When you hear the words eating disorder, the first thing that comes to mind is generally the underweight, white, high school to college age girl. The people with eating disorders in these demographics are a lot more likely to receive treatment that those who don’t fit those stereotypes. Educating health providers about the prevalence and severity of eating disorders is so important to help people receive proper health care.
I have been questioning for a while whether I am even the right person to be writing this page. That’s why it took me a full month to start posting again. I know that I don’t reach very many people, but I feel like a fraud in a way. My goal is to help people feel seen and to encourage them to improve their lives and relationships with food, but I don’t just want to overwhelm the world with another stereotype.
I am a white cisgender woman who is currently a college student. I entered treatment with the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, the most well known eating disorder.
The difficulty for me is the fact that not all eating disorders are restriction based, but based on my experience that struggle is what I’m most comfortable talking about. Though I have met plenty of patients who struggle with other types of eating disorders, they are not my experiences to share. However, I want people with other types of eating disorders to feel seen as well.
When I was in group therapy, I saw people of many races, genders, religions, economic statuses, body types, you name it. Eating disorders can affect anyone.
I think there is still some value in sharing. Many people who have gone through eating disorder treatment just want to put that chapter behind them for good. So do I. But I also want to help others find a better way of life, and the best way I can help is to share how I survived this illness.
Everyone’s story is different, even if people struggle with the same eating disorder as I did. Not everything I share is going to resonate with people, but I hope to touch someone’s life in a meaningful way. In the meantime, I will continue to work through this guilt to find where it’s really coming from. I’m in a really good place now, but I still have room to grow, and I probably always will. Only time will tell where life will lead me.
