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Kristin Szostak with Philadelphia's Renfrew Center says prolonged periods of sudden, extreme lifestyle changes — as the whole world is experiencing right now — could trigger even people who have recovered.
"Because everything in the world feels so out of control right now, it's not uncommon to revert back to familiar behaviors," she said.
"In the case of someone who is struggling with anorexia or restriction, it's challenging for them to even want to bring enough food for a week into their home. For someone on the other end of the spectrum who may have a binge eating disorder or suffer from bulemia, it may put them at risk having too much food in the house at one time."
As the period of isolation began, Renfrew Center alumna Alexiss Audrey says she was anxious.
"Even if my recovery has been going well for many, many years, at the beginning I wasn't sure how isolation would affect me," she said.
"For me, I made sure to buy individual packets instead of family sized foods so I could avoid any possibilty of binge eating."
Szostak says, what can be particularly disturbing for someone in recovery is seeing bare shelves at grocery stores.
"Yeah, definitely," Audrey said in agreement, "because people that are in recovery, they might have certain foods that they're either scared of or certain foods that are their favorites and they can't have anything other than that, so that definitely creates worrisome (thoughts) when you don't see that food in the aisles."
Szostak reminds people that, whether you're grappling with an eating disorder for the first time or have relapsed, help is available through virtual therapy sessions.
"And if it's someone who knows someone with an eating disorder, we're really encouraging people to reach out to those that they know might be suffering and just check in with them," she said.