by: K.S. Ellis
We have long recognized drug and alcohol addictions as major players in Hollywood. What was once covered up by studio machines now gets constant updates on Twitter. Word meanings have mutated: just google "winning," and you get a disturbing video as the second hit, not an inspirational message of someone actually winning something.
Just like addictions swept under the yellow brick road, eating disorders have long been masked behind a person being "naturally thin" or a "food aficionado." What we have come to understand is that the problems have always been there; they just weren't recognized. We now can identify that Audrey Hepburn herself, ranked the third greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute, most likely suffered from anorexia. She wasn't eating much breakfast at Tiffany's, or anywhere else for that matter. Millions of women, myself included, have admired and judged themselves against a woman battling herself. When she put on weight during a break from the lead role in 'Gigi' the Broadway show, Audrey's producer said, "Don't forget we hired you for your bones." She was only 115 pounds, up from 103. She did not disappoint him, and never again went above 103 pounds. She was 5'7".
Sadly, this appalling demand is put on women and men in Hollywood every day. Demi Lovato, of Disney fame, is just the latest celebrity to show great courage by stepping forward and admitting she suffers from an eating disorder. Alanis Morisette, Katharine McPhee and Janet Jackson are only a few of the celebrities who have admitted to their own battles with food. Coming forward is painful for anyone, and it takes special strength for an eighteen year-old in the spotlight to do just that. Demi says in Seventeen magazine: "I will deal with it for the rest of my life because it's a life-long disease. I don't think there's going to be a day when I don't think about my food or my body, but I'm living with it. I wish I could tell young girls to find their safe place and stay with it." The truth, and the good news, is that with recovery, the day might come when she does not think about it; and by stating her truth, she is helping countless teenagers out there face their own.
Ms. Hepburn endured WWII in The Netherlands and once said, "I guess I began to resent food around this time. That's a strange thing to say about food -'I resent it.' You eat it, don't eat it, like it, dislike it. But resent it?" She took that resentment and ran with it, 'mastering food' and enforcing a great drive to not end up overweight like her mother. Does she sound so different from average sufferers today?
Trauma, reaction to family structure, career pressures, and misguided idolism play powerful roles in eating disorders.
The history is astounding: it goes back way before Karen Carpenter tragically died of cardiotoxicity and grabbed the world's attention. In fact, Catherine of Siena (1347-80), who was considered a saint, controlled her food intake considerably and viewed yielding to food a sin, as described in an important article:
History of Eating Disorders
Anorexia is far from the only eating disorder. There is bulimia, purging, binge eating, rumination (or regurgitation), and diabulimia, characterized by the deliberate manipulation of insulin levels by diabetics. They are finally getting the research and exposure needed to help people. A recent study conducted at Yale University and published in Archives of General Psychiatry surmises that "people who report symptoms of addictive-like eating behavior appear to show the same pattern of brain activity as we would see in other addictions."
I want to take winning back. Winning is defined as 'succeeding by striving or effort.' Put in the work, and anything is possible. The real message is this: we can all win, given the help it takes to get there.
La Ventana Treatment
In memory of a talented young woman taken from us way too soon, I would like to share a video of Karen Carpenter, in the hope that we all get the help we need.
We've Only Just Begun
Blessings
We have long recognized drug and alcohol addictions as major players in Hollywood. What was once covered up by studio machines now gets constant updates on Twitter. Word meanings have mutated: just google "winning," and you get a disturbing video as the second hit, not an inspirational message of someone actually winning something.
Just like addictions swept under the yellow brick road, eating disorders have long been masked behind a person being "naturally thin" or a "food aficionado." What we have come to understand is that the problems have always been there; they just weren't recognized. We now can identify that Audrey Hepburn herself, ranked the third greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute, most likely suffered from anorexia. She wasn't eating much breakfast at Tiffany's, or anywhere else for that matter. Millions of women, myself included, have admired and judged themselves against a woman battling herself. When she put on weight during a break from the lead role in 'Gigi' the Broadway show, Audrey's producer said, "Don't forget we hired you for your bones." She was only 115 pounds, up from 103. She did not disappoint him, and never again went above 103 pounds. She was 5'7".
Sadly, this appalling demand is put on women and men in Hollywood every day. Demi Lovato, of Disney fame, is just the latest celebrity to show great courage by stepping forward and admitting she suffers from an eating disorder. Alanis Morisette, Katharine McPhee and Janet Jackson are only a few of the celebrities who have admitted to their own battles with food. Coming forward is painful for anyone, and it takes special strength for an eighteen year-old in the spotlight to do just that. Demi says in Seventeen magazine: "I will deal with it for the rest of my life because it's a life-long disease. I don't think there's going to be a day when I don't think about my food or my body, but I'm living with it. I wish I could tell young girls to find their safe place and stay with it." The truth, and the good news, is that with recovery, the day might come when she does not think about it; and by stating her truth, she is helping countless teenagers out there face their own.
Ms. Hepburn endured WWII in The Netherlands and once said, "I guess I began to resent food around this time. That's a strange thing to say about food -'I resent it.' You eat it, don't eat it, like it, dislike it. But resent it?" She took that resentment and ran with it, 'mastering food' and enforcing a great drive to not end up overweight like her mother. Does she sound so different from average sufferers today?
Trauma, reaction to family structure, career pressures, and misguided idolism play powerful roles in eating disorders.
The history is astounding: it goes back way before Karen Carpenter tragically died of cardiotoxicity and grabbed the world's attention. In fact, Catherine of Siena (1347-80), who was considered a saint, controlled her food intake considerably and viewed yielding to food a sin, as described in an important article:
History of Eating Disorders
Anorexia is far from the only eating disorder. There is bulimia, purging, binge eating, rumination (or regurgitation), and diabulimia, characterized by the deliberate manipulation of insulin levels by diabetics. They are finally getting the research and exposure needed to help people. A recent study conducted at Yale University and published in Archives of General Psychiatry surmises that "people who report symptoms of addictive-like eating behavior appear to show the same pattern of brain activity as we would see in other addictions."
I want to take winning back. Winning is defined as 'succeeding by striving or effort.' Put in the work, and anything is possible. The real message is this: we can all win, given the help it takes to get there.
La Ventana Treatment
In memory of a talented young woman taken from us way too soon, I would like to share a video of Karen Carpenter, in the hope that we all get the help we need.
We've Only Just Begun
Blessings
You are so brave Kate. Thank you sharing this. I definitely struggle with food and have found in my experience that there are very few people who don't.
ReplyDelete