Eating disorders are complicated, intricate mental illnesses that have, for a long time now, been overlooked at by society as a whole and the healthcare industry. Due to the lack of awareness, eating disorders often receive stigma and discrimination that lead to problems of it being difficult for patients to receive proper and adequate treatment which is why, as a society, we should make it a priority to educate ourselves and others about eating disorders and what they really are. Many people perceive eating disorders as a physical illness and believe that’s how they should be treated when really, eating disorders are caused by a mental and psychological problem. This is a problem because such perceptions cause those who suffer from an eating disorder to restrain from seeking treatment or even cause it to be almost impossible to find proper treatment.  It’s a sad and intense problem that, unfortunately, is not getting better and in some ways is even growing to be worse. 

Eating disorders are a nasty mental illness that can and do affect anyone regardless of age, sex, wealth, or race. They do not discriminate and, even more scary, are not easily able to be spotted and acknowledged. Eating disorders are so hard to recognize because not all symptoms and cases are the same and most often, the patient who suffers from an eating disorder often can’t recognize that they are sick and need help. The main types of eating disorders that people suffer from are anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Anorexia is when someone controls the amount of food they consume to an extreme extent. Bulimia Nervosa is when someone consumes a large amount of food in a short amount of time followed me purging whether it’s through forced vomiting, laxatives, or fasting. Bing Eating disorder is when someone binges on a large amount of food and this happens often. While eating disorders harm the body in many physical ways, eating disorders are caused by mental issues whether it’s genetics, temperament, biology, trauma, lack of coping skills, sociocultural ideals, insecurity or depression and many other factors that could be a cause. Unfortunately, most people associate eating disorders with a physical illness and often time with vanity because of the publics lack of knowledge on the topic. Because of this, patients tend to refrain from seeking treatment to avoid this discrimination from society. It is proven by statistics from the United States National Institute on Mental Health that only one in ten people who suffer from an eating disorder will receive treatment. This is a problem because, more often than not, if a patient doesn’t recover from their eating disorder, they can and often will die from the illness. 

A huge misconception that people have in mind regarding eating disorders is that in order for someone to be seriously ill to the point where they need treatment, society and even health care professionals believe that someone has to be a certain weight.  While being underweight is one of the most common side effects of eating disorders, the issues of an eating disorder are present long before a person even gets to that point. This issue is most evident in the cases of insurance companies denying coverage because a client wasn’t at a deadly weight. Anna Maltby of Cosmopolitan proficiently addresses the problem when she says, “Creepier still, you could be denied coverage if you aren’t dangerously thin, often designated as less than 85 percent of healthy weight for your height. There is nothing more invalidating than being told you’re not ill enough to merit care. But even if a woman is emaciated, simply focusing on the number on the scale misses the point.” This is important because it is proven that those who seek treatment of an eating disorder earlier rather than later, more often than not, recover more efficiently from their eating disorder. What’s also horrific to think about is the fact that you don’t see or hear about healthcare providers or insurance companies waiting until someone with cancer is almost on their death bed to start providing them with treatment. A widely seen pattern in eating disorder patients is the trouble they have with admitting they have a problem in the first place and even then the lack of motivation they have to seek treatment. Greta Noordenbos explains the concept well when she says, “It is very difficult to give up the eating habits, because patients feel scared of losing their self-respect, identity and control. The fear of change is often greater than the motivation to improve.” Now telling them when they want to recover and want to get better that they’re not ‘sick enough’ or don’t need the treatment badly enough is the worst thing that could be done in that situation. That’s the frustrating part about mental illnesses, specifically eating disorders, in society. They are looked upon with such little respect and importance while they are just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than physical illnesses are.

