Maybe I'm beating a dead horse (and I very well could be), but I also think it just might be a dead horse that needs to be beaten.
Despite
all of the research that shows the ultimate biological underpinnings of anorexia and bulimia, it's common for many people to write off these illnesses as a way (however pathological) to stay thin. I won't deny that eating disorders can start off this way- losing five pounds, not eating so many sweets, cutting out soda, exercising regularly. Wanting to look good in a bathing suit. These things can be the final pulling of the trigger. Ready, aim, fire.
Yet both firing a gun and an eating disorder are more complex. You need bullets, you need a gun- not JUST a trigger. The trigger is much easier to see than the bullet and the gun. You can see the aftermath, the proverbial body outlined in chalk. But the ballistics testing isn't as easy to carry out. And neither is research on the
neurochemical causes of eating disorders.
So the myth of wanting to be thin and everything running amok continues, in part because of legacy and in part because it's easier to see and understand. Such as
this recent article , written by a high school student:
"So, maybe you don’t quite fit into your summer clothes from last year. Staying healthy and fit during the summer is a beneficial way to stay in your shorts from previous summers. Unfortunately, though, too many teenagers resort to eating disorders to maintain their desired weight. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are two unhealthy ways to stay thin. This summer, making the right choices to stay healthy could save your life." Anorexia and bulimia and binge eating disorder and
EDNOS are
real illnesses , not "ways to stay thin." By the time you have a full-blown eating disorder, your disordered habits have long ceased to be
about anything. They maintain themselves in a
vicious cycle of malnutrition and anxiety.
I do understand the misunderstandings- I had them myself when I was first diagnosed. Which is why I think it's important to keep beating the dead horse. Or at least explain why I'm doing it.
Despite all of the research that shows the ultimate biological underpinnings of anorexia and bulimia, it's common for many people to write off these illnesses as a way (however pathological) to stay thin. I won't deny that eating disorders can start off this way- losing five pounds, not eating so many sweets, cutting out soda, exercising regularly. Wanting to look good in a bathing suit. These things can be the final pulling of the trigger. Ready, aim, fire.
Yet both firing a gun and an eating disorder are more complex. You need bullets, you need a gun- not JUST a trigger. The trigger is much easier to see than the bullet and the gun. You can see the aftermath, the proverbial body outlined in chalk. But the ballistics testing isn't as easy to carry out. And neither is research on the neurochemical causes of eating disorders.
So the myth of wanting to be thin and everything running amok continues, in part because of legacy and in part because it's easier to see and understand. Such as this recent article , written by a high school student:
"So, maybe you don’t quite fit into your summer clothes from last year. Staying healthy and fit during the summer is a beneficial way to stay in your shorts from previous summers. Unfortunately, though, too many teenagers resort to eating disorders to maintain their desired weight. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are two unhealthy ways to stay thin. This summer, making the right choices to stay healthy could save your life."
Anorexia and bulimia and binge eating disorder and EDNOS are real illnesses , not "ways to stay thin." By the time you have a full-blown eating disorder, your disordered habits have long ceased to be about anything. They maintain themselves in a vicious cycle of malnutrition and anxiety.
I do understand the misunderstandings- I had them myself when I was first diagnosed. Which is why I think it's important to keep beating the dead horse. Or at least explain why I'm doing it.