The social media beauty standards promoting inches and curves have caused a pretty sizeable societal buzz. With the idealization of flat tummies in women and muscle builds in men as the so-called “beautiful,” we see most people, particularly teenagers, develop eating disorders. Let us understand what it is through this blog.
1. What Is an Eating Disorder?
As the name suggests, an eating disorder is a disturbance in the normal eating habits of a person. Eating disorders are not just limited to how a person feels about food. These multifaceted mental health conditions can impact your relationships, academic or professional success, and life goals. So, it is important to identify the condition and seek out help.
2. What To Look Out For?
While there are many types of eating disorders, certain common signs could point you in the right direction:
* Are you concerned about eating in public or constantly trying to hide your plate from your friends?
* Notice yourself making stringent rules around food habits?
* Are you exercising more to compensate for that extra slice of pizza?
* Are you constantly finding your flaws in the mirror?
* Are you feeling low because you cannot seem to control your eating habits?
To add to your problems, your body may begin to act up. Expect dizziness, dehydration, and blood pressure fluctuations if you have been playing around with erratic diets and intense workouts.
3. You Have It; So, What Next?
Living with an eating disorder can be painful and difficult, but it is important to know you are not alone. Identifying whether you have the condition or not is the first step. With some good professional help, you can get your life back on track in no time.
4. What Should You Do?
* Understand that the beauty standards and views of society will keep changing with time. 20 years from now, people will probably hate our current beauty ideals, so stop wasting your breath, time, and peace of mind on them.
* Reality is different from photoshopped images. Those flawless images of models that you see in magazines and social media have gone through multiple levels of editing and tweaking. They are way too far from reality.
* You are beautiful just the way you are! Your body identifies you as you, and you are beautiful just the way you are. Can you imagine a world where everybody looked the same? We need those multicolored and different-sized toppings on the triangle-cut round pizza in a square box. True beauty lies in diversity.
* Seek help. While the above-mentioned are just minor steps to get you back on track, it is important to seek help. Talk to your family and friends, and get professional help.
The world can be a scary place to navigate with all these unreasonable standards of perfection. While exercising and maintaining a nutrient-rich diet to keep yourselves healthy is important, never forget that you embody beauty, whatever you look like.
