After completing 75 consecutive days of treatment at Eating Disorder Solutions, if you experience a significant setback you can receive an additional 75 consecutive days of treatment at no cost.
Joshua's Eating Disorder Recovery Story
Meet Joshua. A fun-loving, caring, compassionate human being who fell a little too hard into the expectations of who he thought he was meant to be.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he shares how the pressures, stigmas, and unsaid rules and guidelines began to blur the line between being himself and becoming someone he didn’t recognize.
Joshua began noticing some disordered behaviors and thoughts while in college but was able to push through to graduate with his bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, once the sparkle of college wore off, he noticed his internal dialogue was under attack from belittling and judgmental intrusive thoughts that stemmed from his need for validation from others. He felt as if he was being forced into a little box by people who thought he should be a certain way, rather than choosing for himself.
When he began to lose his love for writing and creating, lost a job that he enjoyed, and felt completely disconnected from himself, he realized that things were taking a turn for the worst.
As his family is Polish, their love language and traditional family values include food. When he began to eat less and less, he was worried about his family taking it personally. His guilt about his feelings and actions was exacerbated by the simple fact that he truly didn’t know what was happening to him. He denied it until he could no longer keep it a secret, as his isolation was apparent to the people around him who love him, and that’s when he found Eating Disorder Solutions.
Joshua explains how his inner and outer healing transformation feels now that he’s spent a couple of months in treatment – and he says he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I needed the tough love from my parents. They couldn’t help me the way that a treatment center could. I needed to go somewhere where professionals specialize in helping people dealing with eating disorders – people like me.”
“Just remember that, even if you feel like you might be able to do this alone and accomplish recovery on your own, at home, I had to constantly remind myself that if I could have done it by myself, I would have. Home is where I got bad, home was where I was comfortable. Uncomfortable situations force you to grow – and it’s such a healthy thing to go through. This is a healthy amount of anxiety to place yourself under in an environment where there are people who are there to help you recover and stay by your side when you need them. There are peers to help you, staff to help you, and an amazing outdoor environment to reestablish yourself in connection with nature. There are so many wonderful parts about coming to treatment.”
Joshua is healthier than ever, loving who he’s becoming, and now knows that although life can be tough – he’s tougher.
Video Testimonial Summary
Meet Joshua. A fun-loving, caring, compassionate human being who fell a little too hard into the expectations of who he thought he was meant to be.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he shares how the pressures, stigmas, and unsaid rules and guidelines began to blur the line between being himself and becoming someone he didn’t recognize.
Joshua began noticing some disordered behaviors and thoughts while in college but was able to push through to graduate with his bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, once the sparkle of college wore off, he noticed his internal dialogue was under attack from belittling and judgmental intrusive thoughts that stemmed from his need for validation from others. He felt as if he was being forced into a little box by people who thought he should be a certain way, rather than choosing for himself.
When he began to lose his love for writing and creating, lost a job that he enjoyed, and felt completely disconnected from himself, he realized that things were taking a turn for the worst.
As his family is Polish, their love language and traditional family values include food. When he began to eat less and less, he was worried about his family taking it personally. His guilt about his feelings and actions was exacerbated by the simple fact that he truly didn’t know what was happening to him. He denied it until he could no longer keep it a secret, as his isolation was apparent to the people around him who love him, and that’s when he found Eating Disorder Solutions.
Joshua explains how his inner and outer healing transformation feels now that he’s spent a couple of months in treatment – and he says he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I needed the tough love from my parents. They couldn’t help me the way that a treatment center could. I needed to go somewhere where professionals specialize in helping people dealing with eating disorders – people like me.”
“Just remember that, even if you feel like you might be able to do this alone and accomplish recovery on your own, at home, I had to constantly remind myself that if I could have done it by myself, I would have. Home is where I got bad, home was where I was comfortable. Uncomfortable situations force you to grow – and it’s such a healthy thing to go through. This is a healthy amount of anxiety to place yourself under in an environment where there are people who are there to help you recover and stay by your side when you need them. There are peers to help you, staff to help you, and an amazing outdoor environment to reestablish yourself in connection with nature. There are so many wonderful parts about coming to treatment.”
