eating
Dispel judgement, debunk the myths and correct the misconceptions you hold about eating disorders.
The Battle for My Life
Life is a journey. It is filled with the unexpected. There are valleys, mountains, rocks, sticks and flat places. Sometimes there is water and things get muddy. Other times, life is filled with leaves that cloud the once known path. Other people will pass you on your journey and you might walk with them for a little while. But in the end, you end up having to part ways and go the way you have set out to go. In life, you have to choose which path to take. Sometimes the paths will not be clear and seem overwhelming, but that is the joy in life. It is the unknown leading to a million different outcomes. Every person’s journey in life is different. Everyone struggles, everyone experiences joy, pain, and sorrow, but no one leads the same life. Sometimes in life, you don’t have a choice. You may have been diagnosed with a disease, had a loved one die or were born into poverty, you did not choose that life. It was not your fault. However, it happened to you. And now you have a choice. Will you fight? Will you overcome the obstacles? You can’t change some circumstances in life, but you can change your outlook. Your fight. Your passion. What will you fight for?
By Danielle Key8 years ago in Psyche
The Struggles of a Chronic Dieter
I am 25 years old and I have spent over 15 years of my life worried about my weight. If you want to get technical, that is 60 percent of the time I have spent on this Earth. I know, it sounds like a cliché—a young female worried about her weight? That isn’t something new! But it is the reality for so many people.
By ms_jessica _stewart8 years ago in Psyche
How Veganism Is Helping Me To Overcome My Eating Disorder
During the depths of my eating disorder, I was completely controlled by an anorexic voice– a voice that would never leave, looming always over my shoulder. This voice would scream at me for eating, bullying me for every calorie I consumed and telling me I didn’t deserve it.
By Unity Addison8 years ago in Psyche
My ED Story (Part 2)
So, as I said last week, the dream to be thin was not the sole one to turn into the darkest reality. Once I realised my habits needed to change, I not only began to eat comfortably but going out and enjoying my friendships, old and new. However, my healthy relationship with food began to deteriorate again. I wanted to gain a stable and normal amount of weight for my age and height so that I could become a better skater and athlete and regain my period. Yet, I began eating colossal amounts of foods which, for my low weight of 44 kg, was necessary but only at the start. Soon, my body saw the opportunity to eat all the foods I had been depriving myself of for so long. And that's how binge-eating took hold of me. I kept on eating massively, without paying attention to the fact that I was full and gradually gained the weight I was looking for. Once I reached the healthy level, I could not stop eating. It was as if anything was an excuse to eat: a good training day, a bad day in general, sad news, good grades... soon I became addicted to food, especially all that junk that I had not allowed myself to even touch for many years. It was embarrassing. I would head to the supermarket almost every night to buy sweets and chocolates. I don't even know how much I was able to consume in one of my attacks, but I'm sure it was 3000 kcal worth of snacks almost daily, plus an unhealthy amount of bread and pasta during the day. I guess the only good thing was that I never stopped exercising which probably hindered much of the bad part of binge-eating and perhaps why I never gained too much weight. My top was probably 65 kg at the time and I was 5'8'' so I wasn't really overweight, just bloated, all the time. When I came back home in the summer, my parents could tell something was wrong because after each term I would come back bigger. I never mentioned binge-eating but realised I had a problem. I was constantly thinking of the next meal, right after I had just emptied my plate! I had an issue that I needed to solve. Took me a year to properly understand I had an addiction, and it's something I'm still recovering from. Right now, when I walk past an aisle of chocolate I have to stop the strong urge, but I'm doing it right. I began weightlifting as a surplus to my skating sessions (my kind of cardio) and it's helped a lot. I feel stronger than ever, and I'm eating balanced. Super healthy during the week, allowing myself only a little snack on a Friday to treat myself. I workout every day except for a rest day that I choose every week to allow my muscles to repair. With these two experiences, I just want to let you know that there are many times when you'll get hit by something unexpected and dangerous, and, even though getting help is super important, ultimately the change has to be made by you because it's your body in the end, and you know yourself the best. I don't judge whether being my weight and height at the time is or isn't fat for some of you, cause I know everyone looks different with the same weight and age. Alos, being thin isn't bad either but chose what makes you happy. Now that I'm balanced and getting better every day, I'm super happy though I'm not as lean as I used to be. But, it's not the physique that makes you YOU, it's who you are inside and your ideals. The body is not a reflection of your inner self, just a sort of presentation for people to first get a glimpse of you. It doesn't define you, and, when you feel good, you see it outside and inside.
By Eugenia Moreno8 years ago in Psyche
Finishing the Fight with Bulimia
Two years ago, I wouldn't be voluntarily sitting in a coffee shop like I am now. Heck, I would be trying every move possible to not have to go to a coffee shop. And then, just for considering eating food—my goodness, the idea of it, I would need to go for a run. I couldn't go to the gym to work out, because when I started exercising, I couldn't stop again until my body made me. I either passed out, or was too weak to stand. My diet consisted of a maximum of three hundred calories per day or less. I could eat nothing all day, and still be angry and upset at myself. I exercised until my body was falling apart, starved until I was freezing no matter how many layers I wore, and lacking energy to the point where I could barely leave bed.
By Elle White 8 years ago in Psyche
My ED Story
I too have been a victim of image obsession. In the 21st century where pictures of runaway models fill every magazine and advertisement stand, it seems rather tempting to tell ourselves, "I should pursue that body; it will make me more desirable and comfortable with the way I look."
By Eugenia Moreno8 years ago in Psyche
Disordered Eating and a Solution
Imagine you’re sitting in front of a mirror with a laptop in hand and a tempting bowl of your favorite snack in the other. In one hand your laptop is telling you why you should not eat that snack and on the other hand you’re starving and crave the snack so badly. This is what many girls and boys face in their daily lives, contemplating whether or not they should eat for the sake of a thin body, or perhaps even control. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, with suicide being the second leading cause of death. In addition to frank suicide attempts (some of which are premeditated and some of which are impulsive), many individuals with eating disorders engage in other intentional forms of self-injury, especially those individuals with purging symptomatology. (2) The censorship of pro anorexia and pro bulimia websites and chat rooms could provide a safer environment for those in recovery and those susceptible to eating disorders.
By Christine Alarcon8 years ago in Psyche
A Socially Acceptable Addiction
On February 14, 2012, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I was 15-years-old, a sophomore in high school, and I was perpetually moody, or rather, as my mother likes to say, “temporarily insane.” I was fortunate enough to have been surrounded by diabetes my whole life, as my father, uncle, and aunt are all Type 1 diabetics, so this diagnosis did not force me to completely change my lifestyle. The diagnosis itself was just shocking. After all, I was post-puberty and the disease was supposed to skip generations. I’m usually a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” type of person, but I just could not do it this time. I tail-spun into a deep depression and began comforting myself with food. Not only was I now officially a diabetic, but also a compulsive overeater.
By Olivia Cox8 years ago in Psyche
We Need to Stop Telling Trans People to Hate Their Body
This article stems from me reading several articles about how more and more Trans people are being diagnosed with eating disorders, and a lot of pent up anger that until now I haven’t really had an outlet for.
By Nathaniel Corns8 years ago in Psyche
