https://www.newportacademy.

com/resources/mental-health/scary-truth-teen-eating-diso
rders/
In today's ever-connected society, many of our fears and problems have gotten worse.
For example, the trend of eating disorders and body dysmorphia in young girls has
gotten up. Nowadays, people see all the "perfect" bodies of people on social media,,
and it has led to eating disorders to be very common- primarily affecting young teenage
girls. Eating disorders are very dangerous to not only someone's health but also to their
life and can have irreversible damage on a person. Not only does it affect someone's
body, but it also affects them mentally as they see themselves as too fat or too skinny
even when they are not and/or do not need to change. However, the significant causes
of eating disorders aren't just a bad body image, but rather, symptoms of an underlying
mental disorder. Many scientists believe that controlling food intake becomes a form of
self-medication. It is a way for people to manage the pain and discomfort of underlying
issues such as depression, trauma, and anxiety. Because of the mental and physical
stress of an eating disorder coupled with the likely mental disorder, many will suffer from
anxiety disorders, irritability/sensitiveness, and even PTSD. Genetics due to hereditary
trend, irregular functioning of the brain, and a strive for perfectionism are all other
causes for eating disorders as well as a low self-esteem/body image. Like I mentioned
before, there are some terrible effects of eating disorders: they can cause further body
image problems, mental disorders, health issues, and even death. Eating disorders,
from all along the spectrum of not eating to never not eating, affect so much of our
population- truly the majority. Therefore, this is something that needs to be changed
and fixed. There needs to be a greater awareness and help for those who do struggle
with this. Too many times, people are shamed for their body disorders, which can make
them worse. The mainstream narrative of popular culture needs to change as it
supports such unhealthy habits and mindsets.