Joshua is healthier than ever, loving who he’s becoming, and now knows that although life can be tough – he’s tougher.
Video Testimonial Transcript
Losing the Will to Care
Not to be too deep, but to be too deep — it’s sort of one of those things where you don’t want to harm yourself but you really don’t care what happens. And you really don’t feel like you have much to latch on to anymore because you’ve lost so much of the things that you enjoy. I’m using “you” in the second person but really I mean me. I lost all of those things and it was so hard for me to realize that because you just get so stuck in it.
Who Joshua Is
Hi, I’m Joshua. I came here after moving back into my family’s home in a small town in Bangs. Previously I had been going to school and I was able to get through my bachelor’s degree in creative writing poetry — fun, really cool. I was really, really passionate through school. And then whenever I graduated last May, I sort of just had a moment when I felt like I had everything laid out in front of me and then I just ripped it to shreds.
The Pattern of Restriction Begins
When I started noticing like, “I am trying to hide in my bedroom right now. I’m not really wanting to go eat.” And then the pattern of restriction just sort of got worse. And I only had one more semester of college and I was powering through and I was taking such amazing classes. But sometimes in the mornings I would get halfway there and then just turn around and go home. I was so nervous and freaked out and anxious about what could happen — or not being able to give myself breakfast. So I’m worried about going to my job and being shaky or being not clear-headed.
Because also my senior year of college I was a writing tutor for students from freshmen all the way up into grad school, and also professors would bring their research. And it’s a high pressure job to work on people’s academic career in such an intimate way and I loved it. It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. But there were times when I’m like, “I didn’t have breakfast and I feel like I’m not making much sense right now.” That was awful. Most of the time I would have to force myself to eat just to do that so that I’d be a little bit less scatterbrained. But sometimes that didn’t help. There were other times when I would really only feed myself because I knew I was going to go out and drink and so I didn’t want to be drinking on an empty stomach. Like such a horrible motivation, but sometimes that was all I would eat.
Family, Food, and Cultural Connection
The most that I’ve ever engaged in behaviors — purging, things like that — I would say started around December of 2021, when I noticed that being around my family was really, really hard for me. And it was really hard for me to be around them because I didn’t want to disappoint them by not eating. I’m Polish and so a lot of our love and family connection is shown through food. And that’s something that’s really hard when you know you’re kind of turning that away. And people — I was always so afraid of it getting interpreted as something personal. I didn’t really know what to do with it or where to put the feelings. I was still in denial and still trying to hide it and not even really knowing what I was hiding either.
Losing His Identity
I felt like I had nothing and I lost so much of my identity. And the ED sort of took over. I was not going out with friends. I lost my job as a server and bartender, which was a really fun job and I loved the community. And ultimately it resulted in me moving back in with my parents. Like it got pretty severe. And I didn’t really look like myself, didn’t really act like myself. I was very — I was like a snarly little gremlin and it was really sad. And my family kind of just didn’t know what to do with me. And my mom found EDS and I came.
A Rough Start at EDS
And I had a really rough start. I had a really horrible start and I wanted to leave and go back home. And I needed the tough love from my parents being like, “We can’t do this. You know, you need to go somewhere where there are people who specialize in helping people like you.” I needed a wake-up call and I needed to get clear of all of that and find somewhere to find myself again.
How the Eating Disorder Shuts Down Higher Thinking
When you’re really in deep and struggling with an eating disorder, a lot of higher level thinking in your brain sort of shuts down. You turn into — I guess I want to say — a more primal and animalistic version of yourself. Like you just sort of try to base-level get your needs met and nothing else really happens. So for me, I’ve always been very creative and artistically driven and I get so much out of the things that I work at. Creative writing, poetry — that’s sort of always been an important outlet for me. And I realized something was really wrong when I stopped writing.
Also, like visual art — I’m sort of like a jack of all trades. I like to sculpt, I make all my Halloween costumes, I paint. And sort of when I realized that I was losing all of that, I just became a shell. I would just look in the mirror and think like, “Wow, you look great,” and then sleep for three days. Like that was it. It was such a disordered level of thinking.
