How do I know if I need help?

Emotional eating is when your emotions drive your eating habits in order to cope with life. Your eating patterns no longer support keeping your body in a healthy and balanced state. We believe all eating disorders share the same root cause: Emotional Eating. Therefore, at Heemang, we go beyond labels and focus on your unique experience and develop a program that is customized to you.

Let’s begin by learning about some of the most commonly recognised Eating Disorders:

  • Anorexia Nervosa

    It is often described as a love/hate relationship. You may find yourself desperate for help at times, yet simultaneously wanting to hide away and protect the disorder.
    The rules you have around food and your body consume your entire life.
    You may find it hard to talk about the “voice in your head”, constantly telling you to eat less, and torturing you if you dare to eat more. You feel an overwhelming loneliness, and it may seem like you are drowning in all your secrets, which only you and the disorder know about.

  • Bulimia Nervosa

    You feel like you are living a dual life. You binge and purge in secret, yet appear fine from the outside. This secretive life terrifies you. The fear of being exposed is a constant source of anxiety. You find it difficult to physically feel food in your body, almost as if the heaviness you were trying to escape is now inside of you.
    This leaves you feeling confused and frustrated. You feel alone and shameful, making it difficult to open up and seek help.

  • Binge Eating Disorder

    Overeating is your biggest source of comfort but also your biggest secret. Your eating patterns are chaotic. There is always guilt about what you have eaten, which you attach to your self worth. You are constantly trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain. Obsessing and thinking about food often leads to feeling out of control, especially around certain kinds of food.

  • Orthorexia

    Thoughts about how food affects your health are consuming your daily life and take up most of your brain space. Your top priority is to be “healthy” and to do that with absolute diligence. Eating “clean” and only certain types (brands, trends) of foods makes you feel more in control. You are constantly worried about your next meal, especially if it is not prepared by you and you do not know every single ingredient. You are convinced that certain types of food must be avoided, as they are harmful for you (ex. sugar, gluten, etc). This constant stress can cause harm to all aspects of your life, most often finances and relationships.

  • Obesity

    Food feels like your best friend, yet is something you cannot trust. You are always on a diet, but somehow always feel bigger than you were before. Eating in public is difficult due to the shame you associate with feeding yourself. You choose the “healthy options” for fear of being judged, therefore, you often eat in secret or alone. It feels like the weighing scale is your friend and your biggest enemy at the same time.
    Phrases such as: “out of control”, “will power”, and “the diet starts tomorrow” are quite familiar to you. You are not really searching for another diet, but instead desperate for answers and some help.

You do not have to tick all the boxes. It's more than likely that you don’t exactly fit under any of these labels. If you are imprisoned by thoughts about food and your body, it needs to be addressed. When negative emotions surrounding food and keep you from living life to the fullest, you need some assistance. Here at Heemang, we ensure you are not alone on your journey.

We help you rediscover yourself and work with you on building your path to recovery.