By: Anya F-G
Eating disorders are a problematic and near-universal mental health issue. With isolation, this problem is only getting worse, due to the people most susceptible being on social media constantly.
Eating disorders come in many different shades. However, there are three main categories:
1. Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder most commonly associated with models.
It appears drastically more frequently in women and girls, the majority of which falling between the ages of 13 and 19, and mid-twenties. About 1 in 200 Americans have this.
Almost all of the people afflicted:
Have distorted body images
Are at least 15% below the national weight average
Spent inordinate amounts of time exercising
Are obsessed with diets
The people with anorexia nervosa are usually the girls who always complain about their size, even though they look like models.
Anorexia usually kills 5-10% of people affected if left untreated for 10 years. The statistics leap to almost 20% if left for 20 years.
They either die of starvation, or of the incredibly weak immune systems they are left with, after being, essentially, in ketosis for over a decade. They are also the majority of the people who buy diet pills, or only eat certain brands of low-cal, low-fat, low-carb, low-taste pre-packaged sawdust.
This is part of why the pandemic has been so devastating for the eating disorder community:
With all the foods bought in a craze, there may be nothing left. And, since they refuse to eat anything else, they basically just don’t eat anything aside from lemon water.
2. Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa affects the same target group of people as anorexia nervosa, but those affected may range from thinner-than-average to overweight.
This is because their methods of losing are drastically different.
People with bulimia have uncontrollable binge-eating episodes that can last from a couple of days to two months. Then, they either exercise obsessively, or “purge”, meaning to either make themselves vomit (with toothbrushes, their fingers, ect…) or taking pills to go through… er... the other way.
This happens over and over and over again until you barely hold on to any of the calories you eat, gaining prevalence over your life until you are throwing up at least once a week, if not more.
Bulimia is known for doubling your risk of an early death, and makes you much more susceptible to COVID-19.
3. Binge Eating
Binge eating is drastically different from the two disorders listed above for one simple reason; it falls on the opposite side of the spectrum.
People who binge eat are compulsively shoveling food down their throats. Most who suffer from binge eating are at least slightly overweight, seeing as they do not do very much to combat this problem. If they did, while still keeping up their tendencies, it would stop being called binge eating, and start being called bulimia nervosa.
Either way, they are both serious problems that are almost guaranteed to kill you if you die naturally. It isn’t even that people who binge eat have better quality of life, either.
Much like OCD, they are barely in control of what they are consuming, and feel intense shame if anyone discovers their stash of mostly unhealthy food.
The moral of the story here, kids: eating disorders are BAD.
If you feel yourself slipping into those tendencies, get help right away, and don’t feel bad about the stigma.
Make sure to eat right, exercise right, and please, for the love of LIFE, don’t starve yourself.
Stay healthy!
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