Eating disorders, Stigma, Myths & Experiences (Feel free to share yours!) #StopTheStigma

Okay well, hello! *awkward waves* Some of you may have seen me posting around the forums recently (Yay, look at me being all productive!), however if you have not... Hello again, Shwmae, Ola, Bonjiour and all those other shizzles. I'm Shannon, I'm 17 and am an Intern & Active Listener here on 7Cups.

Disclaimer: You may be subjected to an appallingly bad sense of humor, awkwardness and the occasional rant... SO BE WARNED!

*Ehem* Anyway!

I in myself have been dealing with a range of mental health issues roughly since the age of 9 (;you can find out more on my listener profile but some examples include an Anorexia Nervosa w/ Bulimic tendencies, Self harm, Anxiety etc.) and something that I am constantly battling and finding myself involved with is the Stigma of mental health. Take eating disorders for example, these are some of the 'myths' I have come across time and time again:

"Anorexia Nervosa is the most dangerous of Ed's" - No. All eating disorders whether it be Anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder or any of the others.. are dangerous. All eating disorders propose various threats, complications and symptoms... Yes I admit, AN definitely has more exposure than many other ED's but this should Not be the case! #Eatingdisorderawareness

"You have to be stick-thin to have an eating disorder" - This is something that I definitely think the media is partly responsible for, but also the lack of consistency in our Mental Health systems. I was actually diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa when I was considered a 'Normal, healthy weight' which DEFINITELY shocked me because I had always been told by doctor's that I didn't completely fit the criteria and therefore I had the impression that I wasn't 'sick enough'. I still have issues with this now even after battling this for over 8+ years.

"Binge-eating Disorder is just an excuse for eating too much" - There has been so much debate over this, just as everything else and as someone who has personal experiences with this (went from BED, to AN to AN/BN), I KNOW that it is more than just eating too much. It is the relationship and reasoning for such WITH the food, it is the voice inside your head that tells you you're not good enough, it IS a SERIOUS Mental Health Issue.

"People with eating disorders only eat _____ / People with eating disorders don't eat at all" - Everyone is different, everyone is unique and everyone deals with things differently. When it comes to mental health, it is no laughing matter (unless you tend to laugh psychotically in embarrassing situations... Totally not guilty of that). No one with the same mental health issue is the same and the manifestation of an ED depends entirely on the person and the reasons for such. People who happen to have ED's Still eat, otherwise 1/10 of us would not be here today... It's like 'You ate an apple today even though you 'claim' to have an ED? DISPICABLE! YOU MUST PUT YOURSELF THROUGH ENDLESS TORMENT, STRAIN, WORRY AND PHYSICAL ABUSE WITHOUT EATING A MORSEL" okay well you get the idea...

Now those were only four of the (unfortunately) variety of different myths, misinterpretations and generalizations I have come across when it comes to eating disorders. If you don't mind me asking, are there any that you have come across/heard that I haven't mentioned here?

I grew up being told that I could never have an eating disorder, that the day I had one would be the day pigs could fly. All because I was an overweight child with an unhealthy relationship with food and my emotions... To them, it simply looked like I ate and 'enjoyed' food too much, they didn't know I ate so much because of the bullying due to the fact I was a high achiever even at the age 9.. Or the fact that I ate the more I was bullied for my weight..So I ate more. Then there was gymnastics; I still remember something my coach said back to me all those years ago "I don't care if it's your best, you Have to be perfect!". There would be the girls who used to bully me even when I was older... They came up to me awkwardly and asked me 'How I did 'it'. I didn't know what they were referring to.

I will shut up now... But the point is. We can do this and we NEED to fight the stigma. Stigma in itself is so influential in many aspects of our development and lives in general... So if you can do anything, anything at all. It's to fight this. If not for yourself but for those who will grow up being told how they are meant to be, what they're meant to do and how they're supposed to act and react.

#StopTheStigma #MentalHealthAwareness #EatingDisorders

~ Shannon