Trapped by eating disorders

A 15-year-old, 5-foot-4, 112-pound girl places her hands down on her bathroom sink. She takes a deep breath and stares into the mirror; her eyes look tired and worn-out. She begins to count: 10,9,8,7…and then it is all over. Everything she ate for lunch is gone, swirling down the drain. She breathes in, looks at herself again in the mirror feeling relieved and then disgusted. \nWalking into her bedroom, she turns off the light and sits in darkness until she falls asleep. Hours later at tennis practice, her body is aching; she feels hunger pains shoot through her stomach as she finishes her last sprint. The older girls on the team go on about how fit her body is. They wish they had her legs, they say. She feels good and smiles to herself. If only they knew what it took for her to achieve such a tiny figure.\nI knew this girl in high school; in fact we were very close. She was independent and athletic and had everything going for her until she took things too far. She was the kind of girl you'd never suspect to fall victim to an eating disorder; it didn't make sense. But for two years of her life she battled bulimia and struggled to regain a sense of who she was.\nShe isolated herself from friends and pushed her family away. She'd run away for days at a time and deny to her parents that she had any sort of problem. \nThis is Eating Disorder Awareness week. Women fall into the traps of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa every day. For some, it may begin in high school -- for others, in college. Regardless, both diseases are life-threatening disorders that will mentally and physically destroy a person until there is nothing left.\nOver the years I have heard different stories about women on this campus battling eating disorders. Many women will look down upon other women who have eating disorders, often times using these women as the topic of conversation -- gossiping and spreading rumors. Some women, well aware a roommate or friend is not eating, or instead bingeing and throwing up, will simply ignore the behavior. Countless stories of women in sororities throwing up in the showers and bathrooms are left alone. I have heard people admit they were well aware someone had an eating disorder but that it wasn't their problem.\nBut for those of you unaware, eating disorders rarely have anything to do with eating and food itself. The majority of people with eating disorders do not think they are beautiful -- inside or out. They don't even think they are skinny. Most women will hide underneath baggy clothes, isolate themselves from their peers and become overwhelmed with feelings of worthlessness.\nIf you know someone with an eating disorder or even if you may suspect there is a problem, don't look away. The problem will never just disappear. The worst thing a person can do is not get involved. \nTrying to have the perfect body, obsessing about your weight and constantly monitoring what you eat is no way to live your life. So many pleasurable things in life are lost when a person is sucked into the idea that being skinny is being happy.\nFree screenings and referral information for eating disorders will be held this Thursday at Ballantine Hall and the Education Building Atrium from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and at the SRSC lobby from 4:30 to 7 p.m.