What are Food & Eating Rituals?
Photo by Chinh Le Duc (@mero_dut) via Unsplash
Are you familiar with the term eating (or food) rituals?
A food or eating ritual is a behavior that's used as a form of self-protection to try and relieve anxiety or promote positive feelings through controlled, repetitive, and habitual actions. They’re common behaviors among people who struggle with disordered eating and eating disorders, and typically emerge as someone's eating behavior becomes more restrictive and disordered.
It's super important to note here that there is tremendous variation in the ways and manner that people eat throughout the world depending on their culture, upbringing, and so on. There's no "right way" (or manner) in which to eat. When I'm talking about eating eating disorder food/eating rituals, I'm talking about behaviors around food that develop as a way to control the eating experience and manage anxiety.
Eating and food rituals are harmful and maladaptive when the behaviors become:
-Repetitive
-Compulsive
-Persistent
As an example, many people who experience eating disorders have rituals around eating pace. Here are some eating pace "red flags":
Eating very slowly or very quickly (especially if this is a change in typical eating pace) or taking long breaks during a meal
Using an implement to purposefully slow down eating (e.g., eating with the non-dominant hand, a timer)
Using a napkin after every bite
Drinking a liquid after every bite
Chewing each bite of food a certain number of times or for a certain amount of time
Counting the number of bites taken
Comparing eating pace (or amount of food left) to other people during a meal
The difference between someone's way of eating and an eating disorder ritual has to do with the intention behind the behavior (e.g., is it about control/restriction?), whether the behavior is compulsive and persistent, if the behavior interferes with someone's life/functioning, and if not performing the behavior causes distress.
When behaviors around food and eating start to impair daily functioning, impact relationships, and not performing the behavior causes severe anxiety that's when help is needed. If you’re struggling, click here to learn more about my counseling and meal support services.