A young teen girl was admitted to the hospital for passing out in class. At the hospital she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Suffering from extremely low blood sugar, her life is on the line. Eating disorders are taking over women and girls like the one in the story. The main influence that cause these disorders is social media.
The different types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating. Anybody can get an eating disorder no matter what race, age, gender, body shape or ethnicities. Some people who suffer might look healthy but are extremely ill. This is because someone can gain or lose too much weight too fast.
People who suffer from anorexia nervosa are afraid of looking fat so they eat very little. They skip meals and eat the bare minimum. They will also become obsessed with exercising all the time. They will exercise instead of sleeping and pick up many sports at once. When anorexics look in the mirror they see a distorted body image. That means they see and image that’s not true to their real self and they look bigger than they actually are. Anorexia health problems include low blood sugar, slow heartbeat, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, weak bones and slow growth.
Bulimia nervosa is binge eating then making themselves purge after. They binge eat to feel out of control. Then they reverse it by purging which means they make themselves throw up. They will throw up until it is just liquid and mainly clear. Bulimia health problems are low blood sugar, irregular heartbeat, tiredness, weakness,dizziness, blood in vomit, tooth erosion, cavities and swollen gums.
Binge eating cause people to eat uncontrollably all the times. People who suffer from it become immensely overweight. They often eat to cope and deal with stressful situations. They spen little to no time exercising and eat instead. Binge eating health problems are diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and fatty liver.
There is a number of things that can cause these eating disorders. Society using social media is the main one. Society has been putting in our head at a young age of what the ideal woman looks like and that women need to spend lots of time on their appearance. Also that women are valued for their appearance rather than their character. Images of society’s perfect women are everywhere. It’s in magazines, billboards, news, online and on social media. Womens bodys in advertising are mutilated and taken apart for societys liking. Advertisements are also created that shame women for liking food. They are told over and over again their body is not right and they should dislike it. Society has set a high standard for their ideal body. This standard of being incredibly thin is very unrealistic. The models girls see everywhere are underweight and photoshopped. The stereotypes for women is to look like those models which is forcing girls to grow up too fast. Girls who suffer from eating disorders believe the number on the scale is their self worth. Social media does not represent diversity in body types. They only show one specific body type. Many girls heard from society they have to look like something they are not to be accepted.
Although these eating disorders may seem straight forward, they are not. These are very complicated disorders that affect woman physically and mentally. It makes dealing with everyday things so much harder. It also causes depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders. Their minds become progressively wired to hate themselves more and more everyday. People who suffer will cry and collapse in front of a mirror because they hate what they see. They do not wanna go outside of their house because they are fearful of what people will think of them. Women are constantly comparing themselves to images of other women everyday. That’s when they really decided to not eat, binge/purge or binge eat. Most of the times they create excuses to do these things and people around them are oblivious to it. Woman think these things that they are doing to themselves is normal when it is extremely deteriorating to them. Also these behaviors become addictive like a drug. Some bad episodes of these disorders can really make women come face to face with the reality of what they are doing. It is not only themselves they are effecting, it also affects their family, friends, relationships, and school or work. Parents trying to help their kids too much can push them further into denial about having an eating disorder.
The recovery process is a long and a hard process. It takes a lot of work, patience and hope to recover. Some people may never fully recover and some people can fully recover. A team of professionals helps with treatment. There is a doctor for medical care, dietitian for nutrition counseling and a therapist for talk therapy. Although not everyone needs the same type of treatment, these people can still help. People who are also suffering from the same disorder can help and reassure you that things will be ok. Also good friends who help you come out of the house and do stuff to keep your mind off things helps as well. Being isolated from the outside world only makes things worse. Controlling their weight makes them feel powerful, so they need to have something else to do to replace it. They can start good dieting and create better habits. Your mind is taken over by calorie counting so they will help people not do that. Also at recovery they teach you that the scale is their enemy. They may deny they have an eating disorder and they really need to be confronted about it. One relapse can make them feel awful. That’s when family and friends can really help. They are helped to take a step back and evaluate yourself. Even a little change goes a long way in the road to recovery. Once they realize the disorder does not control them, they control it, things look up. The recovery process gives them a new perspective on their life. When they are fully recovered they accept their natural shape and body size.