Journaling with Orthorexia

Orthorexia is a disorder not many people are familiar with. This is when you have an 
obsession with your body image, what you eat, and how you workout. This obsession 
can be detrimental to your physical health and mental wellbeing. Keep reading to learn 
more about orthorexia and how journaling can help.

Signs You Might Suffer from Orthorexia

It helps to first understand a little more about orthorexia so you can determine if you 
have it. The signs and symptoms also clearly display why this can be something 
dangerous to deal with. Since it is very closely linked to eating disorders, it is important 
that you take it just as seriously as you would anorexia or bulimia.

One of the more obvious signs that you have orthorexia is the overall obsession with 
what you eat, how much, and how much you workout. Here are more specific signs and 
symptoms:

You compulsively check nutritional labels over and over again. 
You spend more time checking weight loss or food tracking apps on your phone than 
anything else.
You feel anxiety or panic over ingredients in what you eat.
You can’t fall asleep at night because of one small thing you don’t think you did during 
the day, such as a workout that was a few minutes shorter than you planned.
You have completely restricted one group of foods because you don’t deem them 
healthy (not applicable if you have food allergies or aversions)
You spend all your free time excessively working out or obsessing about what you’re 
eating

Starting a Journal for Orthorexia

As you can probably tell already, there is a lot of potential damage when it comes to 
orthorexia. It is not uncommon to not eat enough, or binge and purge, or develop binge 
eating disorder from this condition. If you believe you have orthorexia, keeping a journal 
is a great step to make, in addition to seeking professional help.

Find a journal you would enjoy writing in, and try to write in it on a regular basis. This 
allows you to have a non-judgment place to talk about what you are experiencing as 
you move forward with your recovery.

What You Can Write About

Don’t be too concerned with writing about the right thing. Your journal is there for you, 
so there are no rules. However, if you are stuck with what to write about, just try talking 
about how you first noticed orthorexia. Discuss days when it consumed you, and what 
was going through your mind. Develop a plan for recovery right there in your journal.


