The notion about eating disorders have been in our society for a long time. Even though this topic is floated around, very often these eating issues have been bypassed and not given enough thought, however, now it has been plaguing our society in a large way. We have to address it seriously and reach out to the community in a larger way. One way to do that is to bust certain myths regarding this topic.
Myth #1: You can tell a person has an eating disorder just by looking at them.
This myth is father from the truth, as we are all familiar with the quote, “more than meets the eye.” For example: We feel that someone with eating problems will be either skin and bones or they will be so fat they that they can’t move around. Not all people that have struggles with eating will show it outwardly. For the most part, it is hidden. A teenager can very well hide the fact that she starves herself to death so that she will look a certain way. There is no 100% proof that they will look emancipated. So therefore, having such a thought may not always be true. Understanding their relationship with food will help us to better understand what they are going through.
Myth #2: Families are the reason why the individual is going through this.
In many cultures, especially with the Asian culture, the mother is looked down on when the child has a difficulty. Eating disorders can come from being with a group of friends that are overtly conscious about their looks or having family members who are critical of the way a child looks or eats. It can also come from not happy with oneself, with their looks or with their appearance. Families are not always the reason why an individual has eating disorders.
Myth #3: Eating disorders happen only in the rich and well to do families.
The emphasis is so much on the rich strata of society that has this problem but rather all the sections of society are affected. It affects all people, young and old; poor and rich; able and unable. So, believing in a myth such as this is baseless.
Myth #4: Eating disorders are for life and this is to stay.
Often the very nature of man is to look at this very disorder in a catastrophic manner. The outlook being that once a person has this condition, recovery is impossible. This is however far from the truth. For a difficulty such as this, one cannot draw any finality but rather look at it a process, a journey. There are many cases where this has been thought of greatly and efforts have been made towards recovery and there have been great results and like the famous quote goes, “It’s not the destination that matters but the journey that makes all the difference.” Looking at the process of recovery and using these strides as reasons to celebrate are more powerful messages for the individual to hold on to rather than the end result.
As much as the journey is important, it is wise to remember that this journey is a step-by-step process. So having these myths busted is extremely important.
Check out our next article on Anorexia Nervosa
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