We All Fight Our Own Battles

There are things that are okay to make fun of, like the outrageous statements made by Donald Trump, or your least favorite sports team. There are things that are not okay to make fun of, and that list includes mental illnesses. Now you’re probably thinking, “who makes fun of people with mental illnesses?” Actually, quite a lot of people do, and that’s because some of these illnesses are thought to be “less serious” than others.

How can certain mental illnesses be determined as “less serious”, when they affect everyone differently? Depression, eating disorders, anxiety disorder, addiction, schizophrenia, OCD, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, dementia- these are only some from a long list- and many of them are joked around about or are glamorized in the media. For example: eating disorders. It’s honestly ridiculous when I go on Twitter or log into Tumblr and see things like “thinspo” or “eat less”. How is that even remotely good advice to give out to the public? When young girls and guys see these things, and yes, there ARE guys who are affected by eating disorders, pressure is put on them to look like the people in the photos. Ironically enough, even the people in the photos don’t even look like that in real life, either.

If you didn’t know this already: Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents. This means that this is an illness that has a tendency to recur throughout a person’s life. The other two most common chronic illnesses are heart disease and cancer. Doesn’t that mean that this illness should be taken more seriously?

From personal experience, yes. They SHOULD be taken more seriously. But they aren’t. I can remember times when I’d hear others making fun of people who don’t eat. How is that funny? It wasn’t funny for me when I’d look in the mirror and find a million things I’d want to change about myself. You may think that’s typical for a teenage girl to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. Throwing out your lunch because you “weren’t hungry” isn’t okay. And yet, 20 million women and 10 million men are stigmatized against for having this legitimate, problematic illness.

In ninth grade, I was in cross country in the fall, and that’s when it started. Running would make me nauseous and take away my appetite. So I didn’t eat much. I’d throw things away or give them to friends. I began to feel “fat” even though I was running upwards of six miles a day. Even if I ate, it definitely wasn’t enough calories recommended for kids my age at the time. But when I’d step on the scale, I’d notice that I was gaining weight. Instead of understanding that I had been building up muscle from cross country, I started to irrationally fear of becoming overweight.

About half of people with anorexia also deal with bulimia, which is purging food so you don’t absorb any of the fat or calories. I was in the half that wasn’t bulimic. I’m glad now that I never purged anything, but I definitely thought about it every once in awhile. Purging food can be extremely damaging to your esophagus and teeth, and can possibly lead to throat or esophageal cancer down the road.

Another thing that people don’t realize is that you don’t have to be underweight to have an eating disorder. Eating disorders are seen in people with rapid and dangerous weight loss, not necessarily just with those who are underweight. I was far from underweight, but due to not eating anything, my body wasn’t taking in nutrients. I was tired all of the time, very irritable, and felt faint consistently. Once cross country was over, that was when I truly started to lose a lot of weight. This went on for about another six months, my weight fluctuating from 135 pounds to 119 pounds, before one of my friends intervened and got me help.

Now, I can say that I have the occasional thought of “what if I didn’t eat this?”, but I know that if I went back to my old ways, I wouldn’t be able to do as much as I do now. I’ve got plans for college and I’m a part of the school musical. Those things mean more to me than looking “perfect”.

You’re probably reading this and thinking, “why didn’t’ you just eat something and get over it?”. I honestly wish it were that simple. People with depression can’t just “get happy”, people with anxiety can’t just “calm down”, do you get the idea? That’s why they’re called “mental illnesses”. These things aren’t some sort of phase. So the next time you make fun of or mock someone going through some things like these, realize that they may very well have a lot more going on than you think.