World Eating Disorders Action Day 2018

Today's is a long, passionate post, so please buckle your seat belts and get ready for the ride.

Anorexia Nervosa. Bulimia Nervosa. Binge Eating Disorder. Pica. Rumination Disorder. Orthorexia Nervosa. Avoidant or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder. Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder. Muscle Dysmorphia Disorder.
Today, June 2, 2018, is the third annual World Eating Disorders Action Day. According to worldeatingdisordersday.org, "World Eating Disorders Action Day (#WeDoAct) is a grassroots movement designed for and by people affected by an eating disorder, their families, and the medical and health professionals who support them. Uniting activists across the globe, the aim is to expand global awareness of eating disorders as genetically linked, treatable illnesses that can affect anyone." Now, if you have been fortunate enough not to be among the 70 million sufferers around the world, you may not know exactly what an eating disorder is. The World Eating Disorders Day website states that "Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses that affect people across the globe regardless of age, size, weight, ability, race/ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, documentation, and socioeconomic status."

To me, the most interesting and horrifying thing about eating disorders is that they are very easy to hide. Furthermore, they are also a taboo of sorts in our society. Many people do not recognize them as serious afflictions. Eating disorders are mental health conditions. The problem with this is that people can not immediately recognize them. If you break your arm, you will likely cry, scream, or express distress. Then, your arm will most likely be fixed up by a doctor and concealed within a cast. Every time someone you know sees the cast, they will ask what happened. They will be concerned. If you happen to have a Sharpie on you, they might just sign it. 
But with an eating disorder, it is different. The cries of agony are not so apparent. They are concealed within the mind of the girl that doesn't eat more than five hundred calories a day. They are hidden in the actions of the boy working out at five in the morning until he can hardly stand. Pain is flushed away with the vomit of the bulimic and retained in the body of the binge eater. Eating disorders are easier to sequester. There is also a false and unfair stigma surrounding eating disorders. She wants to be pretty. He wants to look like a body builder. They just want attention. ED's are life choices, or diets gone wrong.

Now let me ask you a question. Did I chose to develop anorexia nervosa? No. It was the last thing I wanted. I did not want to spend my seventh and eighth grade years of middle school at a BMI of 15.1. I did not want to hate myself for eating six-hundred calories instead of five-hundred a day. I did not want to use exercise as a punishment. Why on Earth would you CHOOSE to live in misery? In fear? In a total and unequivocal state of feeling unworthy of everything life has to offer?
The answer is that you wouldn't. Eating disorders ARE NOT a choice. They ARE NOT cries for attention. They ARE NOT as simple as wanting to look good. They are nothing less, and should be treated as nothing less, than severe mental health conditions. ANAD.org provides us with some shocking statistics:

• "At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S."
• "Every 62 minutes at least one person dies as a direct result from an eating disorder."
• "Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness."
• "1 in 5 anorexia deaths is by suicide."
• "2.8% of American adults suffer from binge eating disorder in their lifetime."

Now, my collar bone doesn't show, that black
shirt isn't loose around me, and I am happier
than ever before!

There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Because every 62 minutes someone dies of an eating disorder, about 23 people will die a day from anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder, etc. 23 people die in a 24 hour day from a mental health condition that is partially genetic and partially due to societal pressures. 

Something else that is so crucial to understand is that eating disorders can affect ANYONE. Eating disorders have no gender or race or ethnicity or religion. They have no age or culture or height or weight. While females are more associate with these conditions, males can have them too. While youth suffering is more common, that does not mean that a sixty-something year-old can't be in pain. ED's do not discriminate, my friends.

I remember sitting in my health class room in the very beginning of middle school, watching a documentary about bulimia. I was stunned, horrified, sickened... angry. How could society do that to a teenage girl with a beautiful future ahead of her? Well, I soon figured it out. It happened to me. Now, I am happy and healthy once more. My passion is to help others to take back control of their lives, to love themselves for who they truly are, and to live their best life. The picture above shows me on the left at my lowest weight. I was constantly cold, was experiencing amenorrhea, and damaging my bones. On the right, you see me playing Mary Poppins in my school musical. I am happy, healthy, and excited to pursue one of my passions. I have decided that my life is worth more than a number on the scale. My life is worth more than an eating disorder. Hundreds, thousands, millions of people, however, have not been so lucky to experience such a spectacular recovery. So what can you do to help?

Firstly, I would advise educating yourself as much as possible. This post only dipped a toe into the ocean of information that is available on eating disorders. It is crucial that you understand something before you begin to make change. Next, do your part to stop the hateful, judgmental culture of society. Stop evaluating people based on their appearances. We all do it subconsciously, and it is nearly impossibly to stop. However, a big first step is to recognize what you are thinking and why it is wrong. It is high time to start judging people on what lies inside, not out. To help with this, you can give out compliments to others and start respecting yourself. Acceptance is free. Love is free. Being empathetic is free. I truly believe in the words of author Bob Goff when he said "Throw kindness around like confetti." Finally, as today is World Eating Disorders Action Day 2018, you can take the pledge on its website to make a change in the world. You can read more about the pledge and the movement with the link above.

Remember to love yourself always, and to only look down on others if you intend to help them back onto their feet.
-Maya

Photo by trí võ on Unsplash, Photo by Nicolas Gras on Unsplash,
Photo by Mahesh Chapagain on Unsplash,Cowan, Tommy. Maya's Portrait. Digital file,
Epstein, Maya. Maya as Mary Poppins. Digital file, Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash