Eating Disorders Self-Test

Indicate your response to the following statements:

1. Yes No Do you often think about food during the day?

2. Yes No Do you feel uncomfortable when you have to eat with other people?

3. Yes No Do you follow specific rituals when you eat, especially when you are angry,
lonely, ashamed, afraid or depressed?

4. Yes No Are you afraid that your eating habits are abnormal, so you try to hide
them from other people?

5. Yes No Are you sometimes concerned that you won’t be able to stop eating?

6. Yes No Do you think you look fat, even though others tell you that you are thin?

7. Yes No Are you proud of your ability to control your appetite and food intake?

8. Yes No Do you feel guilty when you eat something that’s not on your diet?

9. Yes No Do you exercise for the purpose of burning calories?

10. Yes No Do you eat the same things day after day?

11. Yes No Do you have significant weight changes after binges and fasts?

12. Yes No Do you use laxatives or vomiting to get rid of food you’ve eaten?

13. Yes No Do you punish yourself for eating too much by starving yourself or
exercising compulsively?

14. Yes No Do you hide stashes of food to binge on?

15. Yes No Do you become afraid, depressed or anxious after bingeing?

16. Yes No Do you reward yourself with food?

17. Yes No Do you use food to comfort you when you are depressed, sad or anxious?

18. Yes No Have you tried to diet several times but failed?

19. Yes No Are you significantly overweight?

20. Yes No Do you feel ashamed and hopeless about your weight?

(Your responses will NOT be sent anywhere, this is for your information only.)

Indicate the number of “yes” responses in:

Questions 1–5:
Questions 6–10:
Questions 11–15:
Questions 16–20:     

• Questions 1–5 are general questions about food and emotional health. Positive responses to any of these questions indicate a potential problem, but 2 or more “yes” answers probably indicate a significant concern.



• Positive responses to Questions 6–10 indicate behaviors consistent with anorexia nervosa, an addiction to dieting or self-starvation.



• Positive responses to Questions 11–15 indicate behaviors consistent with bulimia, a pattern of binge eating, often in secret and often using highcalorie foods, and purging by using laxatives, vomiting or periods of starvation.



• Positive responses to Questions 16–20 indicate behaviors consistent with compulsive overeating, bingeing in secret or in public or eating constantly to numb pain and feel the pleasure of fullness.

Even one or a few positive responses to these questions can indicate a significant problem requiring medical and emotional care. In fact, eating disorders can be life-threatening. If you suspect that you or someone you love has an eating disorder, seek medical help.

Resources
For immediate help . . .

• Find a counselor: The Christian Care Network is a national referral network of state licensed and/or certified professional counselors. To find a counselor in your area, go to www.aacc.net and click on “Find a counselor.”



• Intervention: When you’ve tried everything, but your loved one who needs help won’t accept it, consider calling someone trained to do an intervention. For more information about this service, call Jeff VanVonderen at 888-JEFF- 911 or go online to www.jeffvanvonderen.com.



• If someone in your family is violent, threatening to become violent, suicidal, missing or acting in ways that are out-of-control, call 911 to reach your local police or emergency medical services. For chronic problems, contact your doctor or social services in your community.

Organizations . . .

Celebrate Recovery: www.celebraterecovery.com 949-581-0548

Overcomers Outreach: www.overcomersoutreach.org 800-310-3001

First Place (weight loss): www.firstplace.org 800-727-5223

National Eating Disorders Organization: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org 800-931-2237

Overeaters Anonymous: www.oa.org/all_about_meetings.htm 505-891-2664


Treatment centers . . .

Directory of Treatment Centers: www.eating-disorder.com 866-762-3712

Sierra Tucson: www.sierratucson.com 800-624-5858

National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers: www.naatp.org, click on “Enter NAATP.org,” then click on Members. 717-392-8480


Books to give you more insight . . .
(Click on our amazon.com estore link below to access all recommended books.)