Holistic Treatment for Eating Disorders

Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) are serious mental health conditions, but they have a dangerous impact on more than psychological well-being.

Physical, mental, and emotional health are all negatively impacted by eating disorders, and treatment for these conditions must likewise be comprehensive, addressing these various causes and symptoms.

Holistic treatment is an approach to care that addresses the patient as a whole, exploring not just the physical causes or symptoms of their illness but mental, emotional, and social factors as well. This can make holistic approaches to treatment particularly helpful for people struggling with eating disorders.

Table of Contents

    What is Holistic Treatment?

    Holistic treatment isn’t any particular set of procedures, skills, or routines. Rather, it’s an overarching approach to healthcare that informs the way healthcare workers understand, treat, and work with their patients.

    The idea behind holistic care is that a patient is more than the sum of their symptoms. Instead, healthcare workers are encouraged to view each patient and their illness as unique, comprised of various interlocking factors.

    Aside from physical and biological issues, some considerations a holistic health care provider takes into account include: [1]

    • Psychological health history
    • Familial and social circumstances
    • Socioeconomic and ethical considerations
    • Spiritual concerns or practices

    Generally, this approach to treatment also focuses on helping patients restore balance between their body, mind, and spirit rather than curing any specific symptoms of an illness. The idea is that all people have innate healing powers, and a provider and patient should work together to achieve the best possible results.

    Types of Holistic Treatment

    Again, holistic care is not a particular set of treatments, but a perspective or attitude healthcare workers adopt. Many general physicians incorporate holistic care principles in their everyday practice.

    Outside of that, some modalities are generally considered more “holistic,” as they address the patient as a whole and focus on restoring mental, physical, and emotional balance, including: [2]

    • Massage
    • Acupuncture
    • Traditional Chinese Medicine
    • Ayurvedic practices
    • Herbal and nutritional-based treatments
    • Naturopathic treatments
    • Chiropractic care

    Often, patients receiving holistic care will undergo several types of treatment at once, including Western medicinal treatments along with “alternative” forms of care.

    Holistic Treatment for Eating Disorders

    Many aspects of holistic care help address eating disorders. Mental disorders are complex conditions and should be treated with a comprehensive approach that caters to the unique factors impacting each patient.

    Some holistic modalities may be beneficial for people with eating disorders.

    Body Awareness Therapies

    While holistic healthcare strives to balance body, mind, and spirit, some techniques can help a patient become more aware of or in tune with their bodies.

    Massage, chiropractic care, and yoga can all help connect the mind and body. This can be particularly helpful for eating disorder patients, as a fear of gaining weight or a distorted body image can cause disconnection or dissociation from the body or encourage negative feelings toward the physical self.

    Developing a stronger connection with the body can help create a more positive and intuitive relationship with body image and food, inform healthier attitudes and eating behaviors, and encourage a higher sense of self-worth.

    Relaxation Therapies

    Nearly all types of eating disorders manifest as maladaptive coping mechanisms. Stress, depression, anxiety, and trauma are very common triggers for disordered eating behaviors.

    Distress tolerance, in particular, has been found to impact susceptibility to eating disorder development, along with trouble regulating emotions and avoidant tendencies. [3]

    A holistic approach might combat this by utilizing treatments encouraging mental and physical relaxation, including acupuncture, yoga, and mindfulness practices.

    Nutrition-Based Therapies

    Many holistic modalities focus on restoring balance through a more balanced diet, a goal that overlaps with many eating disorder treatment programs.

    Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine both draw heavily on herbal and dietary remedies for specific symptoms and overall illnesses, and aspects of these teachings may also be included in eating disorder recovery programs.

    Nutritional education and/or counseling is also part of most eating disorder treatment programs, with patients learning more about healthy eating habits and the importance of having a well-rounded diet.

    Other Holistic Considerations

    Holistic healthcare doesn’t just focus on someone’s symptoms or even the patient themself, but outside factors that may also play a role in developing or maintaining illness.

    Someone’s living environment, religious beliefs, ethical ideals, and socioeconomic status may all be taken into consideration when determining the best course of treatment from a holistic standpoint.

    When used to treat eating disorders, these considerations may inform or encourage certain dietary plans or therapeutic approaches, such as recommending family-based therapy for patients who need more recovery support in their home environment or different eating plans for patients with specific food-based religious beliefs.

    Is Holistic Treatment for Eating Disorders Effective?

    Much more research is needed to determine the impact of holistic care on eating disorders specifically. One comprehensive look at alternative eating disorder treatments found that some popular “holistic” practices—along with pharmacotherapy—were examined in just 9% of eating disorder studies. [4]

    Still, the analysis found that the alternative solutions that were tried showed at least some benefits. Included in the findings were looks at:

    • Acupuncture
    • Yoga
    • Bright light therapy
    • Eye movement desensitization and processing
    • Relaxation therapy
    • Hypnosis
    • Massage

    Reported benefits from these approaches included a reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms and an increased quality of life. Some patients also showed reduced eating disorder pathology or disordered ways of thinking after trying these approaches. [4]

    Still, for many common eating disorders, these modalities would likely be used as supplementary treatments, with patients also receiving care such as psychotherapy and nutritional counseling.

    Finding Help for Eating Disorders

    Eating disorders are dangerous conditions that don’t go away on their own. Specialized care is generally required to help someone overcome the difficult and complex issues that lead to maintaining or developing eating disorders.

    If you or a loved one are showing signs of disordered eating or thinking about body image or food, it may be time to seek out help.

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    Your primary care doctor or therapist is a good place to start. These experts can generally lead you toward your next best steps or assist you in receiving an official diagnosis. A number of eating disorder hotlines can also provide information and allow callers to anonymously ask detailed questions.

    But the important thing to remember is that eating disorders are treatable. Whether you take a holistic approach to care or adhere to more Westernized medicinal ideals, it’s possible to achieve recovery and live a healthier and happier future.

    Resources

    1. Gordon JS. (1982). Holistic medicine: advances and shortcomings. The Western Journal of Medicine; 136(6):546–551.
    2. Marks K. (2023, November 16). What Is Holistic Medicine and How Does It Work? WebMD. Accessed August 2024.
    3. Corstorphine E, Mountford V, Tomlinson S, Waller G, Meyer C. (2007). Distress tolerance in the eating disorders. Eating Behaviors; 8(1):91-97.
    4. Rodan SC, Bryant E, Le A, Maloney D, Touyz S, McGregor IS, Maguire S. (2023). Pharmacotherapy, alternative and adjunctive therapies for eating disorders: findings from a rapid review. Journal of Eating Disorders; 11(1):112.

    Published August 21, 2024.