There are many misconceptions about anorexia, and I highlight the ten most common myths in the list below. The information derives from my new book, 100 Questions and Answers about Anorexia Nervosa.
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#1: Myth: “Individuals with anorexia are just trying to get attention.”
Fact: People do not develop anorexia as a way to seek out attention. Although it is maladaptive, anorexia can sometimes serve as a person’s way to cope with something painful in his or her life.
#2: Myth: “Anorexia is about vanity. If a person with anorexia says, ‘I feel fat,’ it is just to get compliments.”
Fact: People with anorexia experience a real distortion in their body image. This is one of the symptoms of the illness. Often, a person with anorexia will view his or her body very differently than we view it. Described as looking in a “fun-house mirror,” the self-perceptions of people with anorexia are not an accurate reflection of their true body weight and shape.
#3: Myth: “People choose to have anorexia.”
Fact: People do not choose to have anorexia. Like other forms of eating disorders, it is a serious psychiatric illness.
#4: Myth: “Eating Disorders are primarily about food and weight.”
Fact: Anorexia and other eating disorders are not solely a problem with food. Behaviors such as food restriction, fasting, and purging are symptoms of underlying issues.
#5: Myth: “Anorexia is a rich, young, white girls’ problem.”
Fact: Research has shown that this is not true. A person with anorexia may be from any racial, ethnic, or economic background. Anorexia does not discriminate. It affects young and old, female and male.
#6: Myth: “People with anorexia do not engage in binge eating.”
Fact: People with anorexia may sometimes engage in binge eating. Binge episodes are often followed by an attempt to purge what has been consumed through the use of laxatives, vomiting, or excessive exercise.
#7: Myth: “A person cannot have anorexia if they eat three meals a day.”
Fact: Fasting is not the only means of food restriction. It may be that a person limits the types of food eaten or the amount of food eaten. For example, a person may eat a normal amount of food for several days and then follow this with severe calorie restriction. A related misconception is that people with anorexia do not eat junk food, only healthy food. This is not necessarily the case. In fact, people with anorexia may eat sugary foods in order to maintain their physical energy.
#8: Myth: “You cannot die from anorexia if you exercise to keep your heart and body strong.”
Fact: People with anorexia may believe this myth in an attempt to convince themselves that their illness is not serious. Some believe that taking vitamin supplements will protect their bodies from the effects of malnutrition or that they will not face health risks if they avoid certain well-publicized eating disorder behaviors. Yet the medical complications of starvation and malnutrition are real.
#9: Myth: “Anorexia is all about control.”
Fact: There is some truth to this statement, but it is important to clear up any misconceptions surrounding the idea of control and eating disorders. A person with anorexia may feel that he or she has been unable to effect change in certain aspects of life or may feel unable to control the unfolding of certain life events. He or she may instead attempt to control food intake as a way of having mastery over one area of life. For some patients, anorexia serves as a complex distraction from other painful, seemingly unmanageable feelings or events. A person with an eating disorder does not know of another way to cope, but most would change this if they could. Part of the recovery process is acquiring other, healthier ways of coping with life’s challenges.”
#10: Myth: “Anorexia is just a phase.”
Fact: Anorexia is never normal behavior. It is an eating disorder that needs serious attention.