There is a close link between eating disorders and mental health. Most patients with eating disorders tend to present with mental challenges i.e., depression, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorders. You will find also that they either suffer from depression, substance abuse or anxiety disorders.
The causal factors for eating disorders are usually psychological, in that, they are triggered by factors such as depression, anxiety, anger, sadness, the need for perfectionism etc. Among persons with eating disorders, the need is not to control food but to use it instead as a coping technique when handling their emotions. Those with eating disorders, who are unable to express their feelings or emotions, will frequently opt to control food by incorporating unhealthy eating habits i.e., by restricting food or bingeing on it to manage those suppressed emotions. Similarly, they may opt to engage in disordered eating when they feel certain emotions such as anger, depression or sadness. This in turn becomes a habit and later a disorder. In this case, the mental factors trigger the eating disorder.
Alternatively, as a result of eating disorders, individuals can acquire mental disorders such as depression or anxiety disorders. It could be that a person with an eating disorder was not suffering from any mental condition prior to the eating disorder but as a result of the eating disorder, they get a mental condition. For instance, it could be that due to having an eating disorder, an individual may become depressed or engage in substance or drug abuse. In this case, the mental conditions are the effects of eating disorders.
Eating disorders and mental health are interlinked. Not only are psychological factors triggers for eating disorders but they can also be the effects of eating disorders.