Mental Health Awareness: Eating Disorders

Chapter 20

Trigger warning: 
The following content discusses mental health disorders—specifically eating disorders. Viewer discretion is advised.

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PSA!! Please read this before beginning the chapter. The advice of Daphne Clarke and Ivy Dewdrop is in no way medical, and should not be taken as such. This article aims to raise awareness of mental illnesses that aren’t spoken about enough. If you, or someone you know, struggles with an eating disorder, please try your best to ask for help, whether it be asking a close friend, family member, or a therapist! You are loved and cared for, and your health is extremely important to us and those you are close with. Stay safe ❤️

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Mental Health Awareness: Overcoming An Eating Disorder

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Introduction!

Hello, beautifuls! I know we normally start this chapter with a story. However, I think that it might be a little heavy and difficult to really write about in just a short story. I want to start this by saying that you are beautiful, loved, incredible, and you are enough. I know life can be a pain in the butt sometimes—yet, I KNOW that you have got this and I know you might hate yourself or the way you look. Maybe you don’t, maybe you just dislike your life and wish to punish yourself. However, I need you to know that it’ll get better, even though life might not be cooperating with you right now. This chapter will be difficult to write and read through, we will discuss eating disorders, symptoms, personal experiences, and how they can affect people. Viewer caution is advised and please, if this is triggering, do not continue ♥♥

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What are eating disorders? What causes them?

Eating disorders are behavioural conditions that result in a severe and persistent disturbance in eating patterns and thoughts and emotions associated with eating. They are serious conditions that can terribly damage someone’s physical and psychological health. There are different kinds of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorders, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and more.

The most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia, so I’ll give you a quick summary of what they entail.

Anorexia is a kind of eating disorder where the individual has a strong fear of gaining weight. Someone with this kind of disorder only views themselves negatively, mostly thinking of themselves as “too big” or “overweight” when they might be very thin. They will limit the foods they eat, count calories extremely, or pressure themselves into too much exercise.

Bulimia, often referred to as “binging and purging” is a different kind of disorder, where the person eats large, excessive amounts of food (binges), then tries to eliminate (purge) that overeating by making themselves vomit, taking laxatives, exercising extremely, or fasting.

Eating disorders can be caused by a multitude of factors. They are said to affect up to 5% of the population and a majority of these cases start in adolescence or young adulthood. Some reasons a person may develop an eating disorder are problems with self-esteem and/or body image, trauma and abuse, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and/or other mental health issues.

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Symptoms/Recognising Eating Disorders:

If you’re worried that a friend, family member, or even you are beginning to develop some type of eating disorder, here are a couple of signs to look out for:

~ Skipping meals, snacks, or just looking for excuses not to eat.
~ Having a very limited diet and being controlling about food intake.
~ Making their own separate meals instead of eating with friends/family.
~ Withdrawing or isolating themselves from usual social activities.
~ Having frequent worries about their weight or complaining about being unhealthy.
~ Constantly checking their appearance in the mirror or weighing themselves to control their weight.
~ Using dietary supplements, laxatives, or herbal products intended for weight loss.
~ Exercising much more than the usual person. This could mean refusing to take breaks or rest days because of an overgrowing obsession with extreme exercising.
~ Problems with teeth and loss of tooth enamel which could point to signs of excessive vomiting.
~ Leaving during meals or after a meal to use the bathroom.
~ Talking about depression, shame, or guilt in eating habits.
~ Eating large amounts of food repeatedly.
~ Eating in secret.

Signs of depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses can suggest that something has taken a toll on their mental health.

Some of these signs can apply to anorexia, while others might point to bulimia or binge eating disorder. Just remember that eating disorders come in all forms, and they don’t specifically mean “starving yourself". I don't know how much I can stress this—you should be getting the help and support you need if you ever feel like they are experiencing an eating disorder. Please keep an eye out for your loved ones, and try to communicate without judgement if you suspect something’s wrong.

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How do eating disorders affect people?

Eating disorders can affect people in many different ways and people's experiences can and will vary. There are many health and physical side effects as well as mental ones. Here, I will start with the negative health and physical issues.

