In times like these, when uncertainty feels constant and the world increasingly unsteady, I see a familiar pattern emerging in my clinical work.

As a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, I have watched collective anxiety ripple inward, landing not just in people’s thoughts and emotions, but in their bodies and behaviors. When stress becomes chronic, when control feels elusive, and when fear saturates the social atmosphere, the risk of developing an eating disorder increases. For those already in recovery, including people who have been well for years or even decades, these same conditions can make recovery feel more fragile and relapse risk rise.

This is not a personal failure. It is a predictable response to prolonged stress.

Eating disorders often function as coping strategies. They offer a sense of control when life feels uncontrollable, structure when everything feels chaotic, and distraction from emotions that feel overwhelming or........

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