The National Eating Disorder Org, describes an eating Disorder as this:– such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder — include extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. Eating disorders are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for females and Men.
See many people maybe even you reading this blog, think that a person who causes themselves to vomit their food or refuses to eat anything but bite sized amounts all day, must be doing this willingly. But WHO in their right mind, knowing the damage it can cause, (and some know what they can do to themselves) would do it anyway? Or wouldn’t stop if it was just that easy?
But in our society if you do not have a PHYSICAL aliment that one can SEE, it is dismissed as the person’s choice. Something that can be gotten over with will power and determination easily. Though at the same time, one will say someone would have to be crazy or in a bad place to do those things to themselves. Kind of a Contradictory statement if you ask me!
Eating Disorders ARE a physical and emotional issue! This is just proven fact! True they can begin with ones desire to lose weight and dieting. BUT Eating Disorders are far more than just Dieting. They can kill you! Someone who goes on a 700 calorie a day quick diet to lose some weight fast, will likely return to normal eating after the allowed time has passed. These diets come with warnings that it is NOT safe to eat this way on a normal basis. They advise what a normal body needs to maintain and that the extremeness of the limited caloric intake is NOT recommended for an extensive time frame. people doing them, are usually looking to jump start their weight loss, or get rid of a few extra pounds for a wedding, class reunion etc. Those products are often advertised in such a manner.
Someone who falls into a pattern though of an eating disorder, may not even realize that they have one. They may suddenly find themselves overcome with remarks that begin to come in once they lose some weight. They may enjoy the way their clothes begin to fit, the added attention from the opposite sex. (and NO E.D. are NOT limited to the Female gender) Before they know it they are eating less and less, for fear to gain one pound back of what they have lost. They begin to exercise more than normal, but to them “IT IS NORMAL.” Food becomes their life, and not eating it, but doing all they can, to eat just enough and no more. When you look in the mirror you see your size 10, or 6 maybe even 16. A person with an eating disorder could very well be a size 6 but look in the mirror and see a size 16 looking back at them.
I can speak from PERSONAL experience that, Eating Disorders are not a Choice, not something that the person necessarily chooses or enjoys doing. Most really don’t understand that what they are doing is 1. harmful, 2. not safe, 3. some don’t even know that they are doing anything not normal.
When i began to vomit I was a teenager being abused and it was my way of keeping my mother around. Before i knew it- it had become a part of my daily activities. Whenever I ate i had to let it out. Seeing as i was taught to eat all my food, that became a problem as well. I would expel my insides to make room for the rest of my plate. I began to have stomach issues and then needed surgery. All the while NOT realizing it was the vomiting that was making me sick. It took me many years to get it under control. The funny thing was that even when i began to open up and tell my doctors, therapist, dentist, no one seemed to concerned about it. Even when i lost 20 pounds in just over two week due to it.
It is difficult for my now, fiancée to understand why i do it. I hate when I fail and do it because i know i am letting him down and that the acid that i am forcing back up my throat could rupture and destroy my esophagus. I’m proud of myself, though. I’ve gone from getting rid of EVERYTHING i ate, right after i ate it, to maybe 1 time a month. Now how about that for progress. It doesn’t mean though that the other 29 days I’m not tempted. This is like any other emotional, physical disorder like an alcoholic; you have to live your life resisting temptation. I had to learn my stressors and to find other ways to unwind. My battle is far from over, but I’m so glad I’m not in the midst of the storm as i used to be.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Listen, Support, Love, Communicate.
I know that sound like easy things to do. But over all you CAN’T make someone stop doing something if they don’t want to. Think of a drinker, all the yelling and screaming in the world won’t make them stop until they are ready. But I’m not saying to sit back and watch your loved ones die either. But know that no amount of bullying, nit picking, arguing, ultimatums, will make a difference, if the person doesn’t see that they have a problem and are ready to address it.
But you can tell them you love them, you want the best for them. You can let them know that the way they are living is going to hurt their body, whether they realize it or not. You can suggest counseling maybe for YOUR sake not theirs. “Will you go with me so that i can deal with how I feel?”
Interventions can help. It can help to get your loved ones together, to write a letter; to tell the one with the disorder how what they do makes you feel. How scared you are for them. How you miss the person they used to be, the things you used to be able to do.
Just know that it MAY not work as well. They may feel attacked, that you don’t understand that you are making something out of nothing, which you know to be false.
In the end, unfortunately there is no 100% way to get through to someone who is hurting themselves, but to somehow make them aware and see that what they are doing to their body is detrimental to their health. It is NOT healthy living or eating.
That in its self is a task.
But over all they do need your LOVE; they do need to know that you are there for them. But you need to know and relay that you want the best for them, for them to be healthy and alive for a long time.
*The above are purely MY Point of View, and are by no means Medical FACT* If you or someone you love has an eating disorder PLEASE talk to your health care professional IMMEDIATELY. Help is avail, you are NOT ALONE!
If my story can help just one person, then it’s worth putting my business out there!
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