Eating disorders as a whole a greatly misunderstood. People think that an overweight individual who eats constantly is just a glutton with no self control. They think that an anorexic who deprives him or herself or purges is just a vain narcissist who wants to be skinny. The reality is that most eating disorders are emotional.

With anorexia and bulimia, it is an issue of control. Being a recovering anorexic myself, I can say that most of us feel that our lives are spiraling out of control, and restriction and purging become a way for us to "control our bodies". Obviously this control is an illusion, but it nonetheless becomes our coping mechanism. Controlling what goes into and out of our bodies gives us a macabre satisfaction. Seeing our bones and our ever-shrinking frame gives us a sense of achievement. Before long, we do no even see how thin we are becoming. It becomes more about the act of restricting or purging than the results. Anorexics tend to be perfectionists. We have the intense desire to "outdo" everyone else, to flaunt our stone solid "self control". It becomes a vicious cycle that is almost impossible to stop. Even those of us who are recovering fight with this disease every day.

Learn more about this author, Caye Colbert.
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