Trigger warning: The discussion topic for this week’s article is eating disorders. I will be going into details about them so please be advised.
Now I am going to being fully transparent with everyone, I’m crying as I write this. This is something I don’t talk about enough and I think it’s time we do.
I have an eating disorder.
Read it, understand it, and listen because I will never let those words escape my mouth again.
This is a topic that isn’t talked about enough. When I do hear it brought into conversation, it is never in a serious matter. It’s always a joke about having one and barely eating, or it is a self-diagnosis after missing a single meal.Â
This isn’t just people who have no clue what they are talking about, it’s also those who do have one that are constantly making jokes, such as myself.
It’s a way of coping with the disorder, laughing to cover the pain. Smiling in front of others as I shift my food around on my plate to look like I’m eating, then crying in the mirror because I couldn’t take a single bite.
There are so many misconceptions surrounding eating disorders that cause these unserious conversations about an extremely serious topic. I too have my own misconceptions that I have been learning the truth about.
People believe that this is just skipping a meal, and this is something simple to overcome, but it is far from that. What people lack understanding of is the different types of eating disorders and how they affect people differently, also that you can have more than one type.
It’s not a rare concept either. Most people who suffer from one eating disorder probably have more than they even realize. It’s also normal to begin managing one of them but it turns into a different one entirely. Â
Now when I said I have an eating disorder, you probably immediately thought of Anorexia – restricting calorie intake and an intense fear of gaining weight – which yes part of my eating disorder is this but its more than that. I also fall under BED, Binge Eating Disorder, and night eating syndrome.
What this means is majority of the time I can only eat at night. I will wake up in the middle of the night to my stomach growling and I have to go get food. When I do get this food, my BED also takes control. I can’t help but eat just about anything and everything I find in the fridge, freezer, or pantry.
Things like this are never talked about though. Everybody automatically assumes Anorexia is the only eating disorder I have. They believe that my whole eating disorder is based around me not eating or making myself sick after each meal. This is NOT the truth!
The other eating disorders that people can have need to be brought to light. They should be more talked about and better understood so that people can get these preconceptions out of their heads about eating disorders.