Wednesday 19 June 2013

Eating disorders

Not thin enough.
Not pretty enough.
Not good enough. 

It's terrible, but these three thoughts affect a lot of people (both male and female) on a daily basis, individuals who, over the years, have been led to believe that their worth in this world is solely dependent on their physical appearance. 

The truth is, what you look like, how much you weigh... the only person that it truly matters to is you. And those external people who act as though your looks make a shred of a difference to who you are inside, or how much they will like you... well, believe me when I say that those are not the kind of people that you want in your life in the first place, let alone want to change yourself for.

The term eating disorder is quite a general term which covers a lot of different bases, however, the three most common types of eating disorders out there are:
  • Anorexia nervosa - sufferers end up starving themselves, exercising excessively and forcing sickness in the attempt to lose as much weight as possible
  • Bulimia nervosa - sufferers will eat vast quantities of food before purging it. It will often start as a way to deal with emotional problems, but it can become habitual, and quickly turns into a bitter cycle of self-hatred and guilt 
  • Binge eating - much like those suffering from bulimia, binge-eaters will eat vast quantities of food, however, they do not partake in the purging that follows bulimic binges.
These issues are often joked about on TV shows or in movies, but in reality, they are no laughing matter. 70 million people worldwide cope with some sort of eating disorder, and it is estimated that 50,000 of them will die as a direct result of their troubled relationship with food. 

It's startling, but sadly, it's true.

Eating disorders often start during periods of depression, anger, anxiety or feelings of inadequacy, but can also stem from poor relationships with family members, sexual abuse, substance use or the desire to conform with society's 'expectations' of them. Each case is individual to the sufferer and should be treated as such. What caused one person's illness might not have had any affect on another's, and a treatment that one person responds to might not work for someone else suffering from the same thing.

I also feel as though it's important to point out that you probably know of someone who is currently going through some type of eating disorder, and that you might be simply unaware of their suffering. Those experiencing the problem often hide it from their loved ones, seen as it causes them to feel so much pain and guilt. They don't want others to know of their shame. They don't want to share their pain with others. They don't want to cause their loved ones to worry.

Eating disorders can quickly turn meal-times into nightmares, and the mirror into your worst enemy. It's an intense condition that can put individuals lives in danger and rip families apart, yet it is never given the attention that it deserves. Those less educated on the matter believe that the problem can be solved simply by eating more (or, in the case of binge eating, eating less) and "getting a hold of yourself". The thing is, eating disorders stem from a complex relationship with food and this results in eating regular meals at regular times becoming a very difficult task for some people.

How do we tackle eating disorders?

I wish I had a straight-forward answer, a definitive, mathematical solution to this complex issue, but I can only offer you my opinion. And my opinion is this: if we are to help the millions of sufferers out there, then we need to tame society's obsession with physical appearance, we need to educate people on the facts of eating disorders and most of all, we need to show sufferers that we are here for them and that we are willing to give them our support. 

No judgement.
No fear.

Because we can say "This is what you need to do" until we are blue in the face, we can lecture and beg until our words lose all meaning, but really, what good is it going to do? We need to hear their story if we truly want to help them recover. Loudly preaching will only drown out the importance of their words. Honestly... just listen. Let them talk, let them cry, let them do whatever feels natural, because it feels good to open up to someone and finally let the weight of the world fall off of your shoulders for a while.

Sometimes, it feels as though your eating habits is one of the few things that you are in control of, but just remember: you are in control of your own recovery too. I'm not going to lie to you and say that it will be easy. In fact, it will be a long and difficult road to recovery. That being said (and this I can assure you) it will be so worth it.

If you want to go on this journey, then all you've got to do is have the courage to take the first step. Sometimes the road to recovery can seem like a lonely path, but when that seems to be the case, just remember that you will never be alone on this journey, no matter how dark the skies overhead become, or how much your muscles begin to ache, there will always be someone walking alongside you, spurring you on. 

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