forum discussion: understanding anorexia (day 2)
hey, how's everyone doing today? this is a follow up to the thread emily posted yesterday and part of a forum session that will last for about a week. this topic is sensitive and can be triggering to some audiences, if in any case you feel triggered, please feel free to leave this forum discussion and connect to a listener. please remember to be respectful and supportive toward every participant. if you are in need of more personalized support then please reach out to one of our wonderful listeners here: 7cups.com/BrowseListeners/
today's question is – what is an eating disorder according to your own understanding?
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This is a great question! Knowing that there are so, so many eating disorders out there it can be difficult to pin it down to one definition. I think an overall defintion could be a distorted method of thinking about your relation to food and how it affects your body, whether that be overeating or undereating, or anything in between.
This might sound more clinical, but an eating disorder is when eating behaviors interfere with a person's health or life (i.e basic functioning).
@ErwineRommel
I like that answer! It's straight and to the point 
I'd say that basically, ED to me would be that moment when you have a problem and it pops up in your mind saying "Things aren't right, you need to change things for the best, maybe you could [do whatever about weight, food, appearance] and you will feel better".
ED is when you feel like you've finally found something to control, but it's all lies, it's it that takes control of you, and it hides the true problem behind food and weight.
@brightLight35
I love that answer! It's super important to recognize that the eating habits are actually unhealthy and giving you a false sense of security. The good news to that, however, is that it is completely possible to recover from. Although it's definitely not easy to recover from anything really, it's still 100% possible and has been done many, many times before. Stay strong!
All EDs kinda have alot in common. Eating disorders are more thought disorders than weight disorders, weight is more like a symptom. For me ED is something that happens when you can't rely on other people so you learned how to rely on ED. My ED was the one thing that helped me cope and i could count on. The unhealthy rules take control over every part of your life. You think you have all the control but the truth is the ED is controlling you. Because you restrict food you restrict feelings too. You become in love with feeling empty and nothing else matters. The dark voice in your head breaks you down so that you don't feel worthy of anything. ED keeps you isolated from friends, family, and yourself. People think you're stubborn and doing it on purpose because they don't understand how scary it is.
@summertimeSamness
That is so, so true! I think it's scary in a way to think that an ED can give people a false sense of security, thinking they are in control but in reality the ED is in control of you instead. It's important to tell that voice of the ED to go away 
It can be hard for others to understand how painful an ED is because an ED is like a liar, it makes you believe you're in control but you're really not. Just as it can be hard to believe someone who's lied a lot, others may think an ED is "fake" or you're just trying to please society. However, I think as they can come and accept that an ED is so, so much more they can help lead you to a successful recovery 
That's what friends and family are there for
@summertimeSamness
i think this is a great answer! you really delved into the topic which couldn't have been easy for you. i love your personal touch to it, thank you so much for sharing. it really gave me a deeper look into anorexia (: i do hope that more people will become aware of anorexia and what it's like, so people like you will be more understood and be even stronger in your battle against this disorder
Does anyone have any advice on what to do when your ED is very loud?
