Lift the veil of lies, myths
Letter to the Editor
This is Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Each year during this week, the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's campuses try to call to mind the prevelance and dangers of eating disorders to its students.
To many, eating disorders are a great mystery of our time. They perplex medical and psychological professionals, as well as the hundreds of victims that become afflicted each year. Eating disorders are probably the most misunderstood and the most dangerous psychological afflictions that exist.
America is overwhelmingly fixated on body image. We spend $33 billion a year on losing weight. And for those who fail on a diet this year, there will be over 30,000 new diet plans from which to choose next year.
So what makes an eating disorder? Many are quick to form an answer to this question, when the truth is: There is no answer. As America grows increasingly aware of violence toward women and children, we are easily misled to believe that eating disorders must stem from childhood abuse and trauma. (After confiding in someone once about my long-term battles with eating disorders, the response was, "Oh, were you molested?")
On the contrary, we do not know how eating disorders choose their victims. There is no significant link showing that genetics or upbringing can play a crucial role in the formation of eating disorders.
Contrary to popular belief, eating disorders are NOT mere vanity taken to an extreme. They are not about food. They are not about popularity. They are not about selfishness or self-promotion. Rather, they seem to grow under a severe lack of self-acceptance born of a different source, then embedded so deeply that it leads its victims a terrifying path of self-destruction.
Subconsciously, its victims are taking the most extreme measures possible to disappear and to completely melt away from themselves and from the society that places the pressure on young women to be virtually flawless. It's no wonder that eating disorders have the highest fatality rate of any other psychological disorder.
We cannot expect that eating disorders will eventually yield to medical science. Our society encourages us to believe that any illness can be remedied with a series of pills. Eating disorders require much more time and attention than that.
This week, I hope that all students will take the time to recognize the tragic impact of eating disorders. It is a game in which the participants are forced to play unwillingly, and the stakes are incredibly high — for victims are forced to barain with their own mortality. It is my hope that one day we will be able to lift the veils of lies and stereotypes that cover the perceived "myth" of eating disorders.
Lauren Jiloty
Sophomore
LeMans Hall
February 13, 2000
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 14, 2000
