Eating Disorder Therapy for College Students in Nashville, TN

Nashville is home to many college campuses, including Vanderbilt University, Belmont University, and Lipscomb University. At Brooke Morgan Counseling we know that college can be a difficult time of transition in a young adult’s life.

Sleep patterns shift. The social stakes seem high and unfamiliar as new relationships are made. Meals can become inconsistent or simply look different than what one is used to. Alcohol can become normalized.

For college students everywhere performance expectations are often high.

Food, weight, and/or exercise can become a way to manage that pressure and as a result, symptoms can escalate quickly, creating the perfect landscape for an eating disorder to take root.

(For an overview of diagnoses and treatment structure, visit the main Eating Disorder Therapy page.)

Why Eating Disorders Can Escalate in College

Change and college go hand in hand. Below are several ways in which college students might experience change, which can result in unhealthy eating patterns and behaviors:

  • Loss of structured family meals

  • Irregular academic schedules

  • Academic and career competition

  • Social comparison

  • Increased alcohol access and intake

  • Athletic or performance pressure

Athletics, Performance, and Body Image Pressure

Some of the most common areas in which college students find themselves facing pressure are in sports and other performance-based extracurriculars. Many athletes begin to struggle with time management, fear of weight gain, comparison to their peers, etc. These pressures are exacerbated in sports that focus on aesthetic or body composition (i.e. wrestling, dance, etc.).

Students involved in these extracurriculars often face additional vulnerability to developing an eating disorder due to the focus on their body’s appearance, ability to “push through,” and sometimes heavily over-scheduled lives when considering a full class load, as well.

The beginnings of an eating disorder can frequently hide behind “commitment” or “discipline.”

Patterns Common in College Students

Eating disorders in college can come on suddenly, but are often overlooked until the student is at health risk. They often present as:

  • Skipping meals to study or train

  • Engaging in dangerous alcohol use paired with not eating

  • Excessive exercise

  • Avoiding dining halls or group meals

  • Bingeing episodes, often late a night

  • Increasing social withdrawal

What Eating Disorder Therapy for College Students Involves

Eating disorder therapy in Nashville must account for academic schedules, campus living situations, and navigating differing levels of social support.

Treatment typically focuses on:

  • Restoring consistent, structured eating

  • Reducing compulsive exercise

  • Interrupting binge/purge cycles

  • Addressing perfectionism and performance identity

  • Managing alcohol or other substance use when relevant

  • Relapse prevention, specifically focused on schedule changes each semester and returning home during summers

Treatment focuses on meeting the student where they are at, while also holding accountability and space for added support from doctors, dietitians, and medication providers. A team approach is always preferred.

If you are a student and you find yourself:

  • Thinking about food most of the day

  • Feeling out of control around eating

  • Hiding behaviors

  • Training through exhaustion and/or injuries

  • Afraid to reduce exercise

  • Using alcohol in unhealthy ways

  • Avoiding social interactions when they involve food

Reach out today. You do not need a formal diagnosis to get support when food and eating feels hard.