If you’re struggling with an eating disorder later in life, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed that a lot of the resources for treatment seem to be geared towards adolescents and younger women. It seems like no pays attention to eating disorders in adults.

Eating disorders in adult women go largely undiagnosed because of the mistaken belief that older women simply don’t develop eating disorders.

In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Eating disorders in adults later in life are, without a doubt, prevalent and on the rise. Just as eating disorders don’t discriminate based on gender, they are widespread in people of all ages. Both men and women can develop eating disorders: from in their early teens, into old age.

Is Shame Getting in the Way?

If you’re looking for help for your eating disorder in midlife or as an older woman, you might even feel shame or out of place in the available treatment options. You’re likely berating yourself for struggling with what society deems a young person’s illness – I’ve heard this concern a lot.

The sad reality of this mindset is that it keeps you from engaging in the treatment you so desperately deserve. Yes, seeking treatment for your eating disorders in adults later in life is going to look in a lot of ways very different from those who are younger. However, please know that recovery is still 100% possible.

Here are some things you should know about tackling your eating disorder later in life.

5 Facts About Eating Disorders in Adults

Accessing treatment for your eating disorder in midlife and beyond has the potential to feel scary and isolating. It likely took you a great deal of time and a lot of courage to finally admit you’re ready to seek help. Read on for some important things you really need to know about eating disorder recovery later in life.

#1 You’re Definitely Not Alone

In my years of work in this field, there’s something I’ve seen time and again: many women who attend an outpatient program or joined a support group were certain that they would be the only one over 30 (let alone over 40) – and that wasn’t the case after all!   It may have been the situation historically, but it’s just not anymore.

One 2012 study even found that more women over age 50 met the criteria for disordered eating (13%) than have breast cancer (12%). It’s very sad that the medical and public health community hasn’t acknowledged this disparity and appropriated resources accordingly. We know that so many women are out there are struggling.

The good news is that every day we are seeing more and older women seeking treatment for eating disorders. Remember, because a lot of adult women may not recognize the symptoms or are reluctant to admit their struggle, there might be greater numbers struggling than we even know about.

Of the older women I’ve seen in my office, some have regretted not seeking treatment earlier in life, but none have regretted finally making the decision to get help. It’s never too late to seek recovery.

#2 Life Transitions Can Pull the Trigger

Eating disorders in adults and otherwise arise due to a complex mix of both biological and environmental factors. As these environmental factors have flourished – largely due to the predominance of diet culture and the societal obsession with thinness – eating disorders have grown exponentially. Older women are far from immune to these pressures.

As women, we get the message early on that when things are turn upside down or feel uncomfortable, we can focus on changing our bodies for a convenient sense of relief. Just as puberty or leaving for college might trigger an eating disorder in younger women, there are triggers unique to adult women, as well.

Dealing with infertility, having a baby, going through a divorce, or becoming an empty nester are just some of the eating disorder triggers that commonly affect older women. Menopause and all of the physical and emotional changes that come with it can also be a huge trigger for disordered eating and body image concerns

Moreover, we live in a society that highly values and celebrates youth and vitality.

The pressures on older women to maintain a certain image are relentless.

The reality is that our bodies are meant to change throughout our lives and not designed to stay the same. Accepting the normal changes to our bodies that occur throughout the lifespan is a big part of my work with adult women with eating disorders.

#3 Each Struggle is Unique

Though we might make some convenient generalizations, the story of each person’s eating disorder, and thus their recovery journey, will be entirely unique.  Eating disorders serve an important adaptive function and no two people will have the same experience.

For some women, their eating disorder developed earlier in life, such as during adolescence or young adulthood, but they never fully recovered. If this is you, perhaps you didn’t have access to adequate treatment, motivation to recover, or the right support and so you continued to struggle into adulthood. Over time, your disorder became so habitual that it seemed like nobody, even you, seemed to notice.

For other women, maybe the eating disorder developed in adolescence or early adulthood and you might have fully recovered through treatment. However, later on in adulthood,  a stressor – such as the ones mentioned above – triggered a relapse.  This alone can breed shame and embarrassment.

In the last scenario, which is actually the least common, an eating disorder might have developed for the first time later in life.  Most women who fall into this category would probably admit that they did have pre-existing body image issues or disordered eating when they were younger, even though they didn’t meet criteria for an eating disorder.

 #4 You Deserve Tailored Treatment and Support

Though many of the themes in recovery are the same, the concerns and life circumstances of older women undergoing eating disorder treatment are vastly different from those of younger women.  Physical consequences may look different as well and will need specialized attention.  Thus, if you are accessing treatment as an adult, you deserve an approach that takes all of this into account.

Among the themes that come up in recovery, adult women who are seeking eating disorder treatment are often concerned with what they have lost in their lives.  It’s important to be able to explore and grieve the life that you might perceive you have missed out on due to your disorder.

I often help women reframe what they perceive as lost time as an important survival-based aspect of their lives.

It’s often the case that concern about raising children and ending the cycle of eating disorders can prompt many women to seek treatment as adults.  These women who are busy raising kids can often find it difficult to commit to the time constraints that traditional treatment requires and need a more customized approach.

Women may also be burdened with high-stress careers and have difficulty leaving their responsibilities to seek treatment.  These and so many other unique situations often make it necessary for a more individualized treatment approach and a therapist who understands your needs.

#5 You Can Still Recover

Whether it’s the first or the eleventh time you’ve sought help for your eating disorder, recovery is possible.  I often hear from women that they are embarrassed that they’ve struggled with their eating disorder for as long as they have or that they ‘should have known better’.

I try to help my clients view their eating disorder as part of their unique life story and have the self-compassion to accept their journey.  Even if you feel the time has been lost, your habits are ingrained, and recovery will be difficult (and it will), the life you will gain through eating disorder recovery will be worth it.

A lot of women, especially those who identify as caretakers (and that’s many of us), find it incredibly hard to put their own needs on the forefront.  Seeking eating disorder treatment provides an opportunity to put your physical and mental health as a top priority – to show yourself you deserve better. Remember that full recovery is possible now, no matter what has previously gotten in the way.

Lastly, no one should be going through this process alone.  As an eating disorder and body image therapist for nearly a decade, I work with clients at my office in Agoura Hills, CA and provide online therapy in California and New York.  If you want to learn how I can help you, give me a call now or click on the button below to get in touch to schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation.

Source: Gagne, D. A., Von Holle, A., Brownley, K. A., Runfola, C. D., Hofmeier, S., Branch, K. E., & Bulik, C. M. (2012). Eating disorder symptoms and weight and shape concerns in a large web‐based convenience sample of women ages 50 and above: Results of the gender and body image (GABI) study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(7), 832-844