Triggering (ED): Explain.

[Banksy]

I have a problem, an ingornarnce understanding ED. Not things like anorexia. But how eating alot can be considered a 'disease' i do not understand. its a additiction isnt it? now im not getting moody over this, its just i was fat once and now im not.i fail to see how if you blame your wieght on a diease, how you can help youreself. dont you have to see its youre fault?

Im sorry this thread is very triggering and offensive to people. Its just im perhaps Dogmatic or just ingorerant.

Sorry x

[ChaosControl]

Hi there,
It's OK, it's good that you want to understand EDs better because I think people should be aware of them and try to understand why people have EDs, so it's OK to ask.
First of all, there's no clearcut way to "explain" an ED. Everybody's different, some people are more vulnerable to getting one, some people recover more easily. They're not so much a physical disease than a mental one. It's true that what happens to your body when you eat too much or too little is a biological effect, but it all starts off with thought processes, or interactions with our environment that distort the way we think, often so that we think irrationally.
When you say "don't you have to see it's your fault", I think that's the wrong approach but I'm not criticising you for it. Anorexia may develop in someone who thinks they're too fat, binge eating in someone who thinks food will comfort them. It's all down to the way we think, so in some respects you are right, because it's us that controls them. At the same time, people with EDs aren't in control at all. Although they are our thoughts, we can't always stop thinking them or suppress them. At first we might think we're in control of our eating, but then our eating starts to control us.
But, you're quite right that it's down to the individual to help themselves recover. Therapies and such can help, but it takes a lot of self-motivation and control to change our thought processes. To overcome an ED, I think that person has to genuinely want to overcome it. That's the hardest thing - not knowing what's right or wrong, or what's the best thing to do. It might not be a physical disease, but it's a challenge to overcome because a lot of it relies on the individual and their psychology.
I hope that's answered your question for you.

[emma01]

I see where you are coming from. I do not think people should blame their weight on an illness...unless of course they actually do. See there is a difference between dieting, and having anorexia, there is so much more to it, the mind has become overpowered by 'anorexia,' and just like that, there is a difference between choosing a burger and fries over a salad just because it tastes better, and having binge eating disorder or compulsive overeating.
With binge eating disorder, the suffers dont have a compulsion to eat, in fact they may hate food very much, and will often binge in private. They may do it for comfort, because they are feeling depressed. They use food to feel better. I do not think they eat just when bored, i mean most people do, but there is a lot more to it than just overeating.
You are right, eating alot is an addiction, but so is anorexia. Its an addiction to be thin, really. Its just a shame, because ED's are rarely accepted as an illness, people look at a thin person and say "Oh she's anorexic, she's so weird" or "Oh she's so fat, she eats crap" and they dont actually understand how people really feel.
I don't blame you for the way that you think about them, i mean until you have had an eating disorder, you have no idea, but i urge you to try and change how you feel, especially if a friend or family member has an eating disorder. It's good you wanted to understand though.

[Banksy]

I have ad an 'ED' i was massive but now im not xD and all i did was exrcise and know it was my fault

[ChaosControl]

I'm glad you were able to overcome it but just as a warning, it's against the rules on this site to say how much you weigh or used to weigh, because it might be triggering.

[Banksy]

O im sorry I didnt know ill edit it out

[Angel]

Eating disorders are not an actual disease, but a mental disorder. The problem is that those suffering from eating disorders have trouble seeing themselves as they are. Their behaviours may be impulsive, so those who do eat compulsively or binge cannot help themselves. It's their way of coping. It is not anyone's fault for having an eating disorder, and to say so would be incredibly ignorant offensive. BED/COE is more than choosing to eat because the food is good. There is more to an eating disorder than the actual eating, or lack of, and it goes beyond the issue of weight. Although I don't have any first-hand experience compulsive overeating, I know good people who do and telling them that it's their faults does no good for anyone simply because it's untrue.