Eating disorders are a response to the sufferer’s perception of life. It is very difficult for non-ED people to understand eating disordered counterparts as they cannot see the world through their eyes. The sufferer might experience both physical and psychological distortion and its severity can vary from sufferer to sufferer.
Thinking is usually a black or white perception. There is no mid-route. You either starve or you binge or purge. All of the behaviours have the same outcome. They all lead the sufferer to hurt oneself. For the sufferer it is okay to live with an eating disorders yet he or she thinks that it is not okay for other people to develop disordered eating patterns and behaviours.
ED sufferers feel responsible to make their environment as perfect as can be in order to make others lives more joyful and abundant, whilst destroying their own lives in the process. Sufferers take out other’s situation on themselves and punish themselves every time someone else feels ill, sad or angry.
Thinking is usually a black or white perception. There is no mid-route. You either starve or you binge or purge. All of the behaviours have the same outcome. They all lead the sufferer to hurt oneself. For the sufferer it is okay to live with an eating disorders yet he or she thinks that it is not okay for other people to develop disordered eating patterns and behaviours.
ED sufferers feel responsible to make their environment as perfect as can be in order to make others lives more joyful and abundant, whilst destroying their own lives in the process. Sufferers take out other’s situation on themselves and punish themselves every time someone else feels ill, sad or angry.
Eating disorders lead sufferers to form high expectations of perfection for themselves and they try to achieve this by creating a false sense of control through binging, purging, starvation or all behaviours at once. Such behaviours create a temporary release of emotions but result in greater emotional issues. ED behaviours bring about body image distortion.
Body image distortion leads the person to not see him/herself accurately in the mirror. The sufferer starts getting preoccupied with one’s appearance and continues to stress him/herself. Such preoccupation interferes with the daily functioning of the sufferer. The sufferer may start avoiding social situations, loses interest in one’s hobbies and experiences mood swings. This is where most of the time depression hits. And the cycle starts again.
It is very difficult to break the cycle and it is far more difficult to do so when the surrounding environment does not support change. I know of many sufferers who have been at retreat centres, went back home and ED cycles appeared once again. There are times where it is not only the ED sufferer who needs treatment, but also those who spend a lot of time with him or her.
Battling an eating disorder is not a one-man battle..........
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It is very difficult to break the cycle and it is far more difficult to do so when the surrounding environment does not support change. I know of many sufferers who have been at retreat centres, went back home and ED cycles appeared once again. There are times where it is not only the ED sufferer who needs treatment, but also those who spend a lot of time with him or her.
Battling an eating disorder is not a one-man battle..........
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