I have been hoarding articles to share with you, but I always want to add commentary, which requires time and a big enough screen to flip back and forth. I just came across this article today, but felt too urgently about it to put it in the archive with all the other links.
One of the things that caused a lot of anger at different points in my recovery was the fact that it took 25 years for me to be diagnosed and get help. Instead of being diagnosed with an eating disorder, I was “diagnosed” with obesity and all the *lazy slothiness* it presumably entails, but every time I was told to diet more, work harder, I became more cruel to myself, more rigid, more ashamed, more hopeless, and more sick. If even one of over a dozen doctors in various cities, states and countries had diagnosed these symptoms/”complaints”/diagnoses described in this article correctly, I could have saved myself years of struggle and my body years of abuse.
One of my long term goals, once I have the education to be taken seriously, is to educate doctors on eating disorders and how to identify and treat them, and more importantly, how not to make them worse.
In the meantime, this is a very thorough, well researched article about some of the misconceptions doctors have about eating disorders and some information you could use to (a) educate your own doctor, if you are already in treatment or recovery (I have a story about this for you one of these days) or (b) identify some of your own beliefs and objections and recognize that, in spite of what your doctor says, you might have an eating disorder.
Quick disclaimer though, I don’t agree with point 3. Some of us DO have an issue with binges and sometimes they have more to do with blocking feelings and numbing out than with not being sufficiently nourished. Also, while a lot of this article fit for me personally, the finer details can and absolutely do definitely vary among individuals.
Recovering Girl 