Breaking the Bias in Eating Disorder Recovery
Biases are barriers.
One of the biggest obstacles that people living with an eating disorder face when trying to explain to loved ones that they have an eating disorder, admitting to themselves that they have an eating disorder, or receiving treatment, is bias. Eating disorders carry stereotypes that are difficult to dismantle. When I first told my boyfriend that I struggled with Anorexia in the past, he asked “Why? You look cute to me”
The simplest explanation – wanting to look better – tends to be the explanation people resort to when trying to understand restrictive eating disorders in particular.
How could he have possibly known that my eating disorder stemmed from emetophobia and OCD? It’s not his fault. News outlets frequently attribute the prevalence of eating disorders in adolescents to social media. Celebrities who lose weight drastically are met with celebration, not concern.
The complex and often interconnected reasons behind eating disorders are not easy to grasp, and vary significantly between people diagnosed with an eating disorder.
Thus, many rely on stereotypes to comprehend why someone would develop this kind of disorder.
Internalised bias…hello ‘imposter syndrome’
Although bias from others impinges on eating disorder recovery, a much more challenging barrier to knock down is internalised bias. Having an eating disorder is like having a form of imposter syndrome. People living with an eating disorder often believe they do not have a problem, and that they therefore do not require treatment. Hence, the first step in eating disorder recovery is acknowledging that something is wrong.
What’s more, associated conditions like body dysmorphia incline people with eating disorders to feel even more undeserving of help. This kind of bias is difficult to overcome because the person with the disorder cannot physically see the problem. A helpful way to combat internalised bias is to focus on how your body feels, not how it looks. Even if you cannot see your body the way that others do, you can feel that something is wrong.
Eating disorders wreak all kinds of havoc within the body. Fatigue, nausea, and brain fog are just a few. If you can identify more than one of these symptoms, and if they have become a persistent problem, recovery is the solution.
Bias within the healthcare system
The third and perhaps most harmful form of bias that people living with eating disorders face is bias within the healthcare system. Despite depictions in the media of eating disorder patients as emaciated, most people who struggle with an eating disorder are not underweight. This form of bias is a serious barrier to recovery, as some people dealing with an eating disorder are denied treatment based on weight and other physical determinants alone.
People battling an eating disorder may also avoid seeking treatment altogether because they do not meet these physical requirements. Moreover, the intermingling of patients with different eating disorders in treatment centres can enhance biases-both internalised and social. For example, treatment and meal plans for patients with restrictive eating disorders differ to patients with Binge Eating Disorder, yet they are required to sit and eat together at mealtimes at eating disorder clinics.
Biases are never easy to dismantle because they come to us so naturally. It takes a conscious effort to identify and challenge them. Don’t let bias be a barrier to your recovery. Break the bias.
Written by Natalie Semaan
Reviewed 24th February 2022
