Eating disorders and suicide share a painful connection that is often misunderstood. Research shows restrictive behaviours like self-starvation and compulsive cycles of bingeing and purging not only damage the body but also heighten suicide risk. This article explores that overlap through the lens of suicidology literature and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. Internal Family Systems therapy offers a unique, non-pathologising approach to eating disorders and suicide, helping people meet their protective parts with curiosity and reconnect with Self. For those seeking IFS therapy for eating disorders or suicidality, this article provides insight, hope, and a pathway toward recovery.

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in Australia, yet shame keeps it hidden and misunderstood. Many people turn to binge eating as a way to numb pain, escape overwhelming emotions, or find brief relief from trauma but are then caught in the flame, blame, shame cycle described by Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist Cece Sykes.

Let’s Work On That in Melbourne - IFS

Perfectionism in eating disorders isn’t just a personality trait it’s often a protector, guarding deeper emotional wounds. Explore how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy helps identify and unburden the exiled parts that carry shame, fear of rejection, and trauma beneath perfectionistic behaviours. Examine the role of temperament, emotion avoidance, and self-worth in the development and maintenance of anorexia, bulimia, and orthorexia.

We understand legacy burdens as emotional, relational, and cultural debts carried by parts of the system that were simply trying to survive. Eating disorder behaviours often emerge as protectors, following these old rules to avoid pain, rejection, or perceived danger.

When we meet these parts with curiosity instead of control, and when we begin to name the inherited messages they carry, the system can begin to breathe. We don’t force healing; we make space for it.

Eating disorders aren’t just symptoms they are survival strategies. Explore how IFS therapy helps unpack the inner patterns that keep us stuck, and how healing begins with understanding, not blame.