Eating disorders: Choice or A mental health issue
Now, before we make assumptions about my title, stick around for a bit, grab a cup of coffee, tea? And keep reading. It's mental health awareness month 2017, and so I thought I would voice my thoughts regarding a myth related to Eating disorders.
There has been a lot of hype on the internet about Eating disorders being a choice and personally, I have had friends and peers comments about how I can easily just get out of it, just as I chose to get into it. Probably you too have been subjected to something similar? Maybe not with eating disorders, but other mental illnesses.
With regard to eating disorders being a choice, I could see how someone who doesnt understand mental illnesses or eating disorders as a whole saying something like that, probably because they may think that one day you just decide to stop eating, or start to overeat, while not understanding the full reason as to why eating disorders exist.
Maybe you yourself clicked onto this thread thinking Hey! Eating disorders could be a choice, In fact I think it is a choice... Listen to this, we all may go through some really tough times in life, some way tougher than others its all relative to what we can handle and subjective to each individual, but when we feel like we have no control over ourselves, like everything is happening without our consent, when we feel completely overwhelmed, extremely anxious or a bunch of other strong emotions, we adapt, adjust, and learn coping skills; These could be healthy ones! Something our parents might have taught us, such as to journal, to color, to walk or to talk to people, it could be any kind of coping skill.
However there are a number of unhealthy coping skills that we might come up with on our own, because no one really told us what it is that were struggling with, what to do about it, and no one showed or demonstrated any kind of healthy behaviour to deal with it, therefore we find control ourselves, and one thing we can control is how we look, and what we do with ourselves, this could range from exercise, binging and purging, restricting, or many other kinds of behaviours, but the point here is these coping skills arent choices, people dont choose them, its not like you go into a supermarket and choose what kind of fruits you want to get, people dont go Hmmm, I dont really like those, but Ill take these. Thats not how coping skills work!
One thing to keep in mind is Im not blaming people for not trying to teach us healthier coping strategies, but Im trying to say if we were never taught, we would try to teach ourselves, and thus we have the chance of taking any path out there, whether healthy or unhealthy.
Coping skills come out of necessity, out of survival, therefore, when we need to survive, and need to get through a certain situation, we may begin to control our body in one way or another, we may binge eat, we may restrict as a form of self-harm, psychologically it makes sense, however, none of those are actually a choice, we dont choose them, but its something we have to do as a necessity for survival.
So if you know someone who thinks mental illness or eating disorders are a choice, please share this thread with them, share what you learnt out of this thread, spread the knowledge. Choice and coping skills are two different things, born out of two different reasons, choosing to have a mental illness isnt something you have the ability to do, people may believe its a choice out of stigma.
In essence, Eating disorders are not a choice but recovery is.
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We would love to hear from you, please share your thoughts about the topic down below! Let's have a conversation!
Self-reflection questions:-
✒ Do you think Eating disorders are a choice? Why do you think they are/they arent?
✒ Why do you think so many people consider Eating disorders to be a chosen lifestyle?
✒ If you dont think they are a choice, how would you explain that to someone who considers them a choice?
✒ What are some situations that can result in Eating disorders being a coping strategy?
Helpful resources to share and learn more:-
Eating Disorders are Not a Choice
✒ Do you think Eating disorders are a choice? Why do you think they are/they arent?
Definitely NOT a choice. Why would anyone consciously choose to suffer?!
✒ Why do you think so many people consider Eating disorders to be a chosen lifestyle?
I think many people confuse unhealthy dieting with eating disorders so the lines there can be a bit blurred, which can then make unhealthy eating behaviours (due to an ED, not a specific diet) seem like a choice.
✒ If you dont think they are a choice, how would you explain that to someone who considers them a choice?
I have no idea! I know I'd get very angry! If it was a choice then I certainly wouldn't have made the choice to waste hours, weeks, months and years of my life to it. I have better things to do than obsess over food!
✒ What are some situations that can result in Eating disorders being a coping strategy?
I think any situation which causes stress can result in an ED, and what causes stress in one person might not cause stress in another so it's a very individual thing.
@LittleLotte
Hey there, Lotte!
I'm glad to see you decided to dive into the self-reflection questions, I couldn't agree with you more, I like how you said "Why would anyone consciously choose to suffer?!".. It's unfortunate that many people don't look at it the same way. If only mental health was treated like physical health, no one would tell someone who broke their leg that it was their choice, would they?
I see what you're going on about, you're right, many people do confuse eating disorders with extreme diets, and since diets are generally a choice, people would assume eating disorders are too. Sounds like you are a bit frustrated by this? Definitely, if only people realized the emotional connection to eating disorders, and how we don't choose to suffer.
