Many girls come to me with issues about their appearances and how they want to change. So I decided I’d like to share a story that I’ve never told anyone.
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For four years, I struggled with anorexia. Every time I looked in the mirror I thought my thighs looked fat. I was always tired, unhappy, and snappy. My hair was thin and I would usually blackout in a gym bathroom. Sometimes my friends and family were hard to be around, because food was always in the social setting. I would constantly get comments about how I need to eat and how thin I am, which just fed to my disorder. My family and I weren’t as close, because I was embarrassed about a problem I didn’t want help with. Anorexia led me to hormonal imbalances and to this day I fight against #PCOS.
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I started to get fed up with comments about how flat my butt was. So I wanted a huge butt like everyone else. I knew little about exercise and nutrition. I did squats a lot and ate poorly. I always felt: sluggish, tired, insecure, and unhappy with myself.
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My senior year I discovered what happiness with yourself felt like. @ang and I changed our lifestyles together. We started to incorporate healthy fats, proteins, and carbs into our diets. We had 3 meals a day and 2 snacks, along with 60 mins of exercise. I was happy, full of energy, and averaged 8hrs of sleep. I felt confident with my physical appearance for the first time.
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Through this health journey I have realized physical appearance isn’t a big factor to me. Don’t change your image to look like someone else or for a guy. Cliché, but you’re beautiful in your own way and someone will love you for you. Workout for your health and to feel good. Or because you’re blessed with working limbs and you want to be strong.
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Also, if someone is going through something you don’t understand...yes try to help, but in a respectful way.
The book Stick Figure A Diary Of My Former Self is a personal journal written by Lori Gottlieb when she was 11 years old suffering from anorexia nervosa. “Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that causes people to obsess about their weight and the food they eat.” (mayclinic.com) Most eating disorders are physiological due to friends and family, stress, and the social media. Anorexia nervosa, like all other eating disorders, is extremely dangerous and unhealthy for the human body to endure. Although eating disorders are destructive to one's life, is there explainable reasoning behind why a person may have one?
“Eating disorders are ‘about’: yes, control, and history, philosophy, society, personal strangeness, family fuck-ups, autoerotics, myth, mirrors, love and death and S&M, magazines and religion, the individual’s blindfolded stumble-walk through an ever-stranger world.” (Hornbacher, 4)
Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
Finding the level of ultimate contentment and life satisfaction can be challenging, but the perception of situations or powerful social connections strengthens the level of happiness within a person. Topic Significance: In recent years, the rate of depression in young adults has increased as people struggle to find the meaning of happiness and how they can achieve happiness. As people continue throughout their life, it is important to recognize what makes them happy.
As she looks at herself in the mirror, she sees an unpleasant looking figure similar to a skeleton except with a layer of skin. You can see the ridges of her ribs and her limbs look like they could snap at any moment. “I’ve been starving myself all this time, but I still don’t look like that model in the magazine,” she thinks to herself. In today’s society, scenarios like this are not uncommon. “U p to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder) in the U.S.” according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. These disorders can cause major depression and insecurity problems. Yet it is not the only cause of insecurity.
There may be murmurs about that girl who only fixes herself a salad with only vinegar at dining services or suspicious glances at someone who spends 45 minutes on the treadmill and then switches to the stair stepper at the rec. On-campus eating disorders are talked about everywhere and yet are not really talked about at all. There is observation, concern, and gossip, but hushed conversation and larger scale efforts to help and change never seem to earn public attention.
Sure, some of us have this great confidence within ourselves about looking great, but that does not hold true for everyone. I understand the pain or disgust, or even disappointment one feels when they look in the mirror and say, “I wish I could change this or that about myself”. Although this piece is written about the author’s life, it holds meaning and connects with for many people; one only has to dig deep enough to find one. For me, it was to realize what is important in life can change, adapt and that we must explore our inner selves and find our own path in life.
Anorexic: this word is an adjective, a label, and to some, a lifestyle. Medically speaking, it is someone who suffers from the deadly and heartbreaking disease, Anorexia Nervosa. This term translates to “nervous loss of appetite”, but anyone who has battled through this sickness is aware how that is anything but true. Eating disorder patients do not, in fact, lose their appetite; there is more to it than that. Many perceive eating disorders as a choice to be thin, a diet, or a cry for attention; they do not see the mental destruction going on inside of the mind. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, yet only 30% of people fully recover (ANAD). The general mindset that society has about eating disorders walks hand in hand with these statistics, slowing down any advances patients may be able to make. Eating disorder patients are not getting proper treatment because of ignorant misconceptions about the illness.
Christmas eve ended with me crying on our living room floor because my mom wanted me to eat just one of her famous sugar cookies. Her cookies had always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions, but this year when I looked at the cookies, all I could see were calories and guilt. They smelled and looked delicious, but just the thought of taking one bite filled me with anxiety and fear. I consider this the moment I realized my eating disorder had completely taken over my life. I had become obsessed with calories and weight as a way to feel in control of my life and gain confidence. In reality, my eating disorder had slowly stripped me of my independence, health, and happiness. After that Christmas, I finally decided to seek help after months of struggling, and at the age of 17, I began an intensive outpatient treatment program.
While many people think that cosmetic surgery can help them to reach the flawless beauty, it may be true that their actual inner illnesses or lack of confidence in themselves is still not
Purpose: The purpose of this speech is to inform my audience about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.
If we want someone to respect and appreciate us, we should respect and appreciate ourselves first. We should accept what we have now, and then decide to change what we don’t like. Everyone is unique in this world. Your entire good and bad make the real you and you can’t find a second person like you in this world. But I still think appearance and looks are important because beauty is powerful. No matter how much we argue against it or pretend to be immune, beauty exerts its power over us. When you look better, you’ll get more attention, and you’ll be more confident and attractive. A good appearance also brings you more chances. So I went to see the dermatologist and removed my mole. I changed my hairstyle and don’t want to hide anything. I have more friends and suitors, and I chose one as my boyfriend. I become more confident and easy to get well with others. I do well in my job and patients and my coworkers like me very well. Since our doctor is very famous in this area, I learned a lot in this clinic, not only the knowledge about medical, but also the lesson of life. I learned that confidence makes people more beautiful. When you help others, you will feel very happy as well.
Achieving long-term personal happiness is possible with hard work and perseverance by using several methods. Understanding and following various steps to have fulfillment can change your life. By consistently following an assortment of important steps, you will develop a life pattern that is generally happy. Many people throughout history have attempted to find ways to become happier, and share the information with others. While there are occasionally things that should make a person unhappy, it is important to not allow unhappiness to become a lifelong pattern that destroys you mentally and physically. In addition, happy people tend to have more friends and success because they are fun to associate with.
Once upon a time I was tall and thin and on the outside all evidence pointed to a much healthier version of myself. I was thin, I exercised 3 or 4 times a week and did everything I knew to do to maintain my weight and keep my physical body in good shape. There are times I look at myself in a photo and I barely recognize that person from 20 or even 10 years ago.
As you come to love yourself more fully do so with gratitude. Love your faults and look for the best in your body. As you move forward in reaching your goals support yourself love by honoring your body. Make goals to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Your body is your temple—treat it as such. And in so doing, your love will expand, you will become more passionate about life, you’ll be able to think better, and you’ll be happier and healthier.