A new school year comes with new schedules, classes, activities, and responsibilities like work, raising a family, caring for family members, or extracurricular activities. And as if all that does not sound chaotic enough, for those in eating disorder recovery, we still need to add our recovery and meal plan to the list of priorities.
People with eating disorders often struggle with perfectionism. The desire to control things can manifest in disordered eating and movement habits. However, the urge to maintain perfection does not stop there. It usually presents itself in other life aspects, such as school.
Maintaining stable relationships with loved ones in recovery can be challenging. People with eating disorders often isolate themselves and act differently than they do when they are not struggling. That does not mean all hope is lost or that you, as part of their support system, should give up or stop doing what is best for them.
Eating disorders are incredibly manipulative conditions that play on your emotions. They can feel like an important coping mechanism and a toxic presence simultaneously. Often, eating disorders erode your sense of self and overwhelm your life and identity. When pursuing recovery, it can be challenging to separate yourself from your eating disorder, but it is more than possible with the right support.
Young adults and adolescents develop their appearance ideals from media, social media, dating apps, family, etc. Accordingly, research indicates that individuals identifying with a different gender than assigned at birth tend to relate their appearance ideals based on sources that align with their gender identity.
Eating disorders can have profound physical, mental, and emotional consequences for those affected. The journey to recovery involves relearning to trust yourself, your intuition, and significant people in your life, such as your therapy team, friends, and family. This process can be a complex challenge but is crucial to lasting recovery from your eating disorder.
While the predominant stereotype around eating disorders focuses on women, other people along the gender spectrum, including men, struggle with eating disorders. However, because of the difference in gender ideals, male presentation of eating disorders can look different than females.
“Nobody can love you until you love yourself.” That phrase went viral on the Internet in the early 2010s, and it plagues Pinterest boards and mental health blogs to this day. Disguised as a motivational quote to inspire self-love for those who lack it, this rhetoric often has the opposite effect, especially for those struggling with mental health. Promoting such an idea can be dangerous and detrimental in eating disorder recovery.
Families can play a crucial role in supporting recovery. While eating disorders are by no means a direct reflection of parents' or siblings' approach to food, it is necessary to be self-aware about food or movement. Whether you change rules around eating at the dinner table, how you comment on your own food intake or exercise choices, or even rethink comments about appearance in general, listening to your child and their support team can be incredibly helpful.
Beginning eating disorder recovery can be overwhelming. For many, beginning recovery signals an active choice to relearn the body’s cues, often the first thing to go when developing or maintaining an eating disorder. Because of this tendency to see one’s body as an enemy, learning to love your hunger cues, rest cues, energy cues, and discomfort is exhausting. And while there are many components to recovery, yoga has recently been studied for its focus on being present and listening to your body.
If someone mentions eating disorders, your brain might automatically envision a white, thin woman with thinning hair, brittle nails, and a pale complexion. Not only has this been the stereotype of what having an eating disorder looks like, but it also acts as the stereotype for anorexia nervosa (AN). Yet, AN affects people from all walks of life. It can present differently across all different bodies, and harmful stereotypes such as these can interfere with the diagnosis of AN.
The common stereotype that eating disorders exist only among thin, white young females is false. Anyone can experience disordered eating and eating disorders, no matter their size, race, age, or gender. Anyone struggling with eating disorders is just as deserving of proper diagnosis, care, and recovery.