Eating Disorder Myths Dispelled

I think like a lot of other mental illnesses eating disorders are misunderstood
Throughout the years I have come across many people who have a very strange idea of what anorexia, bulimia, EDNOS, compulsive overeating really are
So I thought I would do a post dispelling the myths from my point of view
Please feel free to agree or disagree

Eating disorders are a choice
This is just not true. Although an eating disorder may start out as an innocent diet, you can not choose to have an eating disorder.
In my own case, I think my eating disorder had been silently developing since I was a child.
For the first few years I had no idea that I had anorexia.
Yes I choose to continue the behaviours but I didn't choose to be this way, I don't know why anyone would.
Like other mental illness genetics play a part but you can not choose to have an eating disorder any more than you can choose to have any other mental illness like depression.

Only teenagers are affected my eating disorders
This myth is probably out there because most sufferers are under 20 but an eating disorder can affect anyone at any age.
Sufferers are getting younger and younger.
Last year in the UK 47 children aged 5 -9 years were treated for eating disorders.
I have always had issues with food but it wasn't until I was 19 that I developed full blown anorexia.
When I was in treatment there were people of all ages there so it's not just teenagers.
Another myth is that anorexia is a 'rich white girls' illness. This is also false. Eating disorders do not discriminate and can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, race.

You are not sick until you are emaciated
I think a lot of us fall in to this trap and don't believe we are sick because we are not thin enough. But the reality is that only a small percentage of people with eating disorders reach the state of emaciation often portrayed in the media. The common belief that a person is only trult ill if they become abnormally thin compounds the affected individuals perception of body image and not being 'good' at being 'sick enough'
As I have said before, I was just as sick at my highest weight as I was at my lowest weight.
I'm sure a lot of sufferers don't seek treatment because they think they are not sick enough but remember this is a mental illness with physical side effects. It's more about the behaviours we are using rather than our weight.

People who are normal or overweight can not having eating disorders
This is completely false.
Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes, from the emaciated to the obese and everything in between.

Eating disorders are not life threatening
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illness.Even if death does not occur they can cause permanent physical and neurological damage. Every eating disorder can be potentially life threatening if not treated in time. Complications include heart disease, ruptured oesophagus, diabetes and stroke.

Laxatives prevent calorie absorption
Although this is widely believed to be true, it is false. People use laxatives in an attempt to rush food out of the body before it's calories are absorbed. In reality they begin their work in the body's colon where calories can not even be absorbed. They only assist in draining the body of it's necessary fluids and can cause colon problems. I've done my time with laxatives and although the numbers on the scale may go down the next day, it is water and not fat we have lost and the next day the weight will return and really mess with our heads.

Compulsive eaters have no self control and are lazy
False. For most compulsive eaters food is used as a way of coping with stressful situations or overwhelming emotions. Just like any other eating disorder compulsive eaters need assistance.

It's impossible to have more than one eating disorder
This is false. Many people have more than one type of eating disorder. For those people who have more than one type or who do not specifically fit the criteria for one, they may be classified as a separate type of eating disorder. This is known as EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified).
My own initial diagnosis was anorexia nervosa but like a lot of people I went on to develop bulimia so I tend to describe my eating disorder as anorexia/bulimia. I jump from on to the other.

People with eating disorders are vain
This is completely false. While an eating disorder may start out as a diet, they are much more than an act of vanity. Often eating disorders are coping mechanisms used to deal with stress, anxiety, self hatred, control issues and shame. Eating disorders are not about vanity but rather a distraction from the problems of life.
For me my own illness has nothing to do with vanity. what is vain or beautiful about having grey skin, lank hair, dead eyes and a child's body? Not much.
Eating disorders are a complex medical/psychiatric condition and little to do with food, eating, appearance or beauty. This is indicated by the continuation of the illness long after the person  has reached their initial 'target weight'. Eating disorders often exist as part of a 'dual' diagnosis of major depression, anxiety or OCD.

All bulimics purge by self induced vomiting
False. Being bulimic myself I also purge by over exercising, fasting, using diuretics and laxatives.

You can never exercise too much
False. While in most cases exercise can be beneficial, too much exercise and not enough calorie absorption in the body is harmful. Excessive exercise can be very unhealthy causing problems such as stress fractures, chronic pain, osteoporosis, menstrual dysfunction and even death.
I tend to go through phases of over exercising and I'm in one right now. I feel that I can't relax until I have a certain amount done and feel guilty if I don't complete it. At the moment I'm walking my dogs twice a day for 45mins and also use a stepper for 2 - 3 hours a day. I have to do for a bone scan next month so I'm hoping everything will be ok.

Achieving normal weight means that anorexia is cured
This is a big one and it is completely false. Although weight restoration is essential to enabling a person with anorexia to participate in a meaningful way in further treatment, weight gain alone does not mean a person is recovered. In the last year I have regained some weight but my mind is still so very sick and far behind my body. Even though my body has started to recover, my mind has not.
People presume that if you have regained weight, then you must be recovered. But there is no such thing as recovered, recovery is an on going process that needs to be worked on every day. Like any other addiction there is no magic cure, the illness will always be there but we learn how to manage it.