This back to
school season always strikes me with concern. Eating disorders are often
triggered by the college experience. Statistics show some startling realities:
“As many
as 10% of college women suffer from a clinical or nearly clinical eating
disorder, including 5.1% who suffer from bulimia nervosa
Studies
indicate that by their first year of college, 4.5 to 18% of women and 0.4% of
men have a history of bulimia…”
(The
National Institute of Mental Health, National Association of Anorexia Nervosa
and Associated Disorders)
Indeed, it was my reality. As a child and a
teenager who always struggled with her weight, I determined college to be my
“reinvention.” If I could just be thin, I could be a new, better person. And
so, oh, so slowly, I descended into eating disorders. I discuss it in my book,
“Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of an Eating
Disorder.”
It started
as a diet. However, it didn’t stop there. Eventually I was engulfed in anorexia,
culminating in an unhealthy low weight of eighty pounds, not to mention,
weakness and dizziness just to name a couple of health issues I encountered.
Furthermore, that anorexic condition eventually morphed into another dangerous
disorder, bulimia; I gained one hundred plus pounds within a number of months.
And, with that rapid weight gain, I experienced heart fluttering, shortness of
breath and suicidal thoughts. Simply stated-I was miserable, unhealthy and out
of control.
Eating disorders
don’t happen overnight. Often, these behaviors have been developing for many
young people for years prior. However, college, with the major lifestyle
changes, stressors and pressuring expectations of young adulthood can lay the
groundwork for disordered eating to thrive. Whether it’s the need to be
perfect, compete in athletics, measure up to parental or peers’ expectations or
cope with anxiety and major changes, many young men and women wrongly believe
their chosen eating disorder is the desirable “answer” to their problems. And
so, they learn the techniques, sometimes even teaching them to fellow roommates, practice the behavior and,
before long, they have gone further in chaotic choices than they ever dreamed.
Personal health, goals and life plans are all threatened, seemingly, “out of
the blue.”
And, most
damaging of all is the spiritual impact. The eating disorders’ lies often do an
insidious and thorough job of convincing the young person of the ultimate lie:
The Most High hates you and will not/cannot save you; therefore, it’s hopeless. That’s
where I found myself.
And, it’s
taken me years to spiritually relearn Elohim’s Truth.
“I have chosen you and have not cast you away.”
Isaiah 41:9
“Behold, I am... Is there anything too hard for Me?”
Jeremiah 32:27
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go:
I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalm 32:8
“...‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee.’”
Jeremiah
31:3
But how much
pain could have been avoided if I had been aware of that reassuring powerful
Truth when I was in college? How much pain could I have avoided if I went in to
college, fully knowing the dangers of the eating disorder path?
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
Hosea 4:6
Knowledge.
This time of
year, back to school emphasizes knowledge and learning. And, it’s at this time
of year I encounter many frantic young people, with all manner of food, weight,
body image and self-esteem issues, going off to college, fearful of what
they’re facing.
So, along with Elohim’s Word, which never comes
back without its intended purpose accomplished (Isaiah 55:11), I’ve
provided some questions and things to look out for if you believe someone is
struggling, or if you, yourself are
suffering from eating disorder tendencies.
Eating Disorder Signs To Look Out For:
Perfectionistic
about appearance and achievement
Obsessed
with food, dieting, counting calories, etc.
Excessive
exercising (hours at a time)
Isolation
from family and friends and secretive behavior (in example: exercising in the
middle of the night, binge and purge sessions when alone, constant weighing of
oneself)
Drastic
weight loss, weight gain, fluctuations, (may also have a puffy face, scraped
knuckles and hair loss)
Possession
of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics and “thinspo” material
Stealing
roommates’ food and money
Self-critical,
depressed and/or displaying erratic mood swings
Displaying
cross addictive behavior: in example, alcohol/drug consumption, shopping,
sexual activity, self-injury (like cutting oneself)
Wearing
excessively baggy clothes
Frequent
trips to the bathroom, especially after eating
Frequent
absences from classes, work or other activities
Questions To Ask… Do I having an eating disorder?
Do I expect to be perfect?
The Almighty's answer to that question…
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me…”
Psalm 138:8
What’s my definition of beauty/performance?
His answer to that question…
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
How do I view food?
Hi’s answer to that question…
“Is not life more than food?”
Matthew 6:25
How do I view exercise?
His answer to that question…
“For bodily exercise profiteth
little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life
that now is, and of that which is to come.”
1 Timothy 4:8
How do I see myself right now?
His answer to that question…
“Since you were precious in my sight… I have
loved you…”
Isaiah 43:4
If your answer
to the eating disorder question is “yes,” it’s not hopeless. But it does
require action, professional help and support from others.
If You Have Anorexia Nervosa…
Don’t diet. Never ever. Instead
design a meal plan that gives your body all the nutrition it needs for health
and growth. Also get 30 to 60 minutes of exercise or physical activity three to
five days a week. More than that is too much.
Ask someone you trust for an honest,
objective opinion of your weight. If they say you are normal weight or thin,
believe them.
If You Have Bulimia Nervosa or Binge
Eating Disorder…
Don’t let yourself get too hungry,
too angry, too lonely, too tired, or too bored. All these states are powerful
binge triggers. Watch for them, and when they first appear, deal with them in a
healthy manner instead of letting the tension build until bingeing and purging
become the release of choice.
Make sure that every day you touch
base with friends and loved ones. Enjoy being with them. It sounds corny, but
hugs really are healing.
Keep tabs on your feelings. Several
times a day ask yourself how you feel. If you get off track, do whatever the
situation requires to get back to your comfort zone.
ANRED: Self Help Tips.
And it requires looking at the real truth of the
situation. After all, scripture tells us…
“The truth shall set you free.”
John 8:32
So, as the
seasons and transitions change, learn the freedom Elohim wants you to experience.
It’s yours to claim! Educate yourself with true freedom, health, life and relationship
with the True Creator behind it all! He’s waiting for you!
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you... thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
3 John 1:2
“...‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee.’”
Jeremiah 31:3
Copyright © 2017 by
Sheryle Cruse
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