When one thinks about eating disorders, people usually think about anorexia and bulimia – as these are the two most commonly occurring one. But in fact they are more than just disorders, they are also psychological disorders. But there is another widespread problem that is slowly coming to the surface – which you need to know about. This is called orthorexia nervosa – and is threatening thousands of men and women all over the word. In this article, we shall tell you about orthorexia nervosa, because it can damage a person’s chances of living a proper, healthy life.

What is Orthorexia nervosa?

This is basically a pathological and emotional fixation on diet and food. It is quite closely associated with the obsessive compulsive disorder; in fact, many doctors do say that it’s a form of OCD. The truth is – orthorexia overlaps among other kinds of eating disorders, and it is now recognized as an illness in its own right.

The closest definition is that orthorexics are perfectionists, about food-related matters. For instance, all aspects of the diet are carefully planned by them, sometimes days in advance. They also think a lot about food, they may read food books obsessively, or pore over food-related websites and blogs.

Since these orthorexics spend all their free time obsessing about food, they think that they know a lot about health, and that they are very knowledgeable about the issue. Thus they feel contemptuous and superior towards those who do not know about food as much as they do.

But shouldn’t healthy diet be a good thing?

Well, of course it’s always a good idea to be genuinely interested and passionate about food, but the truth is that orthorexics tend to take the matter too far. If you point it out to them, they will most probably say that they are trying to raise their voice about society’s unhealthy diet, but there is more to the matter than this. There is a strong element of psychological disturbance which needs to be looked into.

However, the most dangerous thing about orthorexia nervosa is that it leads to other dangerous disorders. Many symptoms of orthorexia are quite similar to bulimia and anorexia – a pattern of punishment related to food, an emotional relationship with food, and secretive behavior. So orthorexics should be given the support to re-think and re-evaluate their behavior and thought, to take a step back and contemplate. Of course caring about diet and health is good, but sometimes it can be taken too far, and if it becomes an unhealthy obsession, then it can play havoc with an otherwise healthy life.