I’ve struggled with eating disorders for most of my life. I’ve created the perfect list of eating disorder songs you can relate to. These songs are real, raw and intense. 
What Is An Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that can have devastating consequences on a person’s health, emotions, and relationships. Though anyone can be affected, women and girls are disproportionately affected by eating disorders. There are many different types of eating disorders, but they all share a common focus on food and weight.
Songs About Anorexia
1. Ana’s Song (Open Fire) By Silver Chair
This song is one of the most potent and beautiful eating disorder songs out there. It has very emotional anorexia lyrics, and the lead singer, Daniel Johns wrote it about his personal battle with the disorder. The song perfectly describes the dichotomy between the suffering that comes with an eating disorder and the “need” and love that one has for their illness. Over time you may grow fond of your illness in some ways. You become used to the pain and it may give you a sense of comfort or control.
2. Hunger By Florence and The Machine
This song was actually never meant to be one, it was originally written by Florence as a poem. It’s about her experience with anorexia nervosa as a teenage girl. The opening line is “At seventeen, I started to starve myself. I thought that love was a kind of emptiness. And at least I understood the hunger I felt and I didn’t have to call it loneliness.” She sings about how we often find comfort in things that cause us pain, and how we may use harmful coping mechanisms in order to feel less lonely.
3. Prom Queen By Beach Bunny
When it comes to songs about eating disorders or songs about hating your body prom queen is probably one of the first ones that come to mind. This song is about comparing your body to others and believing you need to achieve the societal standard of beauty in order to be worthy of love and happiness.{Related Post-9 Songs About Borderline Personality Disorder}
Songs About Bulimia
4. Orange Juice By Melanie Martinez
This song is one of my favorite Melanie Martinez eating disorder songs. I love the direct approach it takes, many artists choose to take more of an indirect approach when it comes to addressing sensitive topics such as eating disorders. Melanie isn’t afraid to say it as it is and even gives vivid descriptions, both lyrically and in the official music video.
5. Numbers By Pompeii
This eating disorder song is about someone having a conversation with a bulimic friend. It’s almost like a fight and you can hear both sides of the story. It talks about disordered behaviors, like purging behind closed doors, distancing yourself from loved ones, counting calories, and more. The friend isn’t successful in trying to convince them to stop. This bulimia song emphasizes the fact that eating disorders don’t only affect those that struggle but also those around them.
Songs About Binge Eating Disorder
6. Abbey By Mitski
I find this to be one of the most underrated Mitski eating disorder songs. None of her songs refer to eating disorders directly, however, I believe quite a few of them can be interpreted in a way that relates to them. The hunger she sings of in this song along with the darkness reminds me of my personal struggles with binge eating.
{Related Post-9 Signs You Might Have An Eating Disorder}
7. On My Mind By Elysian Soul
In the artist’s own words “On My Mind is the first song I’ve written solely about binge eating disorder. It depicts the all-or-nothing nature of the disorder, in how the sufferer uses food as a way to feel better and find temporary relief, based on the absolute assumption that come morning, they will be ‘good’ and be able to restrict; the eat now, starve tomorrow mentality.”Songs About Body Dysmorphia
8. Skinny Skinny By Ashton Irwin
This song is the first Ashton Irwin Released outside of 5 Seconds of Summer. It’s about his personal struggles with body image issues, in particular body dysmorphia. Some lyrics also refer to bulimia. Aside from the powerful lyrics of the song the music video also does an amazing job of painting the picture of what living with body dysmorphic disorder is like. You can see Ashton battling his demons in the mirror and in the end smashing his own reflection.9. My Mother & I By Lucy Dacus
Many people’s struggle with body image starts with their parents. From a young age you observe the way they treat and speak about their body and take on their habits as your own. In the song Lucy sings about how she internalized her mother’s poor body image issues.
Eating Disorder Recovery Songs
10. Skyscraper By Demi Lovato
“Skyscraper” is about Demi’s personal struggles with an eating disorder, depression, self-harm and her ultimately rising above her struggles. The song does not refer to any of these issues specifically but is more of a general anthem about building yourself back up after falling down. It’s about fighting no matter how hard things get.
{Related Post-100 Reasons To Recover From An Eating Disorder}
11. Alive By Sia
Although this isn’t originally an ed song I still find it to be the perfect eating disorder recovery anthem. Often times while in recovery we forget to appreciate how far we’ve come. We tend to focus more on our losses instead of our victories. This song is about celebrating that in spite of your hardships you’ve made it, you’re alive.
Leave a Reply