ABC of EDs

In 2002, 1.5% of Canadians women between the age of 15 and 24 had an eating disorder. One third of the girls in grade nine and ten engaged weight-less behaviors. 40% considered themselves too fat. Eating disorders are a real scourge and more girls and boys succumb to the social pressure each year.

The more the time goes on the more people are being attacked by the society telling them the way to live their lives. At the dentist the magazine about how a star lost 50 pounds, ads with models as thin as a sheet of paper, but they are so, so pretty, are at least it's what we're told. The perfect family cliché, two loving parents, a mom, a dad and two little beautiful children. White? Of course, why do you even ask? Makeup on every face, every advertising board. Every thing is being gendered and you must fit in that mold the society created or you are being looked at and judged.

Every day a girl looks in the mirror and isn't satisfied with what she sees. Not thin enough. Not pale enough. Using make up as camouflage. Shoulders too broad. Waist too large. Not enough muscles. Not tall enough. Too tall. Never enough. Always too much.

A young woman is suffering emotionally. She feels lost, without any anchor, people on whom she can really count on. She has too many things to do, not enough time to do so. Anorexia. It's sly. First she skips a meal once, then it's on a regular basis.  Starving yourself, starving your problems because you don't feel as if you are in control of anything. Losing weight, controlling what happens to you, it's what it's all about.

Her little brother, he's wondering why his idol is sad. She's always so tired, so hungry, he can even hear her tummy gurgle when he hugs her. He doesn't see her as much as before, she always flee before lunch when she comes for a visit.

Next door there is a girl who is throwing up, feeling guilty for eating all the she deprived herself before. Chocolate, ice cream, chips, all junk food. Again. It's the third time this month, but bulimia doesn't give a damn, always the same cycles, always the same consequences. She's in the restroom, hiding from her parents. They are going to ask questions later, of course but she became a pro at lying. Why is she so fat? She hears the compliments from her entourage, but she still doesn't feel right. She hasn't felt right in a long time.

Too many people are being affected by eating disorders (ED). They keep it hidden, but it is our job to help people in need. In 2018 there are more and more organisms around the world made to help them, with the resources and people qualified with the expertise. There are more and more movements against social oppression, we are making a point worldwide. Let's keep going so that 2019 will even be a better year!