 Another problem that eating disorder stigma causes is the lack of quality in treatment. When treating an eating disorder many believe, including healthcare professionals, that once a person has reached a certain weight that they are cured when really treatment should be focused on the underlying factors that are caused psychologically. In the article ‘What Recovery From an Eating Disorder Is Really Like,’ Noreena Sondhi Lewis’ own experience with eating disorders and recovery is useful to support this argument when she says “Many people will assume that because you look “better” you are better. When, in fact, this is terribly incorrect. The worst part of an eating disorder is, by far, the aftermath.” Recovery of eating disorders should not be rushed or measured, it shouldn’t about getting the patient healthy as fast as possible but more about bringing them to a full recovery where all underlying factors are acknowledged and treated. If treatment is only about getting the patient back to a healthy weight but the psychological factors that caused the eating disorder in the first place are still present, then it would only make sense for there to be a relapse since the actual problem was never resolved. ”For full recovery, it is not only necessary that food intake and weight be normalized but also that patients become less obsessed by food and weight and are able to eat without counting calories or fearing weight increase.” Greta Noordenbos’ quote in her book ‘Recovery from Eating Disorders: A Guide for Clinicians and Their Clients’ covers one of the many underlying factors that could be present and needs to be addressed in someone that suffers from an eating disorders. Not only does society lack the correct knowledge of eating disorders but so do many healthcare institutes and professionals. 

Accessing treatment or receiving effective treatment aren’t the only obstacles in eating disorder recoveries, the approach that health care professionals take towards treatment are also a problem. This isn’t true for every company or professional, but it is more common in the field of eating disorders compared to many others. Maltby proves this with her facts in Cosmopolitan, “But specialists and treatment centers are in rare supply. Eight states have just one ED treatment center. Twelve have none at all.” It’s not only society that needs to be informed more efficiently about eating disorders but also those that are providing treatment for them, whether it’s a company, hospital or doctor directly. While eating disorders are mental illnesses, all mental illnesses have different factors and parts about them which is why there should be and it is important for there to be specific training for all different types of mental illnesses. Eating disorders are not an illness where every patient can be or even should be treated the same, each person’s situation is unique and should be approached and treated as such. Walden Behavioral Care’s Stuart Koman make a good point when he quotes “Different people respond differently to treatment and are at differing levels of recovery – so who’s to say that a 30-day program is needed for all patients?  It may result in over-treatment for some and under-treatment for others.” Not all eating disorder patients are going to have the same cause for their illness, causes could be as different as a genetic factor to someone who was sexually abused as a child. Recoveries for eating disorders should have no one way of being defined and should assuredly not being limited to a certain set of standards or specifications. To treat every patient the same is wrong and is not going to be beneficial to the patient and could be just as productive as completely ignoring the problem. 

It’s very evident that the stigma and discrimination that eating disorders receive cause more problems and issues than that of themselves. Finding healthcare, the quality of healthcare and the effectiveness of treatment are all of the biggest issues that the stigma causes and it’s dangerous and scary for those who suffer from an eating disorder or for people who have a loved one that suffer from an eating disorder. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses and it’s undoubtedly related to the stigma and discrimination. While most mental illnesses do receive some sort of injustice, it’s a little different in eating disorders in the way that many times society believes that eating disorders can be controlled and are a ‘choice’. In working to decrease and eliminate such stigma or discrimination, we as a society and as a healthcare field need to work to be more educated and aware of eating disorders. People know so much about physical illnesses such as cancer or diabetes when eating disorders are just as common. It’s a matter of what information is out there and the way it is presented, it’s an easier solution than is thought of. It’s not necessary that everyone is an expert on the subject but to at least take consideration to learn about them to erase the wrong and hurtful perceptions that are present. It’s also important that when the information is presented and put out there, it’s correct and not in a degrading manner. Media is a huge factor in the wrong perceptions there are about eating disorders. For those that decide to take part in bringing awareness to eating disorders, it’s important that they know what they’re talking about and don’t express any wrong information. As far as the healthcare industry, it should be a focus and a priority for more access to treatment  and more efficient training and educating in just exactly how to treat an eating disorder. There should be as many professionals specialized in eating disorders as there are for depression or anxiety disorders, because often eating disorders go hand in hand with illnesses as such. Regardless, this is a problem that needs to be amended and taken into serious matters, the consequences and effects of eating disorders are too high and too severe to not. 
