Mirror, Mirror
(Artwork by Julia Debardeleben / Eagle Talon Archive)
Eating disorders have grown to be a serious problem for teenagers.
Eating disorders have grown to be a serious and more concerning problem across the nation and across the world for teenagers. As the pressure of beauty standards increases, the number of eating disorder cases increase in people worldwide (especially in teens). Along with societal standards, bullying has also been a cause of the increasing numbers of eating disorders in adolescence, as well as in school and home life. Up to four percent of the U.S. adolescent population is affected by eating disorders. While that may not seem like a large percentage of the current population, that is approximately 13 million people globally. Body dysmorphia is most common in teens or young adults. With these numbers growing every year, it is imperative that we pay attention to this and take action.
“I was bullied all throughout middle school and it changed the way I viewed myself a lot, along with the stress and anxiety of school in general,” a male sophomore who struggled with anorexia said. “Social media also had a big impact on me because you were shown this perfect figure and whatnot.”
Social media has always had a huge impact on teenagers, as this large network tells you how to act, what to wear, etc. This all can largely affect someone’s mental health as you cannot always decipher who to believe and listen to among so many voices.
Along with these social pressures, an eating disorder can also affect or intensify current-standing mental illnesses.
“It affected my mental health a lot, I suffer from depression and not eating made it worse. I was always sad or angry,” he said. “I started to distance myself from a lot of people including my family which only made matters worse.”
Most people with an eating disorder find it very difficult to speak up for fear of being judged or how others will react, so most stay silent, never letting anybody know that they need help, much like sufferers of many other mental illnesses. Leslie Carey, a junior, tells the story of her friend who finally told her about her eating disorder that no one ever knew about.
“She told me how she was bullied in middle school, and she got really insecure and how she slowly began to stop eating, and it was one of the saddest things I had heard because she had never told anyone and she had to go through it alone,” Carey stated.
Carey also talked about how after she started doing better mentally, she wanted to eat again but it was hard to transition back into it because she couldn’t keep any of her food down due to not being used to eating anymore. She had to go through counseling rather than medication and slowly build back up to where she was before all of this started, and it took her a little over a year.
“It was truly baffling how you never would’ve guessed she had been through that because it never showed you know,” Carey said.
Carey stressed the importance of paying attention to the warning signs as you never know how often these things could be or are happening right under your nose without you knowing.
This is not just a domestic issue or issue only among teens, many men and women globally suffer from these same issues with no support system. Approximately 30 million in the U.S. population and approximately 70 million of the global population struggle with eating disorders. Between the years 2000 and 2018, the global percentage rates of those suffering climbed from 3.4 to 7.8. With these rising numbers, it is important to recognize the signs before these issues turn fatal. As a parent or guardian, it is important to recognize the following signs to ensure your child’s mental and physical health: low self-esteem, overeating, a slow decline in eating, repetitive vomiting, hyper fixation on weight, depressive symptoms, etc. All and any eating disorders can result in damage to a child's body/organs, mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, affected bodily functions, bone loss, and much more. There are many options on how to get your child help such as support groups, medication treatments, and counseling.
Contact the NEDA Helpline for support, resources, and treatment options for yourself or a loved one who is struggling with an eating disorder.