Ashlee

Hi there,

I think Carlie and Sarah have probably answered your question by now! (Hehe, I think those two must have read every book on the subject! JOKE!)

I also believe that the reasons behind developing an eating disorder can be very different. Personally, I DO blame the media for a big part – and as you can see each and every one of us has our own opinions about this.

Some media I believe is acceptable... however when I see photo’s of 5’11” eighteen to twenty-five year olds weighing what could be no more than 90lbs... it makes me sick. I honestly believe that the media has a HUGE part in the development of one’s eating disorder and there is no excuse for it. Although people may look at these girls and think to themselves how unattractive they really look at that weight anyway, it DOES make the more insecure girls (and boys) think about their weight. Often they may think to themselves how they could stand to lose a few more pounds – even though even that isn’t necessary. Then those few pounds won’t be enough, and neither will the next five, or the next.

Growing up, I have ALWAYS been on the thin side. In fact, in all my life I’ve never even REACHED the ‘normal weight’ category, yet there was still a time when I began to think of myself as being too ‘fat’. I’m seventeen now, and many of the years as I was growing up I suffered a lot of emotional abuse. When I reached the age of eight, I was an incredibly self conscious person and EXTREMELY shy and timid. Around then I started worrying about things... I began to obsess about things... and I refered by one of my doctors to counseling. I didn’t know this at the time because my mother chose to keep it from me in fear of it upsetting me even more, so I never went. Unfortunately, things just got worse. At age eleven I was constantly comparing myself to others and I absolutely HATED the way I looked. At fourteen I started dieting, I would eat basically nothing all day and I developed anorexia. This just got worse and worse, and then early this year the anorexia turned into bulimia. At that time I was also diagnosed with bulimia, depression and a generalized anxiety disorder.

I have now begun my recovery but recently I have been going steadily downhill again.

My point is, this is just one way a person can develop an eating disorder. More often, a person will grow up overweight than underweight and because of this, will start that vigorous dieting that leads one into an eating disorder. This, or course, only makes up a fraction of the people as well.

Like Sarah mentioned... eating disorders are a lot about control. At some point in a person’s life they may have felt like they didn’t have control over their lives, for whatever reason. Restricting your food intake is controlling, right? Maybe for the first week of two... but not there after.

Also, many people that have been abused in some way may go on to develop and eating disorder later in their lives. This includes emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. All three make a person extremely manipulated and that person may grow up in a deep depression – which is another factor in many eating disorder.

So no, I don’t believe that this can just come up ‘out of the blue’. Of course, not all people have had something happen so extreme as physical or sexual abuse, but yes, most people will have low confidence and low self esteem... for whatever reason.

Well, I think I’ve babbled on for long enough now! Considering Carlie and Sarah had probably already mentioned it all!

Take care!
Ashlee