You’ve probably heard of anorexia. It’s one of the world’s most common eating disorders and involves a person starving themselves even though they feel intense and painful hunger. As the term ‘emotional anorexia’ implies it can also leave you starving – but it’s not for food, it’s for emotions. The term is not as well-known, but feeling emotionally and spiritually starving is increasingly common and is more serious than you might think.
Being emotionally anorexic is a state being just like physical anorexia. In fact when your emotional hunger is ignored, neglected, denied, shamed, blamed or misunderstood it can leave you even ‘hungrier’. Personal and professional setbacks can leave you feeling tired and empty. This can have serious negative consequences for your wellbeing.
Some of the signs of emotional anorexia include suppressing your emotions, lacking the ability to cry, starving and neglecting needs, diminishing desires and denying all of this to avoid further emotional pain. Emotional anorexia can even manifest itself in a physical way, with symptoms like fatigue, insomnia and irritability. And of course the longer they’re ignored, the worse the situation will get.
The only way to overcome emotional anorexia is to face it and challenge what is making you feel this way. Pay attention to your real desires and ask yourself what you are really hungry for. The hunger for emotion is not something to ever be ashamed of, but it is something that you have to nurture and respond to.
Once you’ve established what it is that you’re looking for, you can use that information to build up a healthy, rich and satisfying life that will replace your emotional cravings with fulfilment.
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