In our psychology book, it is stated that bulimia nervosa affects 1-35 of the nation, whereas anorexia nervosa affects about 0.5-1% of the population. Reading this surprised me because I had always that anorexia was much more common. One of the reasons I thought this was because throughout the first few years of high school, my best friend suffered from anorexia. I had first started to notice something was off when she started to have a preoccupation with what she was eating and when she would exercise. Not only was she eating the bare minimum, she would exercise up to a couple hours every day. On top of her developing eating disorder she also had depression, and previous to this, she self-harmed. Although not every eating disorder starts this way, hers started off because she felt like she had no control over her life, so she took control over one of the more obvious things she did have control over, such as eating. I'm curious as to whether eating disorders stand on their own, or are they usually coupled with some other psychological disorder, such as depression, or anxiety. I also wonder if once a person gets better from an eating disorder, if relapses are common. I'm guessing that environmental factors and how severs the eating disorder was could also play roles in whether or a not a person relapses.
Eating Disorders
What happened with your friend? Was she able to get better? I think people can struggle a lot with these disorders, usually their whole lives, just like an addiction. But there is always hope! :) I think that there can be depression and anxiety along with eating disorders, and also obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, I don't think they happen together in every case.
When I was in middle school, one of my friends had anorexia. This all started up during the process of her parents getting divorced. It was a rough time for her family because the divorce wasn't pretty. Her parents didn't get along and would do immature and cruel things to each other to get back at one another. For example, the father split up the family completely. He took away the youngest daughter and son from the mother by telling them their mom was a bad person. Those two live with the dad and the two oldest daughters, including my friend, live with the mom. From your experience, my experience, and other stories I have heard, it seems like anorexia typically couples with some psychological disorder. Also, I am not sure how common relapses are but my friend actually ended up going in the opposite direction. She is now in college and has gained a significant amount of weight and is now on the heavy side. These two extremes make me believe that she has some psychological disorder.
I also know someone who had anorexia. I feel so bad for people that go through this problem, whether it starts from feeling bad about one's self, bullying or media. I wish everyone could just be happy with the way they looked and didn't have to starve themselves because of how they think they need to look. I would like to look up more on the relapsing part though because it seems very possible that it does happen.
i think that it is very hard to define recovery from an eating disorder because it is so different for every person who is affected. Some people have suffered for many years, and others not as long, and also each person has their own way of healing. Eating disorders are so multifaceted and it takes time to heal the issues that may have sparked the disordered eating. I think that recovery has to be defined by how the individual is feeling. When the individual is feeling like they are finally comfortable in a healthy body weight for their size, they can be recovered. Gaining the weight back is a struggle, but just because someone has gained the weight back doesn't mean they are cured. If the disordered thinking is not changed as well, relapse seems almost inevitable. This is just my own opinion, but i do believe that both the mind and the body have to be comfortable for someone to become unlikely to relapse again.
I don’t know anybody who is or was anorexic, but I can imagine what they are going through. The first time I actually started paying attention to the seriousness of eating disorders, I was in 8th grade and at that time I was trying to lose weight so I thought that maybe being anorexic would help me lose weight faster and more efficiently. I was wrong, at that time I didn’t understand the infinite harms that can be caused to the body and mind. I am still trying to feel comfortable with my body and I think that once I change my mindset, I will be able to do that.
I like your questions that you asked about whether anorexia was linked with another mental disorder and whether or not someone with anorexia will relapse after treatment. To be honest I've thought about anorexia more than once during high school. I was always unsatisfied with the way I looked and compared myself to others in high school. I noticed that when I became stressed or upset I wouldn't eat. But after a few hours of not eating I would get sick and then have to eat something. It was the worst feeling ever. After a while though, I had a reality check and realized that my life wasn't so bad and I became really secure in myself. Thoughts of anorexia won't ever touch me again.
The questions you asked I'm also curious about but I think it all depends on the circumstances and each individual person. My mom struggled with anorexia when she was in college but she was a ballet dancer and was pressured to be thin. She got over her disorder long before I was born, but I can tell she still struggles a little with it. Even though she no longer has the disorder, she still sees herself to be way bigger than she is and is always watching her weight. I'm not sure about the statistics of relapse, but from what I have seen from the disorder, it sticks with people in a way, even if it's not as severe.