“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fattest one of all?”
If you can relate to the above saying, you are not alone. It is estimated that 75 million people worldwide suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia. While most are women, about 10 to 15 percent are men.
Teenagers and young adults are most likely to have eating disorders, but people of all ages, including young children, can have these conditions. Unfortunately, many suffer in silence, ashamed or embarrassed to seek help, or unaware that help is even out there.
The phrase, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall,” comes from a fairy tale, and of course, fairy tales aren’t real. Neither is the image you see staring back at you when you look in the mirror, if you have an eating disorder. Instead of seeing the true picture, you will see what your eating disorder wants you to see. It’s important to realize that, although it may feel very real to you, it’s not the truth. Generally, eating disorders involve self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about body weight and food, and eating habits that disrupt normal body function and daily activities.
Although anorexia and bulimia are very similar, people with anorexia are usually very thin and underweight but those with bulimia may be a normal weight or even overweight.
Binge eating disorders, food phobia, and body image disorders are also becoming increasingly common in adolescence.
Here is a website with help and more information on this topic: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
