A Growing Epidemic, .......... Options

[picaso_smile]

Sorry if there is already a topic on this, but I think it's time for an updated version.

Is it just me or am I hearing more and more about eating disorders? I really hope it's because more and more people are seeking help and being open with thier problems and not just that it's effecting more and more girls.

These days it's very difficult to block out all the media. We all know what the idea of the illusive "perfect woman" is. But, there is no such thing. It simply doesn't exist. No matter how beautiful a girl seems, she has a flaw. Our only choice is to love ourselves for who we are. If your family and friends don't show you the love you need, give it to yourself. Treat you body well, and take care of yourself. Tell yourself that you are exaclty who you are meant to be and you're doing your best.

You guys need to realize that it is a mental disorder. It's up to you to fix it even though it's not your fault. You do have the power to change youself for the better.

It isn't worth it to ruin your health just to shed a few pounds. And actually when you starve youself, you body goes into "survival mode" and tries to burn as few calories and use as little nutrients as possible... This means you're tired, your hair falls out, your finger nails don't grow well, and you end up looking very sickly.


Take care and never stop believing in yourself. It may sound totally cheesey, but that's what we need to do.

[xsweetxcandyx]

i know!! Three girls at my school became soo skinny they had to be sent to a rehab center

[KissMe2408]

That's a very good topic. And yes, we have alot of pressures these days to be the perfect size and look a certain way because of the media and magazines. But even if you do accomplish all that, you won't be happy until you learn to accept yourself and who you really are

[Nicolatofu]

A growing problem in mostly teenagers are eating disorders. i agre- we should all appreciate and accept not only ourselves, but others as well. i do pray for those with eating disorders and hope that they seek kelp quickly.

[ghjgfkgfk]

you know, sometime eating disorders aren't about looking skinny.

[Skyline Drive]

I agree. I couldn't of said it better myself.

[im2tall]

Let's not forget about the amount of influences that the media has on the teenagers. Many of the teenagers are strongly influenced by the media and believes anything on TV... I guess it's ok if they're right, but media only protrays certain type of beauty, which prevents people from finding their own beauty... I dont know if any of these make any sense, but I just think that if people stopped conforming to the popularist ideas, I think the world would be a better place

[hiromi]

Amen to that, Picaso_smile! Amen...

[inthemudhole]

Yeah, that's true.. but sometimes it's hard with all the media influences like im2tall mentioned.

But yeah. I do understand that it's a disorder.

[xj_liana_tx]

i eat very little recently, i am not even doing it on purpose, i am just.. always full

[midnite]

These girls are pretty much drones of the media being brainwashed into believing they should be like all those models. It's hard to live up to that standard. Everyone is different no matter what. you cant be exactly like those models you see everyday in ads or tv. some of these models try to make themselves look thin and they aren't doing it in the most healthy way either.

parents are another big influence on you. like my mother she puts pressure on me to be thin. always say i eat to much or i look fat. when your parents tells you this, you just want to make them happy, so you go and diet your ass off and end up looking like a skeleton. I dont see how people can just destroy themselves like this.

every girl should be happy about themselves. people dont realize that you jsut have to be healthy. forget being thin cause thats not possible. just keeping yourselve healthy and well is enough to deal with along with all those pressures in life.

[DixieDaCutie]

nice topic... i know a lotta people look@ models n are like dam i wanna be like that, but some people just see regular people at the mall and school and get jealous n want2 diet... n then dieting turns in2 a disorder sometimes. like extreme dieting

but yup everything that everyone has said is true

[lilJdawg]

Good job on making this topic.

[caustic tears]

I know how you people feel, bulimia and anorexia have become so prevalent these days. The media has brainwashed people who have become insecure about their looks, causing them to go on crash diets. Truth is, once you stop eating your body needs something to survive on so it takes drastic measures, it'll start feeding on your heart and stomach, and believe me, I'd rather be chunky and eat then a skeleton and not eat.

I believe one of my Dad's co-worker'd daughters years ago became anrexsic and bulmic and the night she was diagnosed she vomited in her sleep and choked to death.



Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in my opinion, like one time on the Twilight Zone, they had this rather pretty woman if I could say so myself, and everyone else had mutated faces, and all the mutants kept telling her it was okay to look different, and the pretty girl was crying, and asking God why she was so ugly because she was considered "abnormal".

Yup.

[x-klutzibabi-x]

good topic. People should just be happy with who they are now . If not, then they'll have to learn to accept themselves as a unique individual....

[angelrevelation]

your hair falls out?? never heard that one before... but anyways i totally agree. if you're worried about your appearance so that guys will like you, they aren't even worthy to date anyway. and your friends do NOT care if you're perfect or not.

i'm not really sure how girls develope these problems, but it's probably partially from media and peer pressure- the war to look perfect (heh i'm feeling speech-ish today ) everyone is beautiful in their own light, and they should realize that

[angelrevelation]

srry for double posting but i need to add something.

i was so surprised that so many girls in my school find themselves fat/ugly. i mean they're not! actually i thought/think i am ugly sometimes, but i've learned to get over it, and see myself in a new light. listen to gavin degraw's "I dont want to be" !! it helps really :P

[sheddingtears]

it's a mental disorder for me. but yeah, you're right.

[picaso_smile]

Why is it that topics like this about eyebrows are so much more popular than topics like this?

That just gets me about convinced that we care more about superficial nonimportant things than something that really matters like our health and selfview.

[KRicoBoriqua]

Yea its really sad and crazy that so many girls suffer from these disorders. The media has created this mold of a so called "Beautiful" girl and it distorts so many girls minds into thinking there not good enough the way they are.

I know so many girls who complain about not being skinny enough when to me there just fine. If everyone looked like the girls on the magazine covers wouldnt this world be a boring place?!

Girls need to stop looking so closely in the mirror and at pictures of models and celebrities and realise how beautiful they truly are. It may sound cheesy but its the truth. Just because you are beautiful on the outside doesnt make you a person everyone one wants to be around. Work harder to be a more beautiful person on the inside.

Sorry I wrote so much but I just feel really strongly about this.

[Shattered_Hope]

That's a very good topic. And yes, we have alot of pressures these days to be the perfect size and look a certain way because of the media and magazines. But even if you do accomplish all that, you won't be happy until you learn to accept yourself and who you really are

I agree.

[yukichan]

good topic... we should be happy about how we r....

[swe3ttemptasian]

yeah.. on of my friends had to go to rehab b/c of it.. she's been out of state since... a month after school has started.... =(

[HelloSunshine]

yeah..I've been hearing and seeing a lot about them lately. and I agree with you

[winsome]

i remember watching Elephant and jokingly telling a friend "those girls just ate a whole meal, i bet they're gonna go ralph it up in the next scene" and they did. i was shocked!! there is definitely a problem with body image, not just anorexia and bulemia in this country... i read in newsweek or something that 65% of americans are 'obese or overweight'. i wonder what we can do for so many people who are unhealthy!