Ten-Mile Morning

Eating disorders, whether it is anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder, an eating disorder not otherwise specified, or any other eating disorder, is not a physical problem per se. As we know, it’s not about food. It’s not about weight. It’s not about the scale. It’s not about what you see in the mirror.

Instead, eating disorders exist in one place: your mind. An eating disorder literally becomes another “person” in your mind with its own “voice” that controls and dictates your actions. An eating disorder literally becomes you. It starts to control your thoughts, your actions, your emotions, your mood and your beliefs. In essence, when it takes control of your mind, it begins to define who you are.

Yes, eating disorders exist in your mind. They are often brought upon by past traumas, whether they are, among many other things, physical or sexual abuse, broken relationships, heartbreaking tragedies, and/or body image issues that can cause you to strive for control, perfection, and empowerment.

But it’s all a lie. It’s all an illusion. And when your eating disorder takes control of your mind, it fills it with lies, distortions, irrational thoughts, feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, and a sense that you always need to do more and more to reach the happiness that you’ve always wanted. But to do this, your eating disorder creates a mind that is full of falsity, misrepresentation, and danger.

Your eating disorder “voice” says that you are fat. The truth is that you are dangerously thin. Your eating disorder therefore makes you try to lose weight, even though you are placing your health — and life — at great risk. Your eating disorder tells you that you’re eating too much. But you’re actually starving yourself. Your eating disorder tells you to count every calorie, but by the end of the day, you have eaten so few calories that your body is literally screaming for food to sustain its most basic needs.

Your eating disorder tells you that you need to engage in vigorous exercise everyday or else you will get fat immediately. The truth is, if you took a few days off from exercise, or exercised 3-4 times a week, you wouldn’t gain any weight, and if you did gain weight, it would be healthy weight that your body desperately needs. Your eating disorder tells you to eliminate so many foods from your diet, and often live on nothing more than raw vegetables, salads, low-calorie soup, and only a few more food items.

The truth, however, is that your body needs a variety of food, from different categories, to be healthy, happy and energetic. Your eating disorder tells you that it is the most important thing in your life, so you stop going to social events, seeing friends, or being passionate about other things. The truth is, your eating disorder is dangerous and deadly, and needs to be treated immediately.

The point is that your eating disorder is not your “friend” and that “voice” in your mind is full of lies that will destroy all of the dreams and passions that you want in your life. It will destroy your desire to live a happy, meaningful, fulfilling and rewarding life. It will destroy your ability to love and accept yourself unconditionally. It will, in essence, take your life away from you.

It’s time to break-up with your eating disorder and re-connect with your authentic self. You are a beautiful, kind, loving, caring, unique, special and wonderful person. When you say goodbye to your eating disorder, all of your passions and dreams will be possible.

Perhaps one of the most disgraceful aspects in the fight against eating disorders is the presence of pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites. In fact, most of these websites focus on supporting, glorifying and encouraging the anorexic lifestyle, and they often do so in the form of “thinspiration.” That is, they will show pictures of extraordinarily thin and unhealthy people and represent them as ”role models” that young people (and all people) should aspire to become. These sites (which primarily include blogs) also contain advice on how to starve yourself, how to “trick” your body into thinking it is “full,” and how to engage in other methods to lose as much weight as an individual can possibly withstand.

Shockingly, there are approximately 300,000 of these pro-eating disorder websites/blogs and they are actively contributing to the rise in people with eating disorders. Those who create and maintain these websites for some reason fail to realize that they are encouraging a lifestyle that can result in the death of many wonderful people whose lives should never have been taken away from them.

Whatever the motivation behind “thinspiration,” the message that it sends is something that we must vigorously attack, through exposing these websites to the public, having a presence on the internet, notification to relevant law enforcement (to the extent that anything can be done to stop them), and raising awareness that the information and content on these websites are disgraceful, written by those who themselves are still controlled by their eating disorders, and whose purpose is to bring within their grasp people who would lead the same dangerous and deadly lifestyle.

These websites are created by people who do not care about you. They care only about themselves. It is time to expose them and fight back in our effort to save lives. The article below discusses the presence of pro-eating disorder websites on the internet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zoe-malliaros/post_3208_b_1408977.html

Recently, rumors have been circulating that Miley Cyrus may have an eating disorder, namely, anorexia nervosa. These rumors were spawned by the fact that she has recently lost some weight and apparently would not eat a hamburger that she ordered from Carl’s Jr.  

Unfortunately, these actions spurred scores of rumors that Miley Cyrus was anorexic and suddenly unable to eat normally. Well, to her credit, Miley Cyrus has responded quickly and with vigor. Miley Cyrus has not only denied being anorexic (for which there is no evidence), but she has explained that she is now on a gluten-free diet, which is known to have a positive effect on an individual’s health.

Of course, Miley Cyrus also exercises and, as one of the articles below states, has been photographed leaving Pilates classes. However, this in no way suggests that she has an eating disorder.

The sad part about these rumors, for Miley Cyrus and other individuals, especially celebrities, is that as soon as a certain amount of weight loss is noticed, there is an almost automatic inference that the person has an eating disorder. This is disgraceful. First, it has the potential effect of hurting that person’s reputation in the eyes of both public and private individuals.

Second, those who spread these rumors, as in the case of Miley Cyrus, have no professional or clinical experience in the area of eating disorders, so their assertions that Miley Cyrus, and other individuals, have an eating disorder, have little to no merit whatsoever. Any diagnosis of eating disorders must be made by a trained professional, not by the media or other untrained individuals.

It was a good thing that Miley Cyrus spoke out strongly against the rumor that she had anorexia. We need to send the message that eating disorders are serious and potentially deadly illnesses. They are not to be the subject of unsubstantiated rumors and innuendo. Rather, we need to spread awareness of the deadly nature of eating disorders, encourage all sufferers to seek recovery, and do our best to save lives. The articles below discuss the rumors about Miley Cyrus.

http://www.ivillage.com/miley-cyrus-says-she-isnt-anorexic/1-a-442976

http://thegloss.com/beauty/miley-cyrus-anorexic-gluten-allergy100-855/