Why High-Achievers Struggle with Food: A Psychoanalytic Perspective
In a culture that celebrates perfection, control, and productivity, high achievement is often seen as the ultimate success. Yet, beneath the polished surface of many high-achievers lies a hidden and painful struggle: disordered eating and a complex relationship with food. From compulsive dieting to binge eating, food becomes a battleground—not just for the body, but for the psyche. Psychoanalysis offers a nuanced lens through which we can understand this paradox.
The Ego Ideal and the Tyranny of Perfection
Psychoanalytically, high-achievers are often driven by a powerful ego ideal—an internal image of perfection that guides and judges the self. This ideal may originate from early relationships with caregivers who demanded excellence or withheld affection unless the child performed. Over time, the child internalizes these demands, transforming them into a relentless internal voice that equates worth with achievement.
In this context, food becomes more than nourishment—it becomes a symbolic terrain for managing the tension between the real self and the ideal self. Control over food may reflect an attempt to master inner chaos, while loss of control (e.g., bingeing) may signify unconscious rebellion against these internalized demands (Orbach, 1978).
Oral Fixations and the Maternal Imago
From a Freudian perspective, early disruptions in the oral stage of development can leave lasting imprints on the psyche. If a child experiences the breast—or later, food—as inconsistent, intrusive, or emotionally charged, this can create an unconscious fixation on oral gratification. For some high-achievers, food becomes a substitute for unmet maternal needs—an attempt to fill an internal emptiness or soothe anxiety (Freud, 1905).
This is not simply about hunger for food, but about a deeper hunger for emotional attunement. The high-achieving adult may compulsively “feed” themselves to manage feelings of deprivation, or conversely, starve themselves in a fantasy of self-sufficiency and omnipotence (Ogden, 1986).
Defense Mechanisms and the Body as Battleground
Defense mechanisms also play a central role. High-achievers often rely on obsessional defenses such as intellectualization and control. These defenses help manage anxiety but can become rigid. In this schema, the body—and by extension, food—becomes a site where control can be exerted.
Eating rituals, restriction, or binge-purge cycles may function as disguised enactments of unconscious conflicts. For example, self-denial around food may reflect unconscious guilt or self-punishment tied to oedipal dynamics, while bingeing may represent a breakdown of these defenses, a regression to a more infantile mode of gratification (Bruch, 1973).
Narcissistic Vulnerability and Shame
Many high-achievers present with narcissistic traits: a carefully constructed self-image that masks deep vulnerability and a fragile sense of self-worth. Food struggles often emerge at points of narcissistic injury—failures, rejections, or perceived shortcomings. The body, in these moments, becomes the locus of shame.
Shame around eating or body image is not simply cultural; it is deeply intrapsychic. It may reflect projective identification with shaming parental figures or an internalized critical superego. The disordered relationship with food thus becomes a form of self-regulation, albeit one that perpetuates psychic suffering.
Working Through: The Analytic Task
Psychoanalytic treatment does not aim to “fix” eating behavior directly, but to understand the unconscious meanings embedded in the symptom. By exploring early relational patterns, unconscious fantasies, and defensive structures, the analytic space allows patients to symbolically rework their relationship to food, the body, and the self.
What often emerges in treatment is a more compassionate stance toward one’s own needs and limitations. The goal is not to eliminate ambition or drive, but to de-link achievement from self-worth, and food from unconscious punishment or compensation. Through this work, patients can begin to reclaim food as a site of nourishment rather than struggle.
References
Bruch, H. (1973). Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Person Within. Basic Books.
Freud, S. (1905). Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Standard Edition, Vol. 7.
Ogden, T. H. (1986). The Matrix of the Mind: Object Relations and the Psychoanalytic Dialogue. Jason Aronson.
Orbach, S. (1978). Fat is a Feminist Issue. Paddington Press.