Do you have an eating disorder? Does one of your friends have an eating disorder? There are easy ways to figure out if you or one of your friends has an eating disorder, so read on. Since I started to write this article I have been shocked by the number of my friends who have told me that they had or have an eating disorder. The most surprising thing is that none of these friends thought it could happen to them, and they really didn’t know about the serious health problems that could happen because of their eating disorder. It’s always easier to understand things by hearing people talk about their experiences. We at DASH have collected the stories of individuals who used to have an eating disorder along with a lot of information about what to do if you or someone you know has one.
Body Image and Self Esteem
The first battle that must be fought with eating disorders is the internal questioning. Why do we want to change our bodies? Everyone is so into diversity – of hair, skin, eyes – but what about weight? Why aren’t we into diversity in body type? Almost everyone I know has seen the magazines and shows that have these ridiculously tiny girls and perfectly sculpted guys on them and it’s no wonder that there are so many people with eating disorders! If we only watched music videos and dating shows we would think that every girl has fake boobs, every guy has a six pack, and everyone always gets laid on the first date – in a hot tub. The truth is that the bodies we see in the media are only shared by approximately 3-5% of the population, not to mention all of the airbrushing and altering of photos that is used in most print media. I’m not even trying to say that it’s the media’s fault, but someone should point out that these people either have eating disorders or work out and watch every little carb that they’re eating, every single day of their life. I think it is pretty clear that these people don’t deal with the same things that normal people do; no jobs, no school (or very little of it), and no meals. Seriously, the guys must work out every day for 5 hours and the girls are probably doing that and not eating much at all. We are taught that thinness=happiness, but I have known people who look the part, but are still unhappy. Frankly, I can’t imagine how anyone who has to miss out on the joy of pizza, cookies, and Coldstone® ice cream can really be that happy! I don’t know about you but that just isn’t the life for me, even if it does get me that tight little bod. It’s time to understand that you can achieve a healthy body without falling into unhealthy patterns.
Let’s start by saying that body image is important in all of this. You have all heard this expression at some point, but what exactly does it mean? Body image explained very simply is how you see yourself in the mirror and how you feel about your body. If you are constantly unhappy with the way your body looks, then you would fall into the “negative body image” category. If you’re mostly okay with how you look and feel about your body, you have “positive body image”.
Signs of negative body image can be anything from feeling ashamed, self-conscious, unsatisfied, or nervous about the way you look. If you have positive body image that means that you are comfortable with the skin you’re in. Although body image is just a state of mind, it can have some dangerous consequences. As you can imagine, people with a negative body image are more likely to feel depressed or anxious and are at higher risk for developing an eating disorder. Although eating disorders develop for many complex psychological reasons it is important to keep in mind that feeling bad about the way you look is a major risk factor. If you do experience negative body image it’s important to remember that you are not alone. You might feel like the only one in your crew of friends or in your school that isn’t satisfied with the way you look but the research shows us that more than 70% of girls and 50% of guys are unsatisfied with some part of their body.
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