Could A Sensory Processing Disorder Be At The Root of Your Eating Disorder?

The reason eating disorders are so hard to treat is that they are such complex conditions. It is usually a combination of factors that lead up to the "perfect storm" of conditions that cause an eating disorder. Some of these factors are psychological, some are emotional, some are genetic, some are behavioral, and some are environmental.

The more health care providers understand what is at the root of your eating disorder, the better equipped they are to help design a treatment that addresses all these possible factors. That's why it's so important when researchers discover new connections between eating disorders and other conditions.

One recent study published in the "Global Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities" suggests that Sensory Processing Disorders may be linked to eating disorders in some people.

What Is a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)?

SPDs are when the brain has trouble processing sensory information. For example, someone whose brain has difficulty processing tactile (touch) sensory information may be extremely irritated by rough fabrics, seams, tags are sewn on the inside of their shirt or an unexpected touch from another. A towel might feel soft to you, but to a person with a tactile SPD, it might feel like sandpaper. A hug may feel like an assault.

In some cases, the brain has issues with just one sense; in more extreme cases, it has issues with all five senses. It's commonly found in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.

Living with an SDP can be draining because a person lives in perpetual anxiety, worrying about the next trigger that will aggravate his condition. The people around SDP sufferers have often been unsympathetic, seeing the sufferer as a difficult or fussy person who over-reacts.

How Do SPDs Relate to Eating Disorders?

Researchers have noticed that children with SDP often have nutritional deficiencies. This is because eating involves multiple sensory experiences. For some people, certain odors, food textures, or flavors are an unpleasant experience due to SPD. People with SPDs typically have limited food choices because they have aversions to the triggering sensory experiences those foods may cause.

People with eating disorders that involve food avoidance or pica (eating non-food items that have no nutritional value) may have SDP, the researchers theorize. More research is needed in this area, but if SDP is a factor in a person's eating disorder, it will help health care providers diagnose and treat both conditions better.

Sources: Eating Disorder Hope, Juniper Publishers

Photo: Pexels

More Articles

In the past, eating disorders were primarily considered to be behavior. This overly-simplistic misunderstanding of the issue only created more...

Sudden light-headedness can be a frightening experience for anyone, particularly if you are unsure of the cause. For many, experiencing occasional...

Maintaining a balanced diet not only keeps our body functioning at its best, it also keeps our skin, hair, and nails looking bright and healthy....

Researchers are closer to finding the genetic cause for binge eating and might be getting closer to an effective treatment. “Based upon our...

When a person begins recovery treatment for anorexia nervosa, they may need to initiate a process known as refeeding. The refeeding process is a...

More Articles

More Articles

In the past, eating disorders were primarily considered to be behavior. This overly-simplistic misunderstanding of the issue only created more...

Sudden light-headedness can be a frightening experience for anyone, particularly if you are unsure of the cause. For many, experiencing occasional...

Maintaining a balanced diet not only keeps our body functioning at its best, it also keeps our skin, hair, and nails looking bright and healthy....

Researchers are closer to finding the genetic cause for binge eating and might be getting closer to an effective treatment. “Based upon our...

When a person begins recovery treatment for anorexia nervosa, they may need to initiate a process known as refeeding. The refeeding process is a...

When a baby is in utero, they develop fine white hairs all over their body. These are known as lanugo hairs and they protect the baby’s skin from...

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics found more than 90 percent of patients with eating disorders not specifically defined (EDNOS) in...

Eating disorders might be hard to talk about, or even to admit to yourself. If you know, or if you even suspect, you have an eating disorder,...

If you suspect your child has an eating disorder, you may feel overwhelmed. There are a few things you should know upfront.

First and...

Eating disorders don't discriminate. They don't care if you're rich or poor, they don't care about your color or gender, and they don't care if...

In the U.S., an estimated one in 200 people develop an eating disorder. That is a startling number, but another number is even more alarming: one...

A lot of what people know about eating disorders comes from "common knowledge." Unfortunately, common knowledge isn't always correct, or it may...

Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that is characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight. In many cases, people suffering from this...

Most people find holidays stressful, but the thought of facing holidays can be overwhelming for a person with an eating disorder. If a special day...

Blood disorders are a common occurrence in people with disrupted eating habits or nutrient deficiencies. As a result, people with eating disorders...