Home for the Hol-ED-days
The holidays have never been my forte. SO MUCH FOOD... LOL! Food has been my "frenemy" for many years. Those who struggle with self-love and eating disorder tendencies can relate.
Holidays can easily cause high anxiety for us. Those dreaded comments from relatives you haven't seen in forever... "You need to put some meat on your bones." "Why aren't you eating what we eat?" "You are looking healthier." "Have you lost weight?" "You can afford to load up on more sugar cookies!" These comments may seem innocent, but to someone recovery from an eating disorder they can spark feelings of shame, guilt, and cause our thoughts to spiral out of control . I know most people do not fully understand what goes on inside our heads but please make an effort to think before you speak. I would be rich if I received a dollar every time someone told me to, "just go eat a cheeseburger" over the past 16 years. That is one of the WORST things you could say to a person who is struggling with their weight or negative body image. Words DO hurt. If it were a simple fix no one would have it!
Part of my life purpose and mission is to raise awareness about this deadly disorder which is not talked about nearly enough! Mental illnesses have a stigma attached to them.
Here are a few frequently asked questions from the National Eating Disorder Association website:
Are eating disorders a choice?
Eating disorders (EDs) are complex medical and psychiatric illnesses that patients don’t choose; they are bio-psycho-social diseases. Several decades of genetic research show that biological factors play a significant role in who develops an eating disorder. A societal factor (like the media-driven thin body ideal) is an example of an environmental trigger that has been linked to increased risk of developing an eating disorder. Environmental factors also include physical illnesses, childhood teasing and bullying, and other life stressors. EDs commonly co-occur with other mental health conditions like major depression, anxiety, social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Additionally, they may run in families, as there are biological predispositions that make individuals vulnerable to developing an eating disorder.
Are eating disorders really that serious?
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. Besides medical complications from binge eating, purging, starvation, and over-exercise, suicide is also common among individuals with eating disorders. People who struggle with eating disorders also have a severely impacted quality of life.
Aren’t eating disorders a ‘girl thing’?
Eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of their gender or sex. Although eating disorders are more common in females, researchers and clinicians are becoming aware of a growing number of males and non-binary individuals who are seeking help for eating disorders. A 2007 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that up to one-third of all eating disorder sufferers are male, and a 2015 study of US undergraduates found that transgender students were the group most likely to have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in the past year (Diemer, 2015).
It’s currently not clear whether eating disorders are actually increasing in males and transgender populations or if more of those individuals who are suffering are seeking treatment or being diagnosed. Because physicians may have preconceptions about who eating disorders affect, their disorders have generally become more severe and entrenched at the point of diagnosis.
Can someone be too young or too old to develop an eating disorder?
Eating disorders can develop or re-emerge at any age. Eating disorder specialists are reporting an increase in the diagnosis of children, some as young as five or six. Many eating disorder sufferers report that their thoughts and behaviors started much earlier than anyone realized, sometimes even in early childhood. Although most people report the onset of their eating disorder in their teens and young adulthood, there is some evidence that people are being diagnosed at younger ages.
It’s not clear whether individuals are actually developing eating disorders at younger ages or if an increased awareness of eating disorders in young children has led to improved recognition and diagnosis. Men and women at midlife and beyond are being treated for eating disorders, either due to a relapse, ongoing illness from adolescence or young adulthood, or due to the new onset of an eating disorder.
*If you have any other questions or would like to some suggestions on what to say and what not to say to your loved ones, please reach out! I'm an open book and would like to help in any way I can!
Source: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
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