to the media

How the Media can influence sufferers:
I developed an eating disorder when I was 11. I had eating distress far before then but the symptoms and behaviour started at that age. I was so negative, hated myself so much and had no sense of who I was that deciding to starve was not difficult for me. I wanted to punish myself and it was a way of dealing with the negative thoughts that bombarded me constantly throughout the day. The media was not to blame for me developing my eating distress, however, it has to be acknowledged that the media has not helped me to overcome my condition but hindered it in some aspects. The media is a powerful tool that can aid greatly in spreading awareness of conditions like eating distress but in my eyes it has failed to do this. In fact, for the most part it has helped to spread misconceptions of the condition and hindered sufferers to be open and seek necessary help.

In my early years of starvation I had my own goal and that was to lose more and more weight. I was also in complete denial that my illness was life threatening or had any meaning apart from losing weight. The teenage magazines I picked up often had dietary facts on how to lose weight but I felt I was in a league of my own, I didn't need tips. On the odd occasion I'd read a story about a sufferers battle with an eating disorder and I'd know deep down that I shared many behaviours with these people. Sometimes, however, I'd look at weights printed on magazines with stories of sufferers and feel I had to be at that weight or lower to ensure that I was worthy of help. I felt I had to fit a certain criteria (that set by the magazine) before help was sought. It was only when I got help in my mid-teens and was made put up weight in a short space of time did I recollect the stories I had read throughout the years. I was gaining weight rapidly and was desperate to lose and be the way I had been. I knew that personal stories in magazines often shared intimate details of how weight loss was achieved. Before I had scorned these methods but now unable to get away with the methods I had used I scoured through magazines looking for personal stories that provided tips in losing weight. I knew what my triggers were and magazines were only too glad to publish them. Photos of sufferers at low weights triggered me into wanting to be underweight again, not just thin but abnormally underweight. When lowest weights were printed it made me want to be thinner than that weight, it also made me think that unless I was at that weight I couldn't seek help. At this stage I was at a normal weight and the medical profession who I had encountered saw me as recovered. I on the other hand was desperately unhappy and knew deep down I was not recovered. This was my way of voicing my distress. I decided that the only way I'd get proper treatment was to be at an abnormally low weight again.

Bulimic traits did not come naturally to me, in fact my childhood fear was getting sick. I had never heard of using this method to lose weight but read it first on a teenage magazine at a time when I had just been forced to gain weight rapidly. I was willing to do anything to lose weight. The sufferer detailed how she did it and how she hid it from family and friends. Reading that article snowballed a behaviour that quickly became a cycle that my negative mind just didn't want me to escape from. It was an effective punishment for a person I hated so much, that being myself. It has lead to enormous stress, years of hell and torment and ironically it has never served its primary purpose to lose weight. Buying magazines with articles on eating disorders has become a habit over the years. I always hoped that something would trigger me into just starving again rather than staying in that bulimic rollercoaster. In addition, magazines with eating disorder stories have offered me empathy throughout the years. Eating Distress is a very lonely illness. Before you seek help you wonder if you are the only person who suffers like that. The articles make you realise that you are not alone. They offer empathy even if many serve to trigger you further. In my case I continued buying them for their triggering ability and their empathy. Many people in the medical profession still see weight as the prime focus of treatment. I received inadequate help for many years. I came across people who had no belief in me and who didn't believe full recovery was possible. I often turned to magazines for understanding hoping that they could answer questions that the medical profession couldn't seem to.

Today I want to recover and for the past year and ten months I've been trying my hardest to recover. I am receiving help from people who do understand the condition, who believe in me and who know that the behaviours are merely symptoms of a negative condition that is deep rooted in me but one that can be altered. Gradually I am breaking down a condition that has ruled my life for many years. I am learning to change my negative perception of the world and myself. However, I find that trying to accept my body and to learn what my values are is extremely difficult when I am constantly bombarded with articles that fuel our weight obsessed society. I tell myself everyday that I have a natural body shape that is unique to me and that I must eat a balanced diet to achieve health. This belief is hard to hold onto when I read a magazine that insinuates one has to be a certain shape to be successful. They tell us how one has to avoid certain foods to lose weight and be that acceptable achievable (disregarding the fact that all bodies are different and will never achieve it due to nature) weight. Newspapers, magazine articles, TV inform us on a daily basis that being the way you were born is just not acceptable. I feel like I'm not just fighting my eating distress but the world and its values also. Believe me it's a burden and makes recovery a slower process in my opinion.

