Eating disorder recovery meets society’s dieting industry
How recovery from an eating disorder is made more difficult with society’s not only expectations but morbid products
As I enter the journey of recovery from my eating disorder, society throws a bunch of road blocks from getting where I need to be with my weight.
Treatment and more treatment – that has been my life for the past few years. I have anorexia, a battle I’ve been fighting for over eight years. In the last month, I have starved myself for weeks in fear of putting anything in my body except for black coffee. But I woke one day knowing this is not how I want to live – controlled by food or society’s ideal image. I want curves. But the road of recovery is not an easy one especially with comments you have to face on a daily basis from family and friends and media, and how about dieting products on the shelves of practically every store?
I started starving myself at the age of ten. My aunt was a consistent dieter who I visited for four summers straight. Because of my found interest in what I believe was healthy, going to my aunt’s was not really a problem – I would be eating healthy and little. I was also driven and still am to this day by the number on the scale. So where exactly am I going with this and how does this relate to dieting and its products? Well my aunt never really changed appearance wise. Diets never did her any good. Here I am today curious about these diet products and programs. Do they work or are they just hocus pocus? Here I am today, however, to tell you that they are completely full of shit and are there to destroy each inch of confidence we have in ourselves. They are a fraction of the reason that there are eating disorders and continue to be a growing number in youth today. Youth are bombarded with false and idealistic images, advertisements, media that only confuse their growing and developing selves and who and how they should be and act.
The urge to try these diet pills in the hopes they help me lose weight is quite strong. Except, I am quite wise for my age and the wise self surely knows how stupid this urge is and to not follow the temptation. For me, recovery is about not only getting to my healthy weight, but inspiring both women and men with body positivity and overall acceptance of who we are and I can promote this by challenging society and their ridiculous diet culture.
