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Photo Illustration by Chelsea Van Baalen/The Advocate
Eating Disorders:A secret that should not be kept
The Advocate
According to Mt. Hood Community College counselor Dawn Forrester although the issue with eating disorders has decreased it still exists on campus.
“We can’t get away from it,” said Forrester.
“There’s no competing with an airbrush,” Forrester said. “We’re faced with it everyday in the media.”
Forrester said even the body shape of Barbie is impossible to measure up to but the media portrayed Barbie’s figure as what women should look like.
Asked how prevalent the issue is on MHCC’s campus, Forrester said, “There was a time a couple of years ago when there was a big wave of students facing this issue.” She said it seemed as though the three counselors on staff at that time were getting at least one inquiry a day about eating disorders.
Eating disorders can affect men the same way they do women. “We are seeing more and more men with eating disorders,” said Forrester.
“As many as 10 million females and one million males in the United States are estimated to be battling eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia,” according to The BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network.
“Approximately 25 million more are struggling with binge eating disorder (compulsive eating disorder).”
According to the National Eating Disorders Association some disorders tend to be triggered by an event that is emotionally strenuous and more out of the person’s control, such as a death or loss of some kind.
“Triggers can be depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, sexual abuse, child abuse, issues of control,” said Forrester. “The one thing that they can control is what they put in their bodies.”
Health experts believe that people who develop anorexia (starvation) strive for perfection but underneath never feel as though they are good enough. They are generally good students, people pleasers, and avoid conflict.
Bulimia (binging and purging) usually affects people who are prone to depression, anxiety or impulsivity. They find it difficult to trust other people and maintain independence, causing them to rely on family.
Compulsive eating disorder (binge eating) usually affects people who grew up with parents who offered them food as a way to relieve their stress. They then look to food for comfort as an adult, using it as a coping mechanism. Half of these people are usually affected by depression as well.
Forrester said, “Eating disorders are very dangerous disorders, disorders that people can die from.”
Some of the major effects of anorexia are reduction in bone density, severe dehydration that can result in kidney failure, and low blood pressure that can result in heart failure.
Peptic ulcers, electrolyte imbalances that can lead to possible heart failure, pancreatitis, and possible rupture of the esophagus are all major effects of bulimia.
Overeating can cause high blood pressure, Type II diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease and heart disease.
Resources are available to anyone who thinks they know someone who is showing signs of an eating disorder, according to Forrester.
“We can do some initial assessments,” she said. “Quite often students who have eating disorders need to get specialized help and attention and we have community resources for that.”
The first step, according to Forrester, is to ask for help before you approach the subject with someone with a suspected disorder. “Start by coming in and talking to us. We can give them ways to start that conversation,” she said.
BACCHUS & GAMMA pamphlet titled “Understanding Eating Disorders” said that signs of anorexia can include obsessing about food intake and weight gain and engaging in secret behaviors. Loss of weight can cause physical changes like the person is always cold, disruption of the menstrual cycle and they start avoiding spending time with family and friends.
They said bulimia may be detected if a person talks incessantly about their weight and if they often go to the restroom after consuming food. People with bulimia may use laxatives, diuretics, or engage in intense exercise. They may have swollen glands, broken blood vessels, or tooth decay from excessive vomiting, and they might start getting involved in many different activities in an attempt to seek approval.
Often in secret, a person with compulsive overeating disorder will consume large amounts of food and will gain weight, leaving them feeling unattractive and unhappy according to the pamphlet.
Help available to students at MHCC include counselors in the Career Planning Center who can refer students to outside resources.
The Health and Wellness Resource Center has several pamphlets in the self-help station that cover topics ranging from social factors contributing to the development of an eating disorder to symptoms and treatments available.
“There is help out there,” Forrester said to the campus community. “If someone suspects they have a disorder or someone they know has a disorder, just come in and talk to us.”
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