The Heart, Digestive System, Bones, Teeth, and Mouth can be affected by eating disorders. The imbalance of food and electrolytes can lead to erratic heart rhythms and palpitations. Your digestive system needs the food and nutrients to work properly. Without them, you can experience nausea, constipation, and abdominal cramping. Furthermore, your very bones can become more brittle and malleable, leading to a higher chance of fractures and breaking. Not only can your organs be hurt, but your mouth and teeth can become sensitive and it can become painful to eat or chew anything. Eating disorders can sometimes cause mass vomiting, which wears down the enamel on your teeth.

Not only is your physical well-being mutated and damaged but eating disorders can be damaging to the mind. Many people struggling with an unhealthy relationship with food also struggle with the following.

~ Body Dysmorphia
~ Low Self-Esteem
~ Depression
~ Anxiety
~ Substance Use
~ Loneliness
~ Guilt
~ Mood Swings
~ ‘Energy Crashes’
~ Obesophobia (the irrational fear of gaining weight)

All of these are deadly and harmful to the human body. Please know that if you are struggling there are many resources you can use. <3

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Coping With An Eating Disorder:

Now, I will take you through some steps you can go through to recover from an eating disorder. However, the most important step is that you recognise that it’s not healthy and you want a change. First of all I would reach out to a doctor, mental health therapist, friend, family member, or trusted adult. These people can help you set up a way to get the help you need. You can also get eating disorder treatment, however most are known to be expensive and taxing. You may also need to learn healthier ways to express the feelings you felt that caused you to begin the bad habits. Developing a balanced and healthy relationship with food is crucial. You need to learn to appreciate and love the nutrients that food gives your body. Working out once a day or every two days is all you should really need, try to not overwork your body by working out on an empty stomach. Eating disorders often stir feelings of unworthiness and feeling as though you are ugly or fat. That is not the case and part of recovery is learning to love and appreciate all your body does for you. As hard as it is, eat three good meals a day and drink plenty of water. There are people here to support you and know that you can’t and don’t have to do it alone! <3

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Personal Experience:

This will describe in greater detail what it is like living with an ED. Viewer discretion is advised if triggering to a certain audience.

This will contain sensitive content that will go in depth on my—Ivy’s—personal experience with an eating disorder. Please read cautiously.

This is from Ivy Dewdrop’s personal experience, eating disorders is not a light topic and you should never judge someone going or has gone through an eating disorder.

My unhealthy relationship with food began when I was a young child. I was born with a slow metabolism and my body just processed food differently. This left me feeling chubbier than the other kids and I would beat myself up about it constantly. I felt fat, and on my bad days, I still do. I was constantly told “Oh... you look like you’ve gained a few pounds....” or the occasional, “That doesn't fit anymore, are you sure you're eating well?” These only added to the fire of self deprecation that started my clinical eating disorder. I had always loved food: sweet, savory, spicy, salty, it didn’t matter. Slowly though as I reached probably 7th grade I began to skip lunch or breakfast here or there, telling myself I’d forgotten or that I hadn’t had time. I would usually go a full day without eating or eating very very small dinners, claiming my stomach hurt. In truth, it did. I was left with cramps, headaches, dizzy spells, or sometimes I’d feel nauseous. At the end of the year my mother had found out and had gotten very mad at me. That didn't help the situation but I told her I’d stop. And I did. Up until recently I was eating more and better. However I have fallen back into the trap that I am not enough and my body is disgusting. I sometimes go up to 2 days without eating much and truthfully I am miserable sometimes. I am getting professional help and I am here to say...there is another side. Get the help if you can and please, please recognise that you are incredible and deserve to eat. It doesn’t make you greedy, selfish, or fat. You are loved and your body is amazing, if no one is there to say it, I will.

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Resources:

If you think that you’re having food issues that may correlate to an eating disorder, I’ll link some resources below to help.

Learn more:
https://www.aedweb.org/home
https://nedic.ca
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders

Hotlines:
https://bulimia.com/eating-disorders/eating-disorder-hotlines/#hotlines

Conclusion:

Well, my loves, that concludes MHA for the month! I hope you have learned about what an eating disorder is and how people experience them! If you personally have an eating disorder or you used to and have recovered, I wish the best and I want and plead for all of you reading this to know that you are worthy of love and nutrition! Stay safe lovelies and take care of yourself! <33

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Written by Ivy Dewdrop and Daphne Clarke.
Edited by Hazel Antler.
Proofread by Sara Rowan.