Orthorexia: an extreme obsession with “healthy eating”

At Clinique A Psychologie, we warmly welcome anyone suffering from food, whether or not there is a formal diagnosis. Orthorexia deserves to be better understood and taken seriously.

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What is orthorexia?

Orthorexia is not yet an official diagnosis in the DSM-5, but it is well identified clinically. She is defined as a excessive obsession with a diet that is perceived as healthy, pure, or ideal, which takes an invasive place in daily life.

It is not the quantity of food that is at stake, but their Assumed quality. The person sets up very strict dietary rules, to the point that these rules become a source of stress, guilt, and isolation.

Common signs:

• Constant concern for labels, food origins, manufacturing processes
• Strict elimination of certain food groups (fats, sugars, gluten, processed products...)
• Rigidity in meals: hours, rituals, cooking methods
• Intense guilt after a “gap”
• Difficulty eating in society or being flexible
• Feeling of moral superiority linked to food
• Decreased pleasure in eating, social isolation, withdrawal

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When food becomes a control ground

Orthorexia can be a Unconscious way to regain control about your life, to calm diffuse anxiety, or to respond to a need for perfection.

This disorder often sets in insidiously, under the guise of “good habits.” However, the consequences can be serious: deficiencies, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, involuntary weight loss, deterioration of social and mental life.

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Orthorexia, Self-Esteem, and Perfectionism

This behavior is often linked to:

• One significant anxiety around health or contamination
• One high perfectionism : the need to do “everything perfectly”
• One fragile self-esteem, conditioned by external standards
• A history of other eating disorders (anorexia, hyperphagia...)

Food then becomes A way to reassure yourself, to value yourself or to protect yourself, at the cost of a lot of energy and suffering.

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Why consult?

Because behind an appearance of mastery is often hidden Silent discomfort. Because eating should not be a source of fear or obsession. Because to find a flexible, intuitive and peaceful relationship with food, it is also about finding space to live, create, love.

At Clinique A Psychologie, we offer respectful, non-judgmental support for:

• Identify what fuels the obsession,
• Work on anxiety and rigidity,
• Give food back its rightful place in your life.

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In summary

Orthorexia is not a desire to do well “too much”: it is a food-related disorder, often associated with anxiety, low self-esteem, and a need for safety.

If you recognize yourself in this description — or if you have doubts — know that you are not alone, and that solutions exist.