I
like the way, scratch that, I love the way skinny girls look in clothes. In my
opinion any form of clothing never goes wrong on them, which is why I
understand and can relate with the constant desire to lose or not gain weight which
many of us go through. But when it becomes excessive (after all too much of
everything is not good) it becomes a serious problem, in fact one that
shouldn’t be taken trivially. Psychologists term it a mental eating disorder
classified under bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, it is not just a white
man’s illness, I repeat it is not a white man’s disease, because many black
people believe such doesn’t affect them.
Bulimia is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating
and purging. During a binge, bulimic people consume an enormous number of
calories in a brief period of time and feel an overwhelming loss of control as
they are doing so. The binge is then followed by purging behavior – usually
vomiting, taking laxatives, taking diuretics or using enemas, and sometimes
fasting or excessive exercise.
Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that affects women and
men of all ages. It’s characterized by three key features:
- refusal to maintain a healthy body weight
- an intense fear of gaining weight
- a distorted body image
When
you have anorexia, the desire to lose weight becomes more important than
anything else. Fortunately, recovery is possible. With treatment and support,
you can break anorexia’s self-destructive pattern and regain your health and
self-confidence.
Yet despite greater public awareness, certain
misconceptions still exist. For example, many people think eating disorders are
brought about by only by vanity. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Rather than being vain, people with eating disorders struggle with issues about
who they are, what they are worth, and how to negotiate relationships.
It
starts from the mind, in my opinion, because when nothing else matters apart
from your looks, then you begin to cut back on what you eat, how you exercise,
what you wear even how you relate with others. This slowly controls your mind,
because you delude yourself that no weight you lose is ever enough.
Anytime
I remember anorexia, one song comes to mind, Pretty Hurts by Beyoncé. If the
music video didn’t illustrate some parts of the struggles of anorexia, the
lyrics give it a precise angle; “Perfection is a disease of a nation, it’s the
soul that needs surgery”. People
battling with anorexia tell themselves that they have to be perfect in order to
look good and be self-confident.
I
won’t act self-righteous and say that it is crazy to consciously evade and
starve oneself of food because there are days I don’t feel pretty, some days my
mind is consumed solely on how to lose weight. Mental illnesses are of a wide
category, eating disorders are one of them, it is time as people of the world
to look critically into this illness and genuinely seek to help others who are
struggling and battling with eating disorders.
PS:
MANI is group of talented young people who are actively engaged in spreading
the awareness and saying NO to the stigmatization of mental illnesses in
Nigeria.
Check
out the website: www.mentallyaware.org
You
can also follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @mentallyawareng
With love,
TheInspiredCutiee 😘
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