Eating disorders are MENTAL ILLNESSES. They do not have to do with following a healthy weight-loss/weight-gain diet. Such diets are usually monitored and taken care of. An eating disorder is caused by a mixture of emotional struggles along with insecurities which leave a negative effect on both the psychological and physical aspect of the sufferer.
It is healthy to monitor your weight and to make sure that you eat well in order to look good and feel good. Taking care of both your inner and outer self boosts your self-confidence and shows that you love the person who you are. Healthy individuals do have days when they seek food for comfort (ex. pre-exams’ stress), others might eat less when they feel stressed or down. Non-ED people know that exercise will help them achieve certain goals and will also make them feel better, but ED sufferers own different mindsets when it comes to exercising.
It is healthy to monitor your weight and to make sure that you eat well in order to look good and feel good. Taking care of both your inner and outer self boosts your self-confidence and shows that you love the person who you are. Healthy individuals do have days when they seek food for comfort (ex. pre-exams’ stress), others might eat less when they feel stressed or down. Non-ED people know that exercise will help them achieve certain goals and will also make them feel better, but ED sufferers own different mindsets when it comes to exercising.
An eating disorder patient’s life is very routine-oriented. Their lives revolve around food, weight, exercise and thinness. Most of them are perfectionists. They keep on pushing themselves towards unhealthy weights because they believe that they are not thin enough (in case of anorexia/bulimia). On the other side of the spectrum, binge-eaters have similar anorexic thoughts but they binge eat instead of starve/binge & purge.
The number on the scale controls an EDed person’s life. They weigh their self-worth and end up punishing themselves whenever the number does not decrease. Healthy individuals weigh themselves in order to record progress and they surely do not weigh themselves every single hour of the day!Food controls the life of the sufferer because food is one of the things which can easily be controlled. EDed individuals are obsessed with food. They know every calorie in every type of food and they are constantly thinking on how to prevent themselves from eating. It is very common for these individuals to experience dreams about food. They end up developing a very unhealthy relationship with food. A relationship which would take years of practice to fix.
The number on the scale controls an EDed person’s life. They weigh their self-worth and end up punishing themselves whenever the number does not decrease. Healthy individuals weigh themselves in order to record progress and they surely do not weigh themselves every single hour of the day!Food controls the life of the sufferer because food is one of the things which can easily be controlled. EDed individuals are obsessed with food. They know every calorie in every type of food and they are constantly thinking on how to prevent themselves from eating. It is very common for these individuals to experience dreams about food. They end up developing a very unhealthy relationship with food. A relationship which would take years of practice to fix.
Exercise is a catalyst to the EDed person’s goals. Many of them spend hours upon hours exercising till they feel like they are about to pass out. Healthy people use exercise as a tool which can help them feel good both mentally and physically, but the EDed individual uses exercise as a way to “purge” away calories. Exercise is an important activity which should be part of everyone’s life. It should be fun!
Eating disorders are about seeking control. The individual seeks an ED in order to control one’s life. The sufferer believes that the ED would give him or her identity and personality. People, who diet to feel good, have a life. They know how to have fun and how to be flexible when it comes to eating. ED sufferers are quite rigid when it comes to their eating patterns, tend to be super picky and carry guilt feelings whenever they eat a meal.
The approach and relationship with food and oneself is what differs a person who is on a diet and a person who is suffering from an eating disorder. It is important to eat good nutritious food and to exercise regularly, but it is very dangerous to base your self-worth on the number on the scale or the food on your plate.
Eating disorders are about seeking control. The individual seeks an ED in order to control one’s life. The sufferer believes that the ED would give him or her identity and personality. People, who diet to feel good, have a life. They know how to have fun and how to be flexible when it comes to eating. ED sufferers are quite rigid when it comes to their eating patterns, tend to be super picky and carry guilt feelings whenever they eat a meal.
The approach and relationship with food and oneself is what differs a person who is on a diet and a person who is suffering from an eating disorder. It is important to eat good nutritious food and to exercise regularly, but it is very dangerous to base your self-worth on the number on the scale or the food on your plate.
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