Validation, Praise, and the Trap of the ED
I feel like always having been a smaller person, people praised me for that. And so I leaned in. When you value that validation far too much, it’s so easy to become so attached to the ED behaviors and to all of these negative things that you feel like are helping in some way but they’re really not. It’s really just digging you deeper into somewhere where you get very lost.
I lost my job in like September and I pretty much stayed in my apartment and did nothing for months. It was so, so bad and so never who I was. My house was a mess. I would always look at my cat though, because I always took care of her. Nothing ever got in the way of that. And I have to really thank her for keeping me alive. Because — not to be too deep but to be too deep — it’s sort of one of those things where you don’t want to harm yourself but you really don’t care what happens.
Anxiety, Substance Use, and Co-Occurring Struggles
Mine is so anxiety related. Throughout high school and mostly through college I started abusing marijuana, which of course doesn’t exactly help with an eating disorder. You think it would give you the munchies but sometimes if you smoke instead of eating you’re just creating a vicious cycle. Everybody copes differently and some people have very maladaptive coping mechanisms. For me it was drugs. And it was also dancing and going out. But that sort of skews where you find your validation.
I have a poem that I wrote — I’m going to be vulnerable — and one of the lines is, “I brushed elbows with death for free drinks.” And sort of that is true. Not necessarily in the people that I was surrounding myself with, but what I was doing to myself, thinking I would find validation through that. That was really hard. Hard to write, but cathartic. I needed to address so many things before I could get back to a point where I felt like I could be creative and do those things again.
Reclaiming Creativity at EDS
A lot of the groups here at EDS are sort of targeted towards enabling you to figure things out in an artistic way. I personally just use the prompts as somewhere to start and I didn’t restrict myself in what I wanted to draw or paint or elaborate through any sort of creative medium. You’re not graded on anything. The prompts are pretty loose and they are so small and low pressure that it’s nice to start to re-engage in things that previously you had put down for so long.
It’s so low pressure. Nobody even has to look at it if you don’t want them to. But for me, exercising vulnerability and showing people — making myself show people — and finally reading poems in a group and hearing what people had to say and actually listening was really, really great. And it was really validating. But I needed to get to a point where I found the validation for myself again first. It had to be about what I thought of it first. I needed to say that I’m proud of this again first, before anyone else could. So I was so private with a lot of the things I did and then I started showing a little bit — mostly showing staff — and then reading poems or showing things in private sessions with my clinician. And it all sort of snowballed from there. It’s been great. I feel like I’ve tapped back into something that I had abandoned.
LGBTQ+ Identity and the Weight of Appearance
Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, it’s so apparent — so many of the issues that could lead into somebody having an eating disorder. There’s so much weight placed upon vanity. And for me, being a smaller man, it’s hard to deal with. But that’s also fetishized and that’s really uncomfortable to deal with. And it can trigger a lot of thoughts and emotions that, if you feed into them, lead you down a very dark path.
There is so much focus also on being perfect and being presentable always. There are so many stigmas, so many universally accepted things about our communities that aren’t true, that we have to constantly battle against. Fighting just to feel like you can express your identity and express yourself honestly can sometimes make you lose what you were fighting for in the first place. And it’s so jarring not being able to talk with other people in your community about this. It’s sort of an unspoken thing.
I heard statistics that LGBTQ+ people are at such higher likelihood of developing eating disorders. I never really understood why. And that was a really difficult and uncomfortable part of me coming here and sort of trying to sort out why, for me, that could be. Mine was definitely placing way too much validation from people complimenting me externally — seeking validation just on my identity. I discovered that that was a big part of it too: not having somebody to validate my identity the whole time I was growing up really affected me and really affected where I went and sought certain things. And I did not seek them in the right places. And that’s such a very common thing within my community.
Men and Eating Disorders: Breaking the Stigma
Also, being a man with an ED and seeking treatment for it — I didn’t realize that there was such a small percentage of men with eating disorders that actually ever get treatment at all. There’s so much strength in vulnerability. Learning how to be vulnerable again has been something that has kind of saved me. And letting go of the hard exterior — my hard masculine exterior, for sure. I was still trying to be very guarded. I put up this front of being a perfect little gay boy and I just tried to fit into the box that people put me in. And leaning into that ended up not going as great as I wanted it to.
