Eating Disorder Facts
Are Eating Disorders an Addiction?
Are eating disorders an addiction? There are many eating disorder facts to consider when thinking about this question. Is having an eating disorder really that different from having an addiction to drugs or alcohol? As a society, we still have a hard time empathizing with drug addicts and alcoholics.
Many people still believe that it’s just a matter of will power. If you don’t want to drink or do drugs, just stop. How hard could that possibly be? I think even more difficult for people is the idea that people with eating disorders can’t ‘just eat’ or ‘just stop overeating’ or ‘just stop throwing up.’
Like any addiction, there is a lot more to eating disorders than will power. If it were that simple, do you think people would have eating disorders? If all it took were telling yourself that you need to eat or that you need to stop drinking and doing drugs, would people be dying from these issues? Wouldn’t everyone with an eating disorder or any kind of addiction just stop engaging in these behaviors?
The obvious answer is that it’s not just about will power. There are many different types of eating disorders, and not one of them can be stopped using will power alone.
In the people I know who are actively engaging in eating disorders, I see so many parallels to drug addiction and alcoholism. I see the denial and the justification. I see continued self-destruction, even when recovery is desired. I see the misconceptions of the people around them, not understanding why they can’t just ‘get better.’
Even people who know eating disorder facts sometimes can’t understand why someone can’t control their eating disorder. Like many things in life, I think it’s tough to understand what the experience of having an eating disorder is like without actually experiencing it for yourself.
I can’t say that I fully understand what it’s like to have an eating disorder, but seeing what they can do to people has undoubtedly made me realize that it’s not as simple as just stopping.
The Causes of Eating Disorders and More Eating Disorder Facts
The causes of eating disorders are very individualized, but they are often very similar to the causes of drug addiction and alcoholism. There are so many causes of both of these issues, and it’s very individualized, but many people start using drugs or alcohol for similar reasons. Low self-esteem, peer pressure, media glorification, some sort of abuse, and attempting to deal with some other kind of mental illness are just a few of the reasons people start using and become addicted to drugs and alcohol. Everything on this list can be said to influence eating disorders as well.
The truth is, I don’t know if an eating disorder is an addiction or not, or if it should be considered an addiction. What I do know is that it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we realize how complex eating disorders are and how difficult treatment and recovery can be. Eating disorder recovery is possible, though, and having eating disorder facts can be useful when trying to help yourself or someone else.