Too many people suffer from eating disorders in silence, whether it’s to avoid the stigma that society gives the issue, or simply because they don’t even know it exists. For instance, when I approached my high school psychology teacher with my project topic, orthorexia, she didn’t know what it was. Sadly, I had known it all too well.
In short, orthorexia means, “an obsession with proper or ‘healthful’ eating,” according to the National Eating Disorders Association. This illness is currently not in the DSM-V (a manual used to diagnose mental illness) and therefore is extremely difficult to diagnose. Warning signs include checking nutrition labels, over-exercising, eating only “good” foods and avoiding social situations that involve food.
What started out as a simple New Year’s resolution, turned into a dangerous path that I didn’t know I was going down. Diet culture and social media has turned what is supposed to be a healthy concept into a dangerous spiral. “Health” advocates stress the importance of being active for 60 minutes a day, eating five servings of vegetables a day and drinking eight glasses of water a day. This quickly turned into three-hour daily workouts, eating only low-calorie vegetables and suppressing hunger with water. The so-called body positive people on apps like Instagram post about their happiness in their bodies, when behind the scenes they are exercising too much, not eating enough and are anything but happy.
I would know, because that is exactly what I did. I saw no problem with what I was doing; I was simply trying to be more active and mindful of what I was eating. That’s the danger of eating disorders in general, and especially orthorexia; the symptoms are often ignored or misinterpreted. Most eating disorders start out as a plan to get more fit, drop a few pounds or finally get definition in your abs—until it becomes all you can think about and turns into something much more dangerous than simply cutting down on sweets.
Although our society has become more accepting of all body types, we are still quick to judge and shame. Even though we have become more accepting and understanding of mental illness, eating disorders have the biggest stigma and shame surrounding them. Most people I’ve met who suffer from eating disorders hide it extremely well; they run the sink water while they throw up their dinner or throw away their lunch in the bathroom trash can. As a society, we need to work toward making conversation about eating disorders and the effects they have on people all around us.
Eating disorders are almost always overlooked. With all these body-positive Instagram accounts, how can anyone have an eating disorder? Just be happy in your body, right? But in reality, eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any other mental illness, according to Mirror Mirror. Another study found that 58 percent of female and 38 percent of male college athletes were at risk for bulimia nervosa, according to NADA. Sadly, these statistics can go on and on.
We need to stop shaming those around us for having different body types, create safe environments, respect one another and start the discussion about eating disorders. We need to realize that it’s okay to speak out and let your story be heard.
Olga Shvetsova is a math major sophomore who spends her entire meal plan on pink drinks at Starbucks.