Physical health issues, and Mental Health issues are very prevalent but eating Disorders? Yes, Eating Disorders also exists and so does the treatment for them.
What if one fine day, you watch Netflix for 6 hours while snacking, do you have an eating disorder? What if one day you get inspired by Jenner and go on a full diet, do you think that you have an eating disorder? Well, you all have heard that I eat when I am bored and I am always bored.
Do you then have an eating disorder? The answer to all the above questions is an absolute No.
So what are eating disorders? We do in our day-to-day life suffer from a lot of bad lifestyle habits but eating disorders, if not treated, can be life threatening. It affects a person psychologically, physically at all levels.
They are treatable and are more common in women but cases in men have been found too. They are serious mental illnesses and if checked can be treated properly.
In most of the eating disorders it is seen eating Disorders are the problems related to people’s eating, their ways and behaviours. It not only affects them but also those who surround them. There are a lot of eating disorders but the popular ones are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Barbie Syndrome, Binge Eating, etc.
Anorexia Nervosa is caused when the people think they are gaining too much weight, so they avert it by going on a rigorous diet, resulting in serious weight loss. This leads to dizziness, fainting, low self-esteem, and body image issues.
Binge Eating is when someone constantly has the urge to eat, which negatively affects their head. The people can get uncomfortable, they eat faster than usual.
Bulimia is when people eat a lot more food than usual only to purge it out later. It’s a life-threatening disorder. It also causes rigorous fasting and purging incidents. These disorders can affect you mentally too. They lead to anxiety, depression many times.
The treatments for them are psychotherapy, cognitive and behavioural therapy. Cognitive therapy focuses on changing the thinking and the patterns of it. Behavioral therapy changes the negative behaviour and reinforces the positive ones.
There are other therapies available, like family therapy/ group counseling and psychodynamic therapy, which focuses on the inner consciousness of the person. Medications are also available to treat these diseases.
However, one thing is very crystal clear that these eating disorders are focused on the way we look, body image. Eating Disorders is often triggered by a lack of insecurities and confidence and the ultimate desire of being perfect and fit to the expected beauty standards.
They forget that perfection is a myth, reality is true, flaws are the truth. Because of unrealistic beauty standards, people perceive themselves as imperfect or flawed. There is a difference between working to make yourselves fit and working out to achieve the beauty standards. Social Media and the perfect picture always has a story behind it, a list of imperfect pictures.
As a Genz, the term body Positivity is gaining a lot of attention and meaning. Even the best of Brands like Nike and many others are inclusive and encouraging body positivity. Our body does so much for us. It makes sure we live, breathe, fight for us.
It’s time we love it back. Looking healthy is not about how you look but how you radiate and take proper care of your health. It’s time to take care of these issues and try to be more inclusive and aware of it.