Social Impact Initiative

Do you want to know what is it like to deal with eating disorders? Then read this interview. We talked to a 22-year old sales school student who enjoys playing in cuddling with animals (any kind, any time), watching series and drawing. Her struggle with eating disorders started in 2012, when she was 15. After 7 years her condition is much better, although her battle is not completely over, yet. According to the American Psychological Association (2017) eating disorders are characterised by severe disturbances in eating behaviours and related thoughts and emotions. People with eating disorders typically become pre-occupied with food and their body weight. Keep reading if you are interested in her answers. How would you describe your mental disorder? It’s sometimes like you don’t want to eat although your body needs the food, other times it’s like you know you have to eat but your body doesn’t let you. For every meal you struggle and fight before, after and/or in betwee...

Why do I not like my body? This is one of the questions that someone with body dissatisfaction could ask themselves. Sometimes it is not the whole body, but those parts of me that ... I wish! I wish they were a little thinner, more defined, larger or smaller, somewhat less wrinkled or without these ugly spots! We know that body dissatisfaction, understood as "a concern that produces discomfort towards some imaginary or extreme defect of   physical appearance "(1), is a risk factor for   developing and maintaining an eating disorder(anorexia and bulimia, mainly) (2). But almost all of us have something in our bodies that we would like to change, not just those who suffer from clinical problems. Why? People internalise the ideals of beauty that society transmits to us and we compare that with our own appearance. As long the way we perceive ourselves does not fit the ideal of beauty we will be dissatisfied with our bodies (3). The role of social media. ...