by Victorious Heart

Created on: September 13, 2009   Last Updated: September 14, 2009

Eating disorders, body image and your emotional health

There are a lot of misconceptions about those that suffer from eating disorders. It is not an issue about food and weight even though the individual struggling with an eating disorder will focus a lot on their caloric intake and the way they look. The eating disorder is merely a symptom of something much deeper and more complex that is going on inside of someone. It usually has more to do with control and feeling a lack of control in ones life over events that have happened, issues that are hard to cope or deal with, and anxiety and stress. Society puts a tremendous amount of pressure on both sexes to look a certain way and because of this pressure teens and even children as young as 8 or 9 years old are dieting and struggling with their body image. Statistics show that 70% of women and 35% of men are preoccupied with their weight to the point that they are dieting, and a 1993 Statistics Canada Survey found that women between the ages of 15-25 which is 1-2% are anorexic and 3-5% are bulimic. The mortality rate for those that suffer from eating disorders is extremely high.

Eating disorders can eventually take over ones life and the individual will be caught in its web. Once the eating disorder has taken a hold of someone's life it starts to affect their mental processes and they are unable to see themselves in a realistic light, which is why someone who only weighs 80 pounds when they should weigh 140 for their body size views themselves as fat or overweight. Most who suffer from eating disorders are very secretive about their problem and are in denial of what they are doing to their mind and body. It is also very common for someone struggling with an eating disorder to struggle with more than one issue. For example a young woman may struggle with anorexia, alcoholism, BDD, anxiety and depression and a history of sexual abuse. Treatment centers for eating disorders usually have a lot of support for the many issues that are hidden underneath the eating disorder.

It is not uncommon for someone who struggles with an eating disorder to be a survivor of abuse. A lot of abuse survivors have a distorted body image. They are unable to see themselves in a realistic light. In fact the way they view themselves is so distorted that it becomes problematic. So problematic that it affects their very soul, their social interactions, their daily activities, their self-esteem, their health and can ultimately threaten their

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