As someone recently diagnosed with A-Typical Anorexia (which is an obsession with weight loss and fear of weight gain – and hence restrictive and compensatory behaviours etc), I feel I have the authority to say that yes, there is a fair amount of stigma around eating disorders. I understand stigma well… diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when I was 26, I experienced a lot of judgement and stigma, particularly in the early stages. I still experience stigma to this day however because I have been well for 14 years, it has lessened quite a bit, because people know that I am doing well. I have an understanding that stigma happens when there is a lack of understanding about a condition and simply judgement because it is basically an unknown to them. Now, it is understandable to think that people don’t know much about psychotic illness; in fact you wouldn’t understand it unless you have experienced it yourself – like most things. However, I have been quite surprised at the stigma around eating disorders – there is a lot of misunderstanding and judgment. I think it is important to point out that whilst eating disorders are related to food and weight, it really is not that simple. And like I said, there is a misunderstanding around what causes an eating disorder. We are not superficial people – people who are only concerned about appearances and being thin and/or attractive. To think this way only illustrates a huge misunderstanding. Eating disorders are a mental illness, and generally, the reasons why someone becomes obsessed with weight, have nothing to do with being attractive or liked as such, but a lot more to do with the person feeling as though they are worthless – and the only thing they think they control is their food intake – and therefore their weight. It happens because a person feels like they are simply not ‘enough’ – so they choose to be thin. So therefore, gaining weight again to become more healthy, can be extremely challenging for the person. It is taking away their sense of ‘control’ and they are forced to examine their issues with ‘self’. So, really, there needs to be less stigma and less misunderstanding – and MUCH more compassion and empathy. Something that I, to be honest, haven’t received a lot of in the past few months. Maybe because people don’t know what to say, maybe they just misunderstand the reasonings behind the disorder – or maybe they just simply judge something that they don’t understand. For my friends out there who have provided me support over the past 3 or 4 months – thankyou from the bottom of my heart. People with eating disorders are scared – scared of recovery – scared of losing control – and scared of the misunderstandings as well. Eating disorders can be rough – they can be all-consuming – and for some it can be the end – So, be kind – always.
Kate's Niche 