Overall I'd have to say the media was very influential in the progression of my illness. Many times articles fuelled my behaviour. The media holds an important position in society, what we read is often taken as truth. It is important that what is written does not feed into the self-destruction of others.

Eating distress is a life-threatening illness, it holds no mercy it can affect anyone at any age. It can kill. To write about it one has to decide is the article being written to gain readership by sensationalising and shocking or is the article to be written to spread awareness about the condition. The former is irresponsible writing and journalists should be aware that what they write has strong impact on sufferers and may lead to their further deterioration. An article written to spread awareness should allow the sufferer to identify with the article and be given information that will allow them to receive adequate help and support for their journey to full recovery.

To avoid triggering sufferers:

* Articles should not contain any numbers i.e. weights, number of binges etc.

* Articles should not stereotype sufferers. Many articles contain photos of young women who are very much underweight. A sufferer can be of any weight, any age and any gender. Photos only act to stereotype sufferers and make them feel that they have to fit into a certain criteria to have eating distress.

* Articles should not detail destructive methods used to lose weight as these may act as tips and be used by sufferers who read the article.

* Articles should always have a positive message to conclude with. Full recovery is possible and many personal stories because people still struggling with the illness write them fail to mention that full recovery is possible. This leaves the reader feeling hopeless, thinking that life is futile.

* Articles should always have a contact where help and information on the condition can be sought.

* Articles should not focus mainly on food and behaviours, as these are only symptoms of the illness.

* Articles should not sensationalise the problem of eating distress. Often titles and introductions of articles on eating distress list famous people who suffer from eating distress to gain the attention of readers. Anyone can suffer from eating distress, you don't have to be under the spotlight to develop this problem. Most of the time sufferers hide it and keep it as their secret afraid to come out about it as the general public don't understand it. Many people because of this sensationalism see it as something that afflicts those who are under pressure to look a certain way. It is not about food or image it is about the persons' negative perception of themselves and the world around them.

* Articles should not focus on one behaviour such as anorexia as it excludes a large portion of the population who suffer from eating distress. Articles should also mention that behaviours like bulimia, overeating, over exercising, depression are all examples of other symptoms of the same condition. These are all external responses to how the person feels about themselves and their lives.

For a better understanding of this condition please read "What is Eating Distress?"
Please remember that the media often influence societies understanding of issues. Misconceptions spread about eating distress make it harder for sufferers to be honest about their condition as they fear misunderstanding. Misunderstanding is a result of misinformation.

	to the media
	who we are \| our goals \| get your voice heard \| newsboard \| to the media \| sample letters and on-line complaint form \| positive articles/ads \| the teen scene \| 2005 Eating Distress Conference \| links \| contact us \| sign our guestbook

