The more insight we have about eating disorders, the more likely we are to be able to notice people at risk and know what steps to take should we be concerned.
There are lots of myths around eating disorders so to start out we’re going to dispel some of those misconceptions.
Try our true or false quiz…
1) We only eat when we are hungry.
False. People eat for a wide variety of physical, cultural, and psychological reasons. These include, but are not limited to, hunger; routine; special occasions (because others are eating); boredom; or a way of coping.
2) An eating disorder is a fad diet.
False. An eating disorder is a coping mechanism for life’s pressures, challenges, and hurts using food, weight, or shape.
3) Only female identifying people get eating disorders.
False. Men and boys get eating disorders too: 11% of all affected are male, 25% of people with bulimia are male, and 40% of people with binge eating disorder are male.[1]
4) Eating disorders are common.
True. 1.25 million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder, and anyone can develop an eating disorder regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and social group.[2]
5) The percentage of eating disorders in transgender individuals is unknown.
True. Transgender individuals represent both an under studied and under recognised group that experience eating disorders at higher rates. Whilst transgender individuals have the highest rates found, transgender youth are four times more likely to suffer from an eating disorder and twice as likely to engage in purging.[3] Despite having the highest rates of eating disorders, transgender individuals often go without medical care.[4] This is due to access, knowledge, financial ability, and stigma and discrimination. It is also important to note that with the lack of research and knowledge: programmes for recovery are currently not specialised, the support people receive is challenging with negative experiences, and medical care is often delivered by health professionals who lack experience working with transgender clients.
6) Eating disorders are caused by photos of glamorous celebrities.
False. There is no single cause for an eating disorder. Several factors that may contribute to triggering an eating disorder include i) cultural pressures to be thin ii) low self-esteem iii) perfectionistic personality traits iiii) body image ideals.
7) Bullying and rejection can trigger an eating disorder.
True. Several factors contribute to triggering an eating disorder. Three of these include i) being teased or bullied (especially about appearance) ii) traumatic life events iii) unhappy peer or family relationships iiii) genetic predisposition.
8) Eating disorders aren’t medically dangerous.
False. All eating disorders can be life threatening and all eating disorders reduce fertility. All of them can cause serious physical harm and lead to an increased risk of suicide. Anorexia is a serious condition that has a higher mortality rate than any other illness.
9) You can recover from an eating disorder.
True. Recovery is possible at any age.
10) It's easy to tell when someone has an eating disorder.
False. It’s often very hard to tell. This is because they are likely to be very secretive about it, they hide it well, and they are often tortured by shame and self-loathing.
11) People with eating disorders find it hard to talk about it with others.
True. Many people with eating disorders deny they have a problem and don’t want to change. Most are very frightened and find it difficult to trust opening up to anyone.
12) People with an eating disorder get better by themselves.
False. Only a very few people with an eating disorder can recover without outside support. Most will need professional help.[4]
What’s going on? Starting to understand the internal struggle…
People with eating disorders acquire distorted thoughts and beliefs about themselves, about others, and about life. They may struggle to relate well to others, process experiences inaccurately, acquire maladaptive eating and lifestyle habits, manage emotions using over or under controlled eating, and acquire maladaptive meaning and purpose.[5]
We’ve all done it; we’ve all been bruised by an experience and have then carried around a particular way of seeing things. For example, we might process experiences inaccurately: ‘the fact she ignored me means I’m ugly’. We could have problematic beliefs such as ‘being perfect is essential’. We may have problematic thoughts which could be compulsive ‘I can’t get food out of my head’; distorted ‘I’m a failure’; confused ‘I can’t think straight’; or blocked ‘I forgot what I was going to say’. And this is before we even start to think about emotions and behaviours.
Disordered eating itself can be precipitated and perpetuated by these real or perceived unmet needs, thoughts, and desires.
What can I do to help?
Many people suffering from disordered eating don’t know why they repeatedly engage with these feelings and behaviours, and many don’t want to change or feel great resistance to change because it can be painful.
The best way you can support someone is using the following skills, named the 5 C’s of coaching communication:
Calm
Compassionate
Co-operative
Collaborative
Consistent [6]
The more you believe the person can succeed, the more they will believe they can succeed. Asking them what changes they would like and how they would like to move forward puts them in the driving seat. This is called a person-centred approach, as we are not projecting what we think is right onto the person, but rather asking questions or giving options that allow them choice in their own recovery. Let’s not cherry-coat this either, being with someone with an eating disorder is challenging, and you may well find you also need to support or to access services yourself. We encourage you not to neglect your own needs. The best thing you can possibly do is encourage early engagement in treatment.
And we can all go through our lives maintaining a zero tolerance to weight and shape banter, bullying, and excessive exercise culture. Striving to be excellent is different from striving to be perfect, and it’s perfectly okay to be ‘good enough’.
All these facts are checked and taken from BEAT eating disorders. Please go to specialists https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ for help & support on all eating disorders.
[1]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25937471/
[3] https://www.verywellmind.com/eating-disorders-in-transgender-people-4582520
[5] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-32980-010
Author Ursula Joy
Artistic Director and Body Confidence Coach Ldn Dares