ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a condition that affects millions of people with a range of symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, that can significantly impact various aspects of daily life, and people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have almost 4 times the risk of developing an eating disorder as someone without it.
People with ADHD and eating disorders can share common genetic risks, thought patterns, and can have a complex relationship with food, which can make them susceptible to their eating habits turning into an eating disorder later in life.
ADHD Impulsivity
A core symptom of ADHD is impulsivity, the inability to resist urges or delay gratification. This impulsivity can manifest in various areas of life, including eating habits. For individuals with ADHD, impulsive behaviours can lead to binge eating behaviours, the lack of impulse control can make it difficult to stop eating once a person starts and this can lead to consuming large quantities of food in a short period. Like those with an eating disorder, these episodes can cause someone to feel guilt, shame or disgust which exacerbates the cycle of disordered eating.
ADHD Hyperfocus and Food Consumption.
This feature of ADHD played a huge part in my eating disorder and led me to struggle in lots of areas of my life . Hyperfocus is the ability to become intensely focused on a particular task or interest. While hyperfocus can be beneficial in certain situations, it can also have unintended consequences.
When individuals with ADHD are deeply engrossed in a hyper focused activity, they may forget or neglect to eat regular meals. For example, a person with ADHD who is intensely focused on what they are doing may completely forget to eat lunch or dinner, leading to feelings of hunger, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. Alternatively the intense hyperfocus can make it difficult for people with ADHD to transition out of one thing to get on with other daily activities, including eating.
For example, a person with ADHD who is deeply focused on a work project may find it challenging to take a break for lunch or dinner, leading to feelings of exhaustion and decreased productivity. With me I would hyperfocus on my work (partly driven by ADHD and my perfectionist traits), and over time my body stopped sending me hunger cues because I simply ignored them, food was virtually nowhere on my list of daily priorities. I often got to the end of day exhausted and having only achieved half of what I intended to do, leading to feelings of failure and so the cycle would begin again the next day.
ADHD and feeling in control.
Both ADHD and restrictive eating disorders such as anorexia, can involve a desire for control. For someone struggling with the unpredictability of ADHD symptoms, the rigid rules of anorexia might provide a false sense of control and structure. I found that after my ADHD diagnosis I felt more out of control than ever and I relied so much more on my eating disorder when everything I thought I knew about my life changed.
ADHD and Low Self-Esteem
ADHD can sometimes lead to feelings of inadequacy or low self-esteem. Someone with ADHD may have these feelings if they are not able to meet the expectations set for them by parent, teachers or in their work place, low self-esteem is also very common in individuals with anorexia.
Emotions around food
ADHD can significantly impact emotional regulation which can lead to heightened stress, anxiety, and mood fluctuations which can influence eating patterns, resulting in emotional eating, where food is used as a coping mechanism rather than to satisfy hunger. Individuals with ADHD may use food as a reward or punishment, further contributing to disordered eating behaviours.
Now my belief is that we all eat emotionally and that is normal, food can be used simply for pleasure and it does not mean a person has ADHD or an eating disorder, but we have to be mindful of the context and frequency of what is known as emotional eating, as for some it may be indicative of a more serious issue.
Even though having ADHD can make recovery feel more challenging, it did not hold me back from recovery, and recovery in fact much improved my ADHD symptoms so please know you can still recover and overcome all of your challenges.
