We’ve all seen the pictures of skeletal teenage girls looking in the mirror, standing on the
scale, or eating nothing. I’m here to tell you that those visuals do not properly capture an eating disorder. Too many people in today’s society are suffering from this deadly mental illness, and too often that struggle is worsened by silence or stigma.
By the way… the timing of this post is perfect, because this week (February 1-7) is proclaimed by NEDIC to be national Eating Disorder Awareness Week in Canada! Wear purple to show your support. The Calgary Tower was lit up purple on Sunday to celebrate, and the Langevin bridge will be purple on Thursday!
1) MYTH: Eating disorders are characterized by incredible self-control
TRUTH: Although eating disorders like Anorexia may appear to be a strict diet (and sometimes exercise) regime, in reality it is a false control. Why? Think of it this way: maybe someone with an eating disorder can lose weight and meet society’s unreasonable body ideals, and that might seem like self-control, but what about when they’re hospitalized because they can’t get themselves to fuel their body enough? Is it “incredible self-control” when you can’t get yourself to drink a glass of milk even if your body needs it? No. The only control is that of the eating disorder over the sufferer.
2) MYTH: People with eating disorders are great people to ask for dieting advice
TRUTH: The only time asking an eating disorder sufferer for dieting advice would be a great idea is if you want to severely trigger them and fuel their illness (Don’t do it). First of all, dieting is not the sole meaning of an eating disorder. Secondly, asking them for dieting advice means validating their desire to engage in unhealthy behaviours (restriction, binging, purging, over-exercising, etc.). Please, just don’t do it. In fact, stop the diet talk completely.
3) MYTH: People with eating disorders are always (super) skinny
TRUTH: Eating disorders are NOT diagnosed solely on weight. They are a MENTAL ILLNESS. Change in weight is a symptom of an eating disorder. Besides, not all eating disorders contain restriction. Eating disorders can be seen on underweight individuals, healthy weight individuals, and overweight individuals too.
4) MYTH: Super skinny people must be suffering from an eating disorder
TRUTH: First read #3. In addition… there are many other reasons for people being underweight! Loss of appetite due to mental illness, side effects of medication, physical illness, genetics, metabolism, etc. Calling all skinny people “Anorexic” is offensive not only to the people whom you name call, but also to real eating disorder sufferers who start to feel like the only way their disorder is real is if they lose more and more weight.
5) MYTH: Eating disorders are a choice
TRUTH: No no no no no. Sure, for some people it starts out as “I want to lose a few pounds”. But nobody chooses to develop a fear of food or an obsession with food. Nobody chooses to compromise their physical health. No. This is a matter of a real disorder taking over someone’s brain and behaviours. The cause? It varies for everyone, but genetics, personality, childhood, experiences, society, media, pressure, other mental illnesses, and so much more can lead to these deadly diseases. Those things are NOT a choice.
6) MYTH: The primary cause of all eating disorders is body image
TRUTH: It is true that body image can be a part of the illness for some people. In fact, for many it does start out from hating your body and wanting to change it. That being said, it takes more than poor body image to get to a point where you use unhealthy behaviours and are trapped in a mental battle 24/7. Body image isn’t the explanation for a complex mental maze of should’s and shouldn’t’s and good’s and bad’s and depression and anxiety and isolation and impulsivity. For most, there is a deeper cause, even if body image (superficially) seemed to be the start.
7) MYTH: There are two eating disorders – Anorexia and Bulimia
TRUTH: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are in fact two eating disorders. However, there are two more categories currently in the DSM (the book used to diagnosis mental illness): Binge-eating Disorder, and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). All eating disorders have devastating potential, and all eating disorders need respect, awareness, and treatment.
8) MYTH: Having Anorexia means eating nothing
TRUTH: Eating nothing means being dead. Anorexia Nervosa involves purposeful restriction and refusal to maintain the optimal state of your body, but restriction doesn’t mean eating nothing. In fact, those in recovery may be eating just as much as their friends and family, yet that may still be through the eating disorder if they are actually needing to eat more to recover. Anorexia doesn’t mean hating food and avoiding it. Anorexia means obsessing with food, thinking about it all the time and how you can limit what goes into your body.
9) MYTH: Eating disorders are a disorder for teenage girls
TRUTH: Eating disorders do NOT discriminate. Yes, adolescent females are the largest population of eating disorder sufferers. However, adult women and boys and men are still facing this struggle, and often face hardship receiving support due to their lack of youth and/or female-ness. In addition, more and more cases of eating disorders are appearing among young children.
10) MYTH: Eating disorders are essentially diets
TRUTH: I will not deny the fact that for many people, their eating disorder may start off as a strict diet. HOWEVER, eating disorders are NOT solely a “diet gone wrong”. They are emotional and mental storms that you’re trapped in, made worse by everyone seeing it as a thing of vanity and choice.
I went to Tumblr to ask individuals suffering from eating disorders to anonymously respond to the question “What’s the one thing you want people to realize/know/acknowledge/understand about eating disorders?”. Here are the responses I got:
“I think everyone must know that you can be at a normal weight and have an eating disorder, not everyone has to look super skinny. It’s a MENTAL illness with physical consequences.”
“I think the main thing I feel people don’t understand about eating disorders is how unbearably lonely they are. You live in constant fear of getting caught, but that isn’t enough to stop you because your relationship with food has already been wrecked by disordered thinking and behaviors. You have to lie all the time, and after a while everything is so gray and exhausting. You get fatigued easily. You’re dizzy all the time. You are sad and lonely and you lose weight but it’s never enough.”
“Hi! I want people to understand that eating disorders have a variety of foundations. Although it’s been said many times, they’re not all about weight, and they are not based off of vanity. A lot of the time, they may be based off of other problems someone struggles with. They may be triggered by traumatic events (losing a loved one, violence, etc.), and that you don’t choose to get one. I also want people to know that it can and does get better. :)”
“I think people don’t realize that people with an ed know that what they are doing is wrong and is killing them.”
“(I) don’t think they know that when we lie about what we have eaten or not is that we’re not trying to hurt or disappoint them but it’s something in the back of our mind telling us to say we’ve already eaten”
Please, if you or someone you know might be suffering from an eating disorder, seek help immediately. These are life-altering illnesses that only get worse when ignored.
Helpful Links:
Eating Disorder Support Network of Alberta
National Eating Disorders Association