The Devastating Effects of Trauma and Its Deep Connection to Eating Disorders
By Nicole Schwartz, Trauma-Informed Recovery Coach
Trauma is an invisible force that shapes lives in ways we don’t always recognize. It lingers beneath the surface, influencing thoughts, behaviors, and even the body’s relationship with food. While eating disorders are often misunderstood as issues of vanity or self-control, the truth is far more complex. For many survivors of trauma, disordered eating behaviors develop as a way to cope with unbearable emotions, self-blame, and a deep-seated disconnect from their own bodies.
At its core, trauma shatters a person’s sense of safety, stability, and control. Whether it stems from childhood abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, medical trauma, the sudden loss of a loved one, systemic oppression, combat, or any other deeply distressing experience, trauma fundamentally disrupts the way individuals relate to their emotions and their physical selves. Eating disorders often emerge as survival mechanisms—attempts to manage emotions that feel unmanageable. Understanding this connection is crucial, not only for effective treatment but also for helping survivors break free from cycles of shame and self-punishment that eating disorders reinforce.
How Trauma Alters the Brain and Body
Trauma is not just an emotional experience—it rewires the brain and leaves lasting physiological effects on the nervous system. When a person experiences trauma, their brain initiates a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response, flooding the body with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These responses, meant for short-term survival, can become chronic if trauma remains unresolved.
Many trauma survivors live in a state of hypervigilance, constantly feeling on edge, anxious, or emotionally numb. This dysregulation can lead to difficulty processing emotions, disrupted hunger cues, and a disconnection from bodily sensations—all of which contribute to the development of eating disorders. For some, restriction provides a sense of control in a chaotic world. For others, binge eating numbs emotional pain and purging serves as a means of self-punishment or release.
What many people don’t realize is that eating disorders are often a trauma response, not a conscious choice. Survivors don’t engage in disordered eating because they want to; they do so because their brains and bodies have adapted in a way that makes these behaviors feel necessary for survival.
The Strong Link Between Trauma and Eating Disorders
The connection between trauma and eating disorders is undeniable, shaping the way survivors navigate their relationship with food, their bodies, and their sense of self. A significant number of individuals with eating disorders have experienced trauma in some form—whether through childhood neglect, physical abuse, sexual violence, domestic abuse, bullying, medical trauma, systemic oppression, or other deeply distressing experiences. The connection between trauma and disordered eating is well-documented, with many survivors using food and body control as a means to cope with overwhelming emotions and past wounds.
While not every trauma survivor develops an eating disorder, those who do often share similar underlying struggles—overwhelming shame, a profound sense of disconnection from their bodies, and difficulty regulating emotions. For many, disordered eating is not about food at all—it is about survival, control, and finding a way to cope with the unbearable weight of what they have endured. The restriction, bingeing, or purging may serve as temporary relief, but over time, it reinforces a cycle of self-punishment, avoidance, and emotional suppression that becomes harder to break.
Without addressing the underlying trauma, recovery from an eating disorder remains incomplete. True healing requires more than symptom management, it calls for trauma-informed care that acknowledges the emotional wounds driving these behaviors. Recognizing this connection is essential, not just for treatment, but for creating a world where survivors feel seen, validated, and empowered to reclaim their lives beyond their pain.
Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Profound Risk Factor
There is a well-recognized connection between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and eating disorders, with many survivors experiencing long-term struggles with body image, self-worth, and emotional regulation. Survivors of CSA often carry intense shame, a sense of violation, and a fractured relationship with their bodies. The trauma of abuse can make a person feel as though their body is not their own, leading to disordered eating behaviors as an attempt to regain control, numb emotional pain, or redefine their self-worth.
Survivors of CSA may develop distinct patterns in their relationship with food, often mirroring the emotional and psychological wounds left by their trauma:
Anorexia Nervosa: Restricting food intake as a way to “disappear,” shrink their presence, or feel in control of a body that once felt powerless.
Bulimia Nervosa: Engaging in cycles of bingeing and purging to purge feelings of shame, guilt, or self-hatred connected to their trauma.
Binge Eating Disorder: Using food as a form of emotional numbing, comfort, or self-protection, especially when emotions feel too overwhelming to process.
At its core, disordered eating for many CSA survivors is not about food—it is about survival. It becomes a means of coping with unprocessed trauma, dissociating from painful memories, or punishing themselves for harm that was never their fault. The body, once the site of violation, becomes both the battleground and the shield, reflecting the unspoken pain that words cannot fully express.
When Abuse Controls the Body: Domestic Violence and Disordered Eating
Survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse are at an increased risk of developing disordered eating behaviors, as the lasting effects of coercion, control, and psychological manipulation can deeply influence how they relate to their bodies and emotions. When a person’s autonomy over their own body has been repeatedly violated—whether through physical harm, control, or psychological manipulation—they may turn to food as a way to reclaim a sense of control, numb emotional distress, or cope with overwhelming feelings of powerlessness.
Eating disorders in this population often reflect a desperate attempt to regain autonomy, whether through extreme restriction, compulsive exercise, or emotional eating. Abusive partners frequently distort their victims’ perception of their bodies, using criticism, coercion, or control over food intake as tools of manipulation and degradation. As a result, survivors may engage in self-destructive eating patterns that mirror the emotional turmoil inflicted by their abuser.
Common disordered eating responses to domestic violence may include:
Compulsive dieting to meet the unrealistic or impossible physical expectations imposed by an abuser.
Emotional eating as a way to soothe stress, fear, or overwhelming sadness.
Purging behaviors as an attempt to “cleanse” oneself of internalized shame or feelings of worthlessness.
