thanks for writing about this extremely important topic!
Through my seven years of working in a wellness office at a University, I spoke with dozens of students every year who were in different stages of recovery from their eating disorder, and many students who were still suffering from their eating disorder.
Another important thing to remember about eating disorders: they have THE NUMBER ONE HIGHEST mortality rate among ALL mental illnesses.
I could write pages about this topic, it was very near and dear to my heart. There are so many factors that play a role in WHY some people have an eating disorder, and others do not. Some of the factors are genetics, some are environmental reasons (the nature vs. nurture equation).
Here are some of the things I learned:
- Numerous college students started out thinking they were doing something healthy for themselves: watching their diet and exercising. They say they were just profoundly impacted by the positive (weight loss) results and all of the compliments they received. So, they kept going and eventually turned this healthy habit into a dangerous, life-threatening habit and disease. Perhaps genetics plays a role for these individuals, and/or there is a family history of eating disorders or other mental illness.
- Eating disorders are NOT about the food. The food is just the mechanism that the individual uses. Eating disorders are about intense fear, control, body image distortion and many, many other factors.
- It is important to get to know the individual person, what is their love/hate relationship with their eating disorder. Why are they keeping "it" around? It is truly a relationship; something that person thinks about every minute of every day: planning schedules and social activities around meal times and workout times.
An excellent book that describes living with an eating disorder:
My Life with Ed
Excellent National Resources:
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/information-resources/general-information.php#causes-eating-disorders
http://www.anad.org/
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thanks for writing about this extremely important topic!
Through my seven years of working in a wellness office at a University, I spoke with dozens of students every year who were in different stages of recovery from their eating disorder, and many students who were still suffering from their eating disorder.
Another important thing to remember about eating disorders: they have THE NUMBER ONE HIGHEST mortality rate among ALL mental illnesses.
I could write pages about this topic, it was very near and dear to my heart. There are so many factors that play a role in WHY some people have an eating disorder, and others do not. Some of the factors are genetics, some are environmental reasons (the nature vs. nurture equation).
Here are some of the things I learned:
- Numerous college students started out thinking they were doing something healthy for themselves: watching their diet and exercising. They say they were just profoundly impacted by the positive (weight loss) results and all of the compliments they received. So, they kept going and eventually turned this healthy habit into a dangerous, life-threatening habit and disease. Perhaps genetics plays a role for these individuals, and/or there is a family history of eating disorders or other mental illness.
- Eating disorders are NOT about the food. The food is just the mechanism that the individual uses. Eating disorders are about intense fear, control, body image distortion and many, many other factors.
- It is important to get to know the individual person, what is their love/hate relationship with their eating disorder. Why are they keeping "it" around? It is truly a relationship; something that person thinks about every minute of every day: planning schedules and social activities around meal times and workout times.
An excellent book that describes living with an eating disorder:
My Life with Ed
Excellent National Resources:
November 11, 2008 - 4:05pmhttp://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/information-resources/general-information.php#causes-eating-disorders
http://www.anad.org/
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