In a world where image is everything, our external appearance plays a big role in our daily lives. Everyone wants to be accepted and be liked by their peers. Whether it is dressing a certain way, acting like something you’re not, and even forming unhealthy eating habits in order to fit in.
More people struggle with eating disorders more than you’d think. The South Carolina Department of Mental Help estimates that 8 million people in the United States have an eating disorder. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. About 78% of adolescent girls wish to be thinner and 47% of girls in 5th through 12th grade want to lose weight because of magazine pictures. What these girls don’t realize is an average woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds; while the average model is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 117 pounds. This means an average model is 7 inches taller, but weighs 23 pounds less than an average woman. This is a ridiculous difference, yet these are the girls who we aspire to look like.
The three main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Anorexia is developed when people feel they are overweight. Symptoms include: cutting down of food portions, pickiness of food, and repeated weigh-ins. Those affected from bulimia nervosa tend to eat large amounts of food uncontrollably; which is followed by behavior that makes up for the overeating such as: fasting, laxative consumption, and/or forced vomiting. Binge-eating disorder, like bulimia nervosa, involves a person who loses control over his/her eating; yet, extreme behavior to make up for it is not exhibited. People with this disorder are normally obese and pose a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and high blood sugar.
Most people find it very difficult to stop being bulimic or anorexic. Unfortunately, there are more deaths for eating disorders, especially anorexia, than other sicknesses like depression. People with an eating disorder are more likely to commit suicide, which is a major cause of their death. Severe results can occur from eating disorders such as: loss of muscle mass, slow heart rate, decreased blood pressure, lower body temperature, and heart burn. These serious problems are not worth the idea of feeling thinner in the long run.
The most important thing for someone with an eating disorder is to get treatment as soon as possible. Although uneasy at first, it’ll pay off. There are different types of therapies to join if one is struggling with an eating disorder. For example, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy helps change the way patients think about their body and food. Family therapy is very important, because family helps a lot when attempting to solve an eating disorder. Eating disorder treatments are a journey of self-discovery, which means: individual therapy is necessary in treating these problems. As you can see, there are several therapies to participate in to bring you healthy future.
When one has an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia, they think they’ll never be happy until they’re skinnier. Not true. People with eating disorders need help right away. Realizing there is a problem and seeking help is more important than hurting family, friends, and your own body. People should love themselves as they are, instead of looking for acceptance from the world.