For survivors of domestic abuse, healing goes beyond changing eating habits—it requires addressing the trauma stored in the body and the psychological wounds left by prolonged control and mistreatment. Recognizing the link between domestic violence and disordered eating is essential to providing trauma-informed support that fosters self- empowerment, body autonomy, and lasting recovery.
Unhealed Trauma: PTSD’s Role in Disordered Eating
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among those who have survived sexual violence, domestic abuse, childhood neglect, or other deeply distressing or life-altering events. Symptoms like flashbacks, hypervigilance, dissociation, and emotional numbness can make daily functioning overwhelming. Many individuals with PTSD may use disordered eating as a way to dissociate from painful memories, suppress emotional responses, or regain a sense of structure in a life that feels chaotic.
Restrictive eating, bingeing, or purging behaviors can temporarily dull the intensity of PTSD symptoms, offering a false sense of control or relief. However, these behaviors ultimately reinforce a harmful cycle of avoidance and self-destruction. Instead of processing trauma in a way that leads to healing, individuals become trapped in patterns of emotional suppression through food and body control.
For many, the fear of confronting traumatic memories keeps them locked in these cycles for years, making it critical to approach both PTSD and eating disorders with trauma-informed care that provides safety, stability, and emotional regulation skills.
Case Illustration: Breaking the Cycle: A Survivor’s Journey Through Trauma and Food
To truly understand the link between trauma and eating disorders, consider the case of Rebecca (name changed for confidentiality).
Rebecca was sixteen years old when she experienced a deeply traumatic event—one that shattered her sense of safety and left her struggling to regain control over her emotions and body. In the months that followed, she withdrew from the activities she once loved, feeling disconnected from herself and the world around her. The emotional weight of her trauma became overwhelming, and without the tools to process it, she sought relief in controlling what she could—her food intake.
At first, restricting food felt like a way to regain stability in an unpredictable world. The sense of control provided temporary relief from her anxiety, and for a while, it seemed to help her manage the emotions she couldn’t put into words. But soon, her thoughts became consumed with food, numbers, and self-discipline. What started as a coping mechanism turned into a harmful cycle, where her self-worth became tied to how little she ate and how much she could control her body.
As time went on, Rebecca found it harder to concentrate in school and became more withdrawn from her friends. She wasn’t aware that her body was struggling under the strain—she only knew that breaking the cycle felt impossible. It wasn’t until a routine doctor’s visit revealed concerning signs of malnutrition that she was urged to seek professional help.
With the support of a trauma-informed therapist, Rebecca slowly began to understand the connection between her trauma and her eating disorder. She worked to rebuild trust with herself and her body, learning that true healing wasn’t about control—it was about care, self-compassion, and processing the pain she had been carrying for so long.
Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters
Eating disorders are not just about food—they are about survival, pain, and deeply rooted emotional wounds. For many survivors, disordered eating is not a choice but a response to trauma, a way to manage overwhelming emotions, regain control, or numb distressing memories. However, traditional treatment approaches that focus solely on weight restoration, calorie intake, or behavioral modifications often fail to address the true underlying issue: trauma. Without recognizing and treating the emotional wounds driving these behaviors, recovery remains incomplete—and for many, relapse becomes inevitable.
A trauma-informed approach to eating disorder recovery recognizes that:
Eating disorders develop as coping mechanisms, not conscious choices.
Trauma survivors need safety, validation, and self-compassion in order to heal.
Recovery is about more than food—it’s about rebuilding trust with one’s own body.
When individuals feel safe enough to process their trauma, the need for disordered eating behaviors often diminishes. Healing begins when survivors learn to recognize their triggers, regulate their emotions, and develop healthier ways of coping with distress.
True recovery is not just about restoring the body—it’s about restoring the self. By shifting the focus from control to care, from shame to self-compassion, we can help survivors heal in a way that is not just temporary, but truly lasting.
Breaking the Silence: A Call for Awareness
The connection between trauma and eating disorders is too often overlooked, leaving countless survivors feeling misunderstood, unseen, and trapped in cycles of pain they never asked for. The reality is, eating disorders are not about vanity, self-control, or simple choices—they are rooted in deep, unresolved trauma. They are survival mechanisms born from experiences of powerlessness, fear, and shame. When we overlook the underlying trauma, we overlook the people who are suffering.
For far too long, the conversation around eating disorders has been oversimplified, focusing only on food, weight, and surface-level behaviors while ignoring the devastating emotional wounds driving them. We must shift this narrative. Survivors of childhood abuse, sexual violence, domestic trauma, neglect, PTSD, and all other forms of trauma need more than just treatment plans that focus on symptom management. They need to be heard. They need to be believed. They need spaces where their pain is not minimized, where they are not dismissed, and where their experiences are not reduced to numbers on a scale.
Healing from trauma and an eating disorder is not just about learning to eat again—it is about learning to live again. It is about rebuilding trust in a body that has felt like the enemy, learning that nourishment is not a punishment, and recognizing that one’s worth is not dictated by trauma, weight, or external validation. It is about creating a world where survivors are no longer silenced by shame, fear, or stigma but empowered to reclaim their lives, their voices, and their futures.
No one should have to navigate this battle alone. By shedding light on the trauma-eating disorder connection, we move toward a world where survivors feel seen, supported, and truly capable of healing. We move toward a world where trauma-informed care is the standard, not the exception. A world where healing is possible—not just for some, but for everyone who has ever felt broken by what they’ve endured.
Now is the time to break the silence. Now is the time to create change.
Nicole Schwartz, Trauma-Informed Recovery Coach at The Kraft Group, helps individuals navigate the long-term effects of trauma. She provides trauma-sensitive guidance to help survivors develop emotional regulation skills, build resilience, and regain a sense of stability in their healing journey. Nicole is committed to fostering a compassionate and empowering space where survivors feel validated, understood, and supported as they work toward recovery.