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1. The difference between types
Although there are plenty, the two main types of EDs that people are diagnosed with are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. There's a lot of misconceptions about these two types, and a lot of people think they can have both. In fact, this isn't the case, as Anorexia is described as the regular consumption of less than 800 calories a day, while Bulimia is a cycle of binge-eating (upwards of 2000 calories a day) and then purging it (vomiting it back up), so it's impossible to have both.
However, there is a lot of overlap between the two, and most people don't fall strictly under one.
'Purely' Anorexic: Restricting anorexics are people that do not binge eat or purge, but only limit their caloric intake.
Anorexic with Bulimic Tendencies: Binge-Eating/Purging anorexics are people that DO binge eat and/or purge (semi-regularly), but still focus more on restricting caloric intake.
'Purely' Bulimic: These are bulimics that binge and purge frequently, but do not restrict their caloric intake to an extent that it is considered unhealthy. Though, of course, the way they attempt to lose weight is just as unhealthy as restricting, if not more so.
Bulimic with Anorexic Tendencies: These bulimics purge frequently, but restrict their caloric intake similarly to how an anorexic would. They do binge eat on occasion, but not as frequently as a 'purely bulimic' person would.
People with EDs can also be diagnosed with compulsive exercise, or eating only certain things.
* note that none of this is copied from a medical textbook, and is therefore not a credible source, only things I've learned as I have an ED myself. There are also many more types than this, though there are so many I wouldn't be able to put it in a mytake.
** as this is anonymous, I'm bulimic with anorexic tendencies in case anyone is curious.
2. Young girls that just think it's a diet don't have a real eating disorder
I've heard this from plenty of people - those with eating disorders, those without, people young and old, male and female - even on GaG. Every time, it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
Not a single mentally healthy person thinks that throwing up and not eating food is a valid and healthy form of weight loss and maintenance of a body. If a teenage girl wakes up, and wants to be anorexic, and then doesn't consume anything but diet coke for a week? And then continues to restrict? I'm sorry to everyone thinks that that's just a normal girl going through a phase, or is trying out a new fad diet she found online - but there are serious issues there, and she's got an eating disorder.
She's still vomiting or eating little to nothing, and that still has the same toll on her body as it does to anyone else's. It's ridiculous to say that that doesn't mean she has an ED.
3. Only young girls have them
This point is pretty self-explanatory. Although people with EDs do tend to be female (most stats are around 80%), that still leaves quite a bit who are male, and feel even more out of place than women. Outreaches and the community in general are overwhelmingly directed at girls and women, and males tend to feel very out of place.
EDs are also not something people just 'grow out of'. While some people may (which is great, that's incredible for them), eating disorders tend to follow people long into adulthood, and they struggle with it for a very large portion of their lives.
4. People that have them are vain and self-obsessed
On the contrary, eating disorders are associated with severe self esteem problems and self-loathing. Not only that, though, they're very often found in people with depression, OCD, or anxiety, and lead to many health issues including death (in many cases by suicide). It is a psychiatric illness, and is not something to aspire to.
5. Why they're so hard to treat
No one wants to have an eating disorder. There isn't a single mentally healthy person who wakes up one day thinking "I really wish I hated myself so much that I just stopped eating food", or maybe "I hope I eat 3000 calories one day, then spend half an hour vomiting it all up".
But once you have one? And once you're set in a self-loathing mindset, and you think that starving yourself and purging is going to make you skinnier? You can't imagine not having one. You can't imagine eating more than 200 calories a day, because you've become so obsessed with losing more calories and losing more weight. You start having a weight that can fluctuate by 8 pounds, just because of one meal, so you just replace the food with water, and tell yourself "that's not my real weight".
With other mental illnesses like anxiety or depression - everyone always wants to get better. No one wants to have panic attacks regularly, or sleep for 16 hours because they don't see the point in doing anything else - it sucks ass. But with an eating disorder where the most important thing is to lose weight? What else is going to help someone other than just not having a caloric intake?
And that sucks. Because even when you have an eating disorder, you know it's messed up. You know it's fucked up that you're so obsessed with looking sickly and bony. But often times, that's not enough to make you want to stop or even care at all about what you're doing, even though you know it's wrong.
So people struggling rarely tell anyone that they think will 'out' them, or seek help themselves; because they don't want it.
Contacts for Help
The following links are pages with hotlines, helplines, and links to rehab centers for treating EDs. If you have others you think are good, please tell me and I'll add them in!
- The National Eating Disorder (NEDA) [x]
- Eating Disorder Hope [x]
I'd love for you guys to share your opinions on this, whether or not you've got experiences with EDs or not!
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