I pushed the shiny silver handle, lowered the seat, and left the stall. Once again, I examined my face in the mirror. Eyes watering and puffy, nose running, a twisted smile on my face . . . I scrubbed my reeking hands with soap, and then used them to cup water and rinse out my mouth. I held my hands briefly beneath the dryer, acutely aware that I had been in the bathroom longer than a normal trip.
When somebody thinks eating disorder, they think; evil. But why? Because we all know you lose your hair and you’re hospitalized until you get enough meat on your bones, until you look like you can walk without breaking. This interpretation of an eating disorder is inaccurate. Not all cases are fatal, nor are they incredibly extreme.
The truth about ED’s; Yes, some people become controlled by it. It can take you over before you even realize it. Some cases can be serious, leaving somebody in a hospital or therapeutic sessions, desperate to obtain the ability to eat a cookie and not head straight to the toilet. Or the scale. But most of them really aren’t this extreme at all. When is the line between a diet and an ED drawn?
Self-esteem has become a national crisis in this country. The majority of girls (seven in ten) feel they do not measure up in some way including their looks, performance in school and relationships. Most disturbing is that girls with low self-esteem are engaging in harmful and destructive behavior that can leave a lasting imprint on their lives. 75 percent of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative and potentially harmful activities, such as cutting, bullying, smoking or drinking. An alarming number of girls are turning to destructive action when feeling insecure, and girls with low self-esteem are three times more likely to participate in dangerous behaviors during these times. 61 percent of teen girls with low self-esteem admit to talking badly about themselves. 25 percent of teen girls with low self-esteem resort to injuring themselves on purpose or cutting when feeling badly about them. A girl can’t help but have low self esteem, if when she looks in the mirror all she sees is fat. But once she tries to diet, she gets labeled as anorexic.
On the Biggest Loser, a popular and worldwide television series, the trainers (that are incredibly fit and good looking) trash the obese contestants’’ self esteem. They make them restrict their diet majorly, and work out ridiculous amounts of time, occasionally to the point of them vomiting or passing out. But if somebody that isn’t quite as big tries to adjust their lifestyle and diet this extreme, they’re labeled as having an ED by uneducated people. This case is especially common for woman, or young girls.
If somebody doesn’t like how they look, they should be able to change that without getting ridiculed by others. Is going to extremities to be fit, much worse than being obese? Media promotes low self esteem in girls daily, and people (most commonly girls) have an image in their head of the perfect figure. If they want to achieve a better looking body, they should be able to do whatever they want without people over exaggerating their case. In my opinion, it’s only an ‘eating disorder’ if their health is in danger and hospitalization is needed.