that, had ADHD been discovered earlier, they believe the eating problem could have changed a lot.
"If they had diagnosed ADHD earlier, they could have helped me understand myself and manage my mind."
Finally, it should be added that when there is a dual diagnosis of eating disorder and ADHD, it will be necessary to consider that the second one has a specific pharmacological treatment when choosing the drugs.
Featuring