To the media...... "Nothing is to be feared but to be understood" Marie Curie was correct in what she said. Many of the medical profession along with the media in my experience do not know how to handle the subject of eating distress, they do not understand it. The media continue to make the mistake of publishing articles and of documenting TV programs that centre on food and the medical consequences of eating distress behaviour. While many of the medical profession still believe that reaching a healthy target weight is the main goal of a treatment program. Their psychological intervention revolves around finding the cause and then maintaining a certain level of normality (without ever changing the perception of the individual) with the prospect of relapse being high but expected. Their main focus still remains on the sufferers' food intake and behaviours. Some do not have a belief that full recovery is possible at all! The fact is full recovery is possible and everyone can achieve it. In addition, food is not the problem but a symptom of the problem and so should not be the centre focus of any article or documentary on the subject of eating distress.
		How the Media can influence sufferers: I developed an eating disorder when I was 11. I had eating distress far before then but the symptoms and behaviour started at that age. I was so negative, hated myself so much and had no sense of who I was that deciding to starve was not difficult for me. I wanted to punish myself and it was a way of dealing with the negative thoughts that bombarded me constantly throughout the day. The media was not to blame for me developing my eating distress, however, it has to be acknowledged that the media has not helped me to overcome my condition but hindered it in some aspects. The media is a powerful tool that can aid greatly in spreading awareness of conditions like eating distress but in my eyes it has failed to do this. In fact, for the most part it has helped to spread misconceptions of the condition and hindered sufferers to be open and seek necessary help. In my early years of starvation I had my own goal and that was to lose more and more weight. I was also in complete denial that my illness was life threatening or had any meaning apart from losing weight. The teenage magazines I picked up often had dietary facts on how to lose weight but I felt I was in a league of my own, I didn't need tips. On the odd occasion I'd read a story about a sufferers battle with an eating disorder and I'd know deep down that I shared many behaviours with these people. Sometimes, however, I'd look at weights printed on magazines with stories of sufferers and feel I had to be at that weight or lower to ensure that I was worthy of help. I felt I had to fit a certain criteria (that set by the magazine) before help was sought. It was only when I got help in my mid-teens and was made put up weight in a short space of time did I recollect the stories I had read throughout the years. I was gaining weight rapidly and was desperate to lose and be the way I had been. I knew that personal stories in magazines often shared intimate details of how weight loss was achieved. Before I had scorned these methods but now unable to get away with the methods I had used I scoured through magazines looking for personal stories that provided tips in losing weight. I knew what my triggers were and magazines were only too glad to publish them. Photos of sufferers at low weights triggered me into wanting to be underweight again, not just thin but abnormally underweight. When lowest weights were printed it made me want to be thinner than that weight, it also made me think that unless I was at that weight I couldn't seek help. At this stage I was at a normal weight and the medical profession who I had encountered saw me as recovered. I on the other hand was desperately unhappy and knew deep down I was not recovered. This was my way of voicing my distress. I decided that the only way I'd get proper treatment was to be at an abnormally low weight again. Bulimic traits did not come naturally to me, in fact my childhood fear was getting sick. I had never heard of using this method to lose weight but read it first on a teenage magazine at a time when I had just been forced to gain weight rapidly. I was willing to do anything to lose weight. The sufferer detailed how she did it and how she hid it from family and friends. Reading that article snowballed a behaviour that quickly became a cycle that my negative mind just didn't want me to escape from. It was an effective punishment for a person I hated so much, that being myself. It has lead to enormous stress, years of hell and torment and ironically it has never served its primary purpose to lose weight. Buying magazines with articles on eating disorders has become a habit over the years. I always hoped that something would trigger me into just starving again rather than staying in that bulimic rollercoaster. In addition, magazines with eating disorder stories have offered me empathy throughout the years. Eating Distress is a very lonely illness. Before you seek help you wonder if you are the only person who suffers like that. The articles make you realise that you are not alone. They offer empathy even if many serve to trigger you further. In my case I continued buying them for their triggering ability and their empathy. Many people in the medical profession still see weight as the prime focus of treatment. I received inadequate help for many years. I came across people who had no belief in me and who didn't believe full recovery was possible. I often turned to magazines for understanding hoping that they could answer questions that the medical profession couldn't seem to. Today I want to recover and for the past year and ten months I've been trying my hardest to recover. I am receiving help from people who do understand the condition, who believe in me and who know that the behaviours are merely symptoms of a negative condition that is deep rooted in me but one that can be altered. Gradually I am breaking down a condition that has ruled my life for many years. I am learning to change my negative perception of the world and myself. However, I find that trying to accept my body and to learn what my values are is extremely difficult when I am constantly bombarded with articles that fuel our weight obsessed society. I tell myself everyday that I have a natural body shape that is unique to me and that I must eat a balanced diet to achieve health. This belief is hard to hold onto when I read a magazine that insinuates one has to be a certain shape to be successful. They tell us how one has to avoid certain foods to lose weight and be that acceptable achievable (disregarding the fact that all bodies are different and will never achieve it due to nature) weight. Newspapers, magazine articles, TV inform us on a daily basis that being the way you were born is just not acceptable. I feel like I'm not just fighting my eating distress but the world and its