I don't really know if this is a big contraversy, but I've always been debating it with myself. Do people with eating disorders choose to live the way they do, or do they have a disease?
It can be both. However, the disease side of it isn't all that common. It's mostly allergy-related from what I've seen
The most common side, however, is the side where girls who think they're fat and want to become skinny put their body through torturous regiments. Sometimes this could be reflected from the media, other times (this is mostly in teens) it is because they are uncomfortable with changes in their body (due to puberty) and they want their old child figure back, which we all know isn't possible. To be this mentally unstable to the point of starving yourself is just... stupid.
As a person who has fought with an eating disorder for the last 6 years I would have to say its a mix between choice to some degree and a psychological issue. (Starts off as a choice, you make the choice to take the first action and from there it can spiral out of control, you lose that ability to make the choice its something you just do without thinking about it.) With some its becasue of peer pressure with others its something with themselves they have control of when they feel uneasy with there life weither that be with starving yourself or over eating. Generally when eating disorders are discussed over-eating disorders (binge eating) is left out. To starve oneself is more common. Both are very unhealthy and although what you are doing to your body at the time seems like a good thing, its a way to soothe fears, attempt to rectify your life through less then traditional methods in the long term it doesnt help it makes things worse but one gets to the point where they may not see the harm its doing and continue down that path until they get the help they need, something drastic happens to change there perspective or they die.
I personally can sit back and admit I have a problem, I can see what I have to do to correct the problem but when it comes down to it, its a fight and its so easy to slip back into old patterns. Not a lot of people can understand how I can freely talk about my problem and see that its wrong but to a degree am unable to just snap my fingers and fix it. If I could I would in a heartbeat I know I would be a much happier person and I have faith that one day that will happen but right now its still a struggle.
It's easy to say that people with any kind of eating disorder are disgusting or any other choice of negative judgment and everyone is welcome and has the right to there own opinion but understand that you could do a person damage and make things worse if you are not careful with your judgements.
Just my 2 cents.
_________________ “I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don’t have as many people who believe it.” - George Carlin
I think, as others have pointed out, that it probably starts of mentally because of wanting to change for the better, but eventually becomes too hard to stop. Thus being a problem.
Everyone says it's the media or peer pressure. That's really not true. People with eating disorders hate themselves. They use media as inspiration, but hardly think "I want to look like Britney", because they will always view themselves as fat. There seems to be two kinds of people with eating disorders; the ones with serious disorders, and the ones who think it's "cool", or who brag about not eating for a few hours. THOSE are the stupid ones.
LOTS of people make up excuses for them existing, like the media. I don't think any of that is true, maybe it is for some people, but not for me. I know exactly what I'm doing to my body, and I am actually in control.
With what someone said before "Starts off as a choice, you make the choice to take the first action and from there it can spiral out of control, you lose that ability to make the choice its something you just do without thinking about it". I like that, that is the truth.
I don't believe all people with eating disorders hate themselves but it could be they hate what's going on around them. They hate the things they cannot change and it might have nothing to do with there bodies. I say this because for me personally when it all started I didn't hate who I was or what I looked like there were just a lot of things in my life that I didnt know how to deal with so I started doing things that were unhealthy that in that moment made me feel better about life in general.
_________________ “I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don’t have as many people who believe it.” - George Carlin
-Weighs 85% or less of what is expected for his or her age and height or fails to make expected weight gains during a period of growth.
-Has an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though he or she is underweight. -Has a distorted body image—seeing the body as fat when it really is too thin—and evaluates self-worth by body shape and weight. -Denies the seriousness of being underweight or the recent drop in weight.
-Has stopped having menstrual cycles (missed at least three consecutive periods) or does not start menstrual cycle when expected.
-Overexercises.
-May induce vomiting or abuse laxatives or diuretics to lose weight.
The same goes for bulimia, the two bolded ones. People who are clinically diagonosed with eating disorders hate the way they look.
i really dont like people having an eating disorder because its bad for them but when my friend from camp got sent to the hospital for it she just kept saying that food intake was the only thing left for her to be able to control so i kind of see her side of the story, but doing it just to fit in or be skinny i find wrong
both, i guess.
im not but i get told that im quite thin, and im 115 pounds and all grown and stuff but i still feel that my flaws are that i have some 'extra fat' and i dont want it. i try to eat less, which is good, but it's not a disorder.
![[Crying or Very sad]](images/smiles/icon_cry.gif "Crying or Very sad"){kind=icon}
