Alex's Answer

Hi there, and thanks so much for reaching out to us here at Ask Alex. 

You have asked what the early signs of an eating disorder are as you are finding yourself feeling guilty after eating chocolate. You have been really brave in reaching out about this as we know it can be a hard thing to do. You are asking what are the early signs of an eating disorder. An eating disorder is when there is an unhealthy focus on eating, exercising, or on body size or shape. We have an article on our website that you may find helpful: www.childline.ie/eating-disorders/ Or you can also look at Spunout, Here is an article to help you understand what an eating disorder is from their website spunout.ie/mental-health/eating-disorders/eating-disorders .  

Well done for reaching out to Ask Alex, this is a really important step in helping yourself with this food guilt. You have the right to access help and support. If you feel like you might be struggling with a potential eating disorder, it is really important to reach out to an adult to seek some support. Seeking medical advice and support for this is important so that you can manage how you are feeling and to avoid this struggle getting worse. It may also help to look at what support is out there, one organisations that offers support around people with body image and eating disorder is Bodywhys (www.bodywhys.ie/).  

If you feel like you would like to speak to a trusted adult confidentially, you can freephone Childline on 1800 66 66 66. Or you can talk to Childline on the Webchat service by going to www.childline.ie and clicking on the Orange Tab on the right-hand side of your screen to start a chat. There are volunteers available to talk to anytime of the day or night, if you feel like you might need it. 

Take care of yourself,  

Alex