I think that’s been one of the most rewarding parts of it all — looking in the mirror and seeing myself again. Seeing a better version of myself, honestly. It’s not hard for me to see why it’s harder for men to seek treatment for eating disorders. It is so still somewhat socially unacceptable to show that vulnerability and that softer side. All of the coded language that we have for men being vulnerable is so odd. Just be a person. It’s so simple. It’s just stigmatized so much socially to see a man be emotional in any capacity or super passionate about something. I think it’s really, really, really important for anyone — but men in particular — to be honest about it. Vulnerability is not a weakness.
Putting Your Life on Pause to Save It
I still think it’s garbage that men can’t be weak. I just never fit that mold or that bubble. And I think there’s a lot of people who truly don’t and are maybe just trying to. But it’s not worth it. Life’s too short. Do whatever you want — that’s one of my favorite clichés. Life’s too short.
Ultimately, I had to take a step back to take care of myself and prioritize myself. And it’s okay to do so. It is so okay to put your life on pause. Nothing is that important that you can’t leave for 30 or 60 or 90 days and just go sort something out. The ED is still mysterious in the world socially, and I think having a place that solely focuses on it in such a wonderful environment and with such a wonderful staff has been transformative. Being around people who work in the field has almost made me want to change my career goals and just try some new things out before I go back for my master’s.
A Final Message: Ask for Help
Because I am still very goal-oriented. As someone who was very resistant to come to treatment in the first place, I would say: just remember that even if you feel like you might be able to do all of these things and accomplish recovery on your own and at home — I had to constantly remind myself that if I could have done it at home, I would have. And home is where I got bad. And home is where I was comfortable. I had to grow through a very uncomfortable situation. And uncomfortable situations force you to grow. It’s such a healthy thing to go through.
There are peers to help you. There’s staff to help you. There’s an amazing outdoor environment to re-establish yourself in connection with nature. There are so many wonderful parts about coming to treatment. And it doesn’t have to be a super painful experience or a negative one. Going through treatment can be something that is ultimately very positive and it’s meant to be beneficial. And for me it really has been. Just don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. Because it’s the hardest part. But putting up the white flag and admitting that you can’t do it on your own is the most important part of seeking recovery.
Anorexia Nervosa Treatment
Our anorexia nervosa treatment focuses on restoring healthy eating habits and addressing underlying psychological issues. Individual therapy, nutritional counseling, and medical monitoring are integrated to support clients in achieving a balanced relationship with food and body image.
Bulimia Nervosa Treatment
Bulimia treatment aims to break the binge-purge cycle by addressing the emotional triggers and behaviors associated with bulimia. Therapy and nutritional support help clients develop healthier coping mechanisms and improve their relationship with food.
Binge Eating Disorder Treatment
Our binge eating disorder treatment program focuses on managing the emotional factors that lead to overeating. Clients receive therapy and nutritional guidance to develop healthier eating habits and gain control over their eating behaviors.
Body Dysmorphia Treatment
Body dysmorphia treatment helps clients challenge distorted perceptions of their body image. Through specialized therapy, clients learn to develop a more realistic and positive view of their appearance, reducing obsession and anxiety.
ARFID Treatment
Treatment for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) focuses on expanding dietary variety and reducing food avoidance behaviors. Our program uses therapeutic interventions tailored to the individual’s needs to promote nutritional health.
OSFED Treatment
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED) are treated with customized care plans that address their unique symptoms. Our program provides therapy and support to help clients develop a healthy relationship with food.
UFED Treatment
For Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorders (UFED), we offer personalized therapy that meets each client’s specific needs, promoting recovery and overall well-being.
Orthorexia Treatment
Orthorexia treatment focuses on reducing the obsession with “perfect” eating. Our approach helps clients develop a balanced relationship with food, emphasizing health without rigid dietary rules.
Compulsive Overeating Treatment
Our treatment for compulsive overeating targets the emotional triggers that lead to overeating. Clients learn to manage these triggers through therapy and nutritional counseling and adopt healthier eating patterns.
Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment
We provide integrated care for clients with eating disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions. This comprehensive approach ensures that all aspects of a client’s well-being are addressed, supporting recovery and overall mental health.