You're right about that as well, it is subjective to the individual, but stress can play a big role in being the cause for an eating disorder.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us, we loved hearing from you! ^_^
@MimiBliss I definitely get frustrated about the confusion over a diet and an ED - I'm a strict vegan for ethical and moral reasons, yet some people assume that it's part of my ED (I was once refused treatment because I wouldn't conform to a non-vegan diet programme). Going vegan actually helped me a lot, it gave me a level of control that I needed while still being able to eat.
@MimiBliss
✒ Do you think Eating disorders are a choice? Why do you think they are/they arent?
No. Habits can be a choice, but disorders are rooted deeper in the person's psyche, history, and biochemistry. A disorder can take over a person's best intentions and will, and it isn't about character. The dfference about eating a bag of chips on a Friday night and compulsively binging or purging (for example) is huge and real.
✒ Why do you think so many people consider Eating disorders to be a chosen lifestyle?
Because they confuse them with simple bad habits, and because they are ignorant about mental illness and eating disorders. They confuse what someone irrationally does with their body as something rational. They fail to see that with an eating disorder, unlike alcohol or drugs, people are confronted at least 3 times/day with their disorder, and that it is not a simple choice. They also fail to understand the level of self-harm that is going on, and how difficult it can be to get someone with an eating disorder to touch and heal that self-harming set of beliefs, feelings and attitudes that may be underneath it all.
✒ If you dont think they are a choice, how would you explain that to someone who considers them a choice?
The above examples, plus an education on what mental illness is, how it creeps up, and how something that might have started out as a simple choice or bad habit can morph into something that is rooted deeply and so hard to stop. That people have histories and sometimes are fighting those and biochemistry to get well again. Maybe to be less judgmental. Maybe to look at our fashion industry and do something about how across the board so many beautiful people are forced to starve and harm themselves for their jobs, and how those images of eating disorders affect all of us when they are sold to us as the example of glamour, success, and a way to get approval and love.
✒ What are some situations that can result in Eating disorders being a coping strategy?
Stress, neglect, lack of love, someone treating another's feeling with inadequate amounts/overabundance of food, comfort by food, confusion of food with love, seeking control over one's body when there no other control in life seems possible, self-protection by fat or dysmorphic strategies (i.e. compulsive overexercising and dieting). Some of them.
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Let's educate ourselve and others. And judge less.
@redKite4725
Hey there, Kite!
Happy to see you taking part in the conversation,
I couldn't agree more, disorders can definitely be deeply rooted to a persons psyche, biochemistry and history! I like the example you gave, that shows that there isn't just a fine line between consume an extra bag of chips, and compulsively binging and purging, they are two different things, stemming from two different buckets!
You're right there, habits and eating disorder can definitely be confused, probably because of ignorance on the topic of mental illnesses and where they stem from. I loved hearing the ways you'd explain to someone who thinks it's a choice that it really isn't, because just like any physical injury, eating disorders are deeply rooted into someone, and no one would ever choose to get into that situation, it builds up to that moment, maybe because of the reasons you've mentioned, such as stress, neglect, lack of love (especially in your childhood, I would add), some people seeking comfort from food, control is a big one as well! because when everything feels out of control, we have that desire of wanting to take control over something, anything.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us! Really appreciate it.
@MimiBliss
Thanks for some really helpful and thought-provoking questions and for taking the time to respond to my thoughts.
✒ Do you think Eating disorders are a choice? Why do you think they are/they arent?
No, not at all. ED's result from turbulent life experiences, bullying, family influence, and a need for control. There is no one cause for an ED. I think in 99.9% of cases they are caused by other life circumstances.
✒ Why do you think so many people consider Eating disorders to be a chosen lifestyle?
I think that people don't understand what an ED really is. It's not pretty or glamorous like the media can portray. ED's are a constant struggle with so many more downs than up's. I really think it is TV, magazines, and social media that glamorize ED's.
I wish I felt able to answer the other questions, but right now it's healthier for me to not delve too deep into those questions.
All the love and best wishes for all 
@DancingAlong
Hey there, Dancing!
Super happy to see you participate in the conversation we're having.
You brought up some important points there, Eating disorders can stem from a lot of external situations, such as bullying, need for control, and something that you said which not many people have acknowledge that being "Influence".. influence from peers, family members, social media, society.. I couldn't agree with you more, society and media try to glamorize eating disorders, making them look like something you need to achieve to be worthy.. the standards of beauty is a big contributor to people considering it's a "choice"
Oh, don't worry about answering all the questions, All good as long as you are comfortable with it! ^_^ No pressures at all, in fact, thank you so much for giving us an insight to your perspective to the topic, we really appreciate that!