Fane

Common Myths about Eating Disorders

Posted on 05/05/08, 05:54 am

The following are proven MYTHS;

"Families (in particular mothers) are responsible for their daughter/son developing an eating disorder"

"People with ED choose to have their illness. They want to be ill/to die/or to not grow up"

"People with eating disorders are trying to punish their parents or whoever they live with"

"Eating disorders are all to do with vanity and aspirations to be a model"

"It's just another form of teenage attention-seeking behaviour or rebellion"

"It is something people grow out of, a passing phase"

"The person is cured completely after a period of inpatient treatment"

"You must do all you can to please and humoour the invalid"

"The hospital and treatment team can always cure them"

"It is just a question of eating"

• Reply #1 05/05/08  7:26pm
  
  ldyjane
  These are great, no one person is at fault for having ED. Never feel this is your fault..
  
  We absouletly, do not choose to live our lives this way.. It is an illness, and if you sk most people with ED, they have no real memory of how and when exactly we started these behaviors. By the time we reconnize, it is way out of control.
  
  Eating disorders are very secretive, we do not want it to be found out. It is not a way of seeking attention.
  
  Treament centers, are a way to help us deal, with underlying issues, and to learn tools, to help us. Help us to learn a better way of living, and that we can get better, that there is Hope.
• Reply #2 05/05/08  8:29pm
  
  lapetitemoi
  Wow, so true. How many times have I heard: "Just eat!" "Don't puke, duh!" "Have a cheeseburger!"
• Reply #3 05/12/08  1:34pm
  
  koppenjan
  Gosh, soooo true! My sister died after spending a month in an inpatient treatment center. She tried so hard to keep her bulimia hidden from everyone. She spent 20 years suffering with it. So definatley not a passing phase. If anything, it seemed to have gotten worse as she got older. She ate, but she would binge and purge. She never starved herself, ultimately it was the constant purging that destroyed her heart.

So, I thought of this group, because many folks on the ED group are concerned for loved ones of girls and boys who suffer from EDs. This group is a non-judging place to get encouragement and help from others who have an ED'd loved one. Ask for advice on how to deal with your loved one as he/she goes through their eating disorder, get encouragement, and learn from each others' experiences.