We’re Here to Help
Eating Disorder Solutions offers personalized inpatient and outpatient eating disorder treatment in the Dallas, TX area. We provide treatment with integrity, promoting holistic approaches that heal the mind, body, and soul. If you’re ready to begin your recovery journey, call us now at 855-245-0961 or complete the form.
Gay or LGBTQ males have a higher risk for eating disorders for reasons including:
– Societal pressure to conform to a certain gay ideal that values thinness, muscularity, and youthfulness.
– Additional stressors related to sexual orientation or gender identity, such as discrimination, harassment, and rejection, which can lead to negative body image and disordered eating behaviors.
Regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, seeking professional help is essential for anyone struggling with an eating disorder.
What Sets Us Apart
- Personalized Treatment
- Licensed Specialists
- Same-Day Intake
- Flexible Scheduling
- Evidence-Based Therapies
- Long-Term Recovery
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Residential Center
Outpatient Center
Adults of All Ages
We treat adults across all life stages, from young professionals to those in midlife or retirement. Some have battled OSFED since adolescence, while others develop symptoms later in life due to stress, health changes, or personal loss.
College Students
College life can increase OSFED risk, with pressures from academics, social comparison, and irregular eating patterns. We help students develop balanced routines, manage campus triggers, and build coping strategies for dining halls, parties, and late-night study sessions.
LGBTQ+ Individuals
We provide affirming, culturally sensitive care for LGBTQ+ clients, recognizing the unique impact of stigma, body image pressures, or gender dysphoria. Our team creates a safe space where clients can explore identity issues and learn healthier ways to cope without relying on disordered eating.
Athletes
Athletes may develop OSFED due to weight pressures, performance demands, or rigid training routines. Our sports-informed team helps clients balance proper nutrition with athletic goals while addressing perfectionism and identity tied to sport.
Working Professionals
High-pressure careers can fuel disordered eating patterns like skipping meals, nighttime overeating, or extreme dieting. We offer flexible in-person and virtual OSFED treatment options to fit around busy work schedules and professional demands.
Most Insurances Accepted
Real People, Real Results
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an eating disorder develop after a major life transition like graduating college?
Yes. Joshua’s eating disorder escalated significantly after graduating college, when the structure, identity, and purpose that school had provided were suddenly gone. Major life transitions — graduation, job loss, relocation — are well-documented triggers for eating disorder onset or relapse.
Do men get eating disorders?
Yes. Eating disorders affect people of all genders. Joshua speaks candidly about the fact that a very small percentage of men with eating disorders ever seek treatment, largely due to social stigma around male vulnerability. EDS treats men with the same compassionate, individualized care as all other patients.
Is it harder for men to seek treatment for eating disorders?
Yes, and Joshua addresses this directly. Social stigma, coded language around masculinity, and the perception that eating disorders are a “women’s issue” all create significant barriers for men seeking help. EDS is committed to breaking that stigma and providing a safe, supportive environment for men in recovery.
Is there a connection between LGBTQ+ identity and eating disorders?
Yes. Research consistently shows that LGBTQ+ individuals are at significantly higher risk of developing eating disorders. Joshua explains that for him, the pressure to conform to appearance standards within the gay community, combined with a lifelong lack of identity validation, contributed directly to his disorder.
Does EDS treat LGBTQ+ patients?
Yes. EDS is an affirming, inclusive treatment center that welcomes patients of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Joshua’s story is one of several at EDS that reflect the facility’s commitment to providing identity-affirming care for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Can anxiety and substance use co-occur with an eating disorder?
Yes. Joshua’s eating disorder was deeply intertwined with anxiety and marijuana use, which he used as a maladaptive coping mechanism. EDS treats co-occurring conditions alongside eating disorders, addressing the full picture of a patient’s mental and physical health.
What happens to creativity and cognitive function during an eating disorder?
Eating disorders significantly impair higher-level thinking, creativity, and emotional processing. Joshua describes losing the ability to write, paint, and sculpt — activities that had defined him — as one of the clearest signs that his disorder had taken over. Recovery at EDS helped him reclaim those abilities.