Mobbing Exposure at Work Triggers Eating Disorder

We spend most of our day at work. So, are we actually happy to be there? Or do we feel peaceful where we are?

Stating that being exposed to mobbing in the workplace can be counted as one of the most traumatic experiences among employees, Psychologist Dr. Feyza Bayraktar says that the pressure she is exposed to can pave the way for intense anxiety about work-related issues and accompanying eating disorders.

While mobbing in the workplace is defined as a kind of mass bullying, workplace bullying, intimidation with different methods, psychological or verbal harassment, it is defined as a person's external appearance, being ostracized, made to feel inadequate while doing his job, being under a workload that does not match his skills, or not being given a job. can be applied in many different ways.

According to data released by the American Eating Disorders Association, 65% of people with eating disorders have a history of peer bullying. Unfortunately, among those who practice this bullying, there are also colleagues at work. That is, bullying is not only in childhood or adolescence; It is a type of psychological violence that is exposed in adulthood, especially in professional life.

Exposure to psychological violence at work triggers eating disorder

This psychological violence, which paves the way for problems such as insomnia, loss of appetite or the desire to eat as if to lose control, concentration problem, intense anxiety, feeling constantly nervous, sudden anger, decreased joy of life, such as uncontrolled clinging to food or applying extremely restrictive diets in order to gain control over their emotions. It can result in eating disorder behaviors.

“Intense anxiety felt at work can cause overeating and weight problems”

Underlining that in addition to the tension created by the intense work tempo, the difficulty in managing performance anxiety and the pressure at work can cause overeating. Feyza Bayraktar continues her words as follows: “Some of the employees are not aware of the dangers of overeating, which they think are exposed to mobbing and due to job stress. Eating disorders caused by workload or psychological violence at work can cause different health problems. Therefore, psychological support should be sought. In the psychological support process, it is very important to gain awareness about mobbing, to work on the effects of being exposed to mobbing, and to determine a roadmap for the measures to be taken, in order to protect oneself emotionally against similar problems.”

“We must learn to set limits on criticism of body shape and weight”

One of the most common forms of peer bullying in the workplace is the criticism of a person based on their body shape and weight. This, in turn, can cause self-confidence to suffer, intense anxiety at work, and even eating disorders.

Stating that regardless of the type of eating disorder, a person should be seen by a doctor and health check-ups should be done, Bayraktar says that we often remain unanswered in the face of body shape criticism made by others and continues: “Today, it has become quite common for people to criticize each other's body shape and weight and Unfortunately, it has been normalized. It can be considered as a healthy way of setting boundaries that the person who is exposed to these words tells the critic how this situation makes them feel and warns them not to repeat this behavior again. Trying to set boundaries helps the critic to understand that this behavior may harm the other person, albeit unconsciously.”