What We Treat · Women's Only · Eating Disorders
Eating disorders affect women at significantly higher rates than men and frequently co-occur with substance use, trauma, anxiety, and depression. They are serious medical conditions with real mortality risk.
“One of the things I appreciate most about Anchored Tides is the skillful care in which they hold all of their clients. I don't know how they have managed to find an entire team that sees into the deep dignity of every person they treat - this includes strong boundaries and creates a stable and safe environment for healing.”
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For many women, an eating disorder and a substance use disorder grow up alongside each other. Our women's addiction treatment center includes a specialist clinical track built specifically for this overlap.
Eating disorders affect women at significantly higher rates than men and frequently co-occur with substance use, trauma, anxiety, and depression. They are serious medical conditions with real mortality risk. Specialist, integrated care — addressing both the eating disorder and the substance use together — is the standard of treatment.
Eating disorders cover several diagnoses — anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED).
They carry significant medical risk — and have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental health condition.
Women experience them at substantially higher rates — than men, though the gap is closing as awareness grows.
Substance use frequently co-occurs — stimulants for appetite suppression, alcohol as a substitute for food, sedatives for body-image distress.
Treat both together, plus the engine — alongside trauma, anxiety, and depression where present.
What it actually means
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions defined by disturbances in eating behavior and a disrupted relationship with food, weight, or body. The major categories include anorexia nervosa (significant restriction of food intake, intense fear of weight gain, disturbance in self-perception), bulimia nervosa (recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors), binge eating disorder (recurrent episodes of binge eating without regular compensatory behaviors), and OSFED — clinically significant eating disturbances that don't meet full criteria but are no less serious.
Eating disorders are not a phase, a diet, or a lifestyle choice. They are medical conditions with real mortality risk, especially when untreated and especially when paired with substance use.
How it shows up in women
Women's eating disorders often hide in plain sight, particularly when a woman's body looks within an expected size range. 'You can't tell by looking' is one of the most important things to understand about this condition. What women describe:
Medical risk compounds when substance use enters
Anorexia nervosa, in particular, has one of the highest mortality rates of any mental health condition. When substance use is layered on top, the medical risk profile compounds — stimulants strain the cardiovascular system; alcohol disrupts electrolyte balance; laxative misuse can become its own serious medical situation.
Why eating disorders are particularly dangerous
Eating disorders carry significant medical risk: cardiovascular damage, electrolyte imbalances, bone density loss, and reproductive disruption. Bulimia carries its own medical risks from purging behaviors. Binge eating disorder is associated with metabolic and cardiovascular consequences.
Some women with eating disorders require medical stabilization before entering our outpatient program. We coordinate medical referrals when that level of care is needed.
Causes & co-occurring patterns
Our Eating Disorder Treatment track is a specialist clinical track within our program, built specifically for the overlap with substance use and other co-occurring conditions.
Common contributing factors
Patterns we see most often
When it's time to reach out
It may be time to talk to someone if any of these are true:
How Anchored Tides supports women
Women in our Eating Disorder Treatment track work at the appropriate level of care. Care includes:
PPO, HMO, and EPO accepted
Out-of-network
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Yes. Eating disorders are diagnosed by behavior, cognition, and clinical impact — not by body size. Women in larger bodies, midsize bodies, and smaller bodies all develop and live with eating disorders. 'You can't tell by looking' is one of the most important truths about this condition.
Yes. Binge eating disorder is a formally recognized clinical diagnosis, currently the most common eating disorder in the United States. It is not the same as overeating, and it carries real medical and psychological consequences.
Both involve the brain's reward and regulation systems. Both are often used to manage trauma, anxiety, or depression. Substances like stimulants directly interact with appetite and body image. And the same cultural messages that drive eating disorders often normalize the substances that intersect with them.
Some women with eating disorders require medical stabilization before entering treatment, particularly with significant restriction, purging, or compounding substance use. We coordinate medical referrals when that level of care is needed.
The clinical goal is restoration of function and health, not a number on a scale. Weight changes are part of recovery for some women and not for others. The work is about returning to a relationship with food and body that does not damage.
Long-standing eating disorders are treatable. The work may take time, and the clinical picture may include long-standing co-occurring conditions, but the trajectory is real.
Exercise is part of many eating disorders, particularly as compensatory behavior. Part of treatment is rebuilding a relationship with movement that supports rather than punishes the body.
Reach out to our admissions team. The first conversation is private and unhurried, and you can ask any question you have without commitment.
Evidence & accountability
This page was reviewed by Zoe Tambling, LMFT on . The references below informed the specific topics noted with each citation.