values also. Believe me it's a burden and makes recovery a slower process in my opinion. Overall I'd have to say the media was very influential in the progression of my illness. Many times articles fuelled my behaviour. The media holds an important position in society, what we read is often taken as truth. It is important that what is written does not feed into the self-destruction of others. Eating distress is a life-threatening illness, it holds no mercy it can affect anyone at any age. It can kill. To write about it one has to decide is the article being written to gain readership by sensationalising and shocking or is the article to be written to spread awareness about the condition. The former is irresponsible writing and journalists should be aware that what they write has strong impact on sufferers and may lead to their further deterioration. An article written to spread awareness should allow the sufferer to identify with the article and be given information that will allow them to receive adequate help and support for their journey to full recovery. To avoid triggering sufferers: * Articles should not contain any numbers i.e. weights, number of binges etc. * Articles should not stereotype sufferers. Many articles contain photos of young women who are very much underweight. A sufferer can be of any weight, any age and any gender. Photos only act to stereotype sufferers and make them feel that they have to fit into a certain criteria to have eating distress. * Articles should not detail destructive methods used to lose weight as these may act as tips and be used by sufferers who read the article. * Articles should always have a positive message to conclude with. Full recovery is possible and many personal stories because people still struggling with the illness write them fail to mention that full recovery is possible. This leaves the reader feeling hopeless, thinking that life is futile. * Articles should always have a contact where help and information on the condition can be sought. * Articles should not focus mainly on food and behaviours, as these are only symptoms of the illness. * Articles should not sensationalise the problem of eating distress. Often titles and introductions of articles on eating distress list famous people who suffer from eating distress to gain the attention of readers. Anyone can suffer from eating distress, you don't have to be under the spotlight to develop this problem. Most of the time sufferers hide it and keep it as their secret afraid to come out about it as the general public don't understand it. Many people because of this sensationalism see it as something that afflicts those who are under pressure to look a certain way. It is not about food or image it is about the persons' negative perception of themselves and the world around them. * Articles should not focus on one behaviour such as anorexia as it excludes a large portion of the population who suffer from eating distress. Articles should also mention that behaviours like bulimia, overeating, over exercising, depression are all examples of other symptoms of the same condition. These are all external responses to how the person feels about themselves and their lives. For a better understanding of this condition please read "What is Eating Distress?" Please remember that the media often influence societies understanding of issues. Misconceptions spread about eating distress make it harder for sufferers to be honest about their condition as they fear misunderstanding. Misunderstanding is a result of misinformation.
What is Eating Distress? Eating Distress is a condition whereby the negative mind becomes more powerful than the positive mind as a result of the person culminating all of the negative assumptions about him or herself. This leads to the negative mind having more influence on the person's thinking, feeling and behaviour. The behaviour can take many forms e.g Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating disorders and eating disorders not otherwise specified but basically they are different manifestations of one basic condition. This state of mind develops subconsciously and the person is not always aware that they are victims of this negative condition. Sufferers have no sense of self and therefore this condition is extremely abusive and manifests itself with high destructive symptoms in which an eating disorder is one. People suffering from Eating Distress have difficulty with the simple act of eating when hungry and stopping when they are full. The condition takes over the control of their food intake. Often it can be recognisable by an unhealthy obsession with food and body, which comes to occupy centre stage in the sufferer's life. Food becomes the most important relationship-but it is never a happy one or an easy one. Slowly and surely everything is eventually excluded while thoughts constantly centre on food or the body. Eating Distress is not a problem: it is a solution of other underlining issues. It is a way of communication with inner unhappiness. Controlling the body is a way of controlling life. Control is the centre of the sufferer's life. ED is very preoccupying. That is the function of the disease. It occupies the mind fully and excludes other issues. It is a cushion against painful reality. ED is a symptom of how the person relates to the world. Obsessive thinking about food is only a lonely substitute. ED is a very private disease and is usually not brought voluntary to the attention of health professionals. A person with Eating Distress wants to be trusted, wants to be liked, and wants to communicate. But, like many people he or she is afraid. ED is their language and their solution to the problems in their lives. It is a connection between eating, emotions, and state of mind. No single personality type has so far been associated with ED. But statistics show that sensitive and vulnerable people are more susceptible. A person suffering from Eating Distress relies more than most on other peoples' opinions of himself or herself. The ED person is terrified of criticism. It means that others do not approve of something that the sufferer did or said. Very often it is taken as a personal judgement. The ED victims are not only in need of approval from others, but inside they are "hungry" for care and affection as well. Despite the feeling of dependency, people with an ED don't want to rely on or need other people. Feeling dependent or needy leaves them feeling week or like a failure, and it is avoided at all costs. For some people there is an intense fear that others will be overwhelmed by their needs and leave them, or stop loving them. To avoid this they try to be perfect inside and out. The strain is enormous. They feel that to be loved, they need to be perfect. People with ED want to be like everybody else. However, they find it much more difficult to be aware of their needs and feelings. They do not feel their worth as a person. They struggle to make sense and express their feelings about their life.