Life. Unrestricted.

LU 058: Me, solo – "You don’t have to be thin to be underweight": Anorexia at higher weights.

08.30.2017 - By Meret BoxlerPlay

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Lovely radicals... podcast time! This week on the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I am talking about a topic that sadly doesn't get addressed nearly enough: The importance of recognizing anorexia in people in bigger bodies. In our thin-obsessed culture, eating disorders go undetected at alarming rates. With the stereotypical depiction of an emaciated teen (white, female, cis-gendered) being at the forefront of people's minds when it comes to eating disorders, the majority of sufferers either don't "feel sick enough" to seek treatment, or their symptoms get dismissed if they don't present said emaciated weight-status. This has horrendous ramifications. The majority of eating disorders happen OUTSIDE of this severely underweight range. We need to start asking patients about symptoms, not weights. How about: – Is your hair thinning out? – Are you still getting your period? (Meaning a natural period, not a withdrawal bleed from the birth control pill!) – Do you have trouble sleeping? – Tell me about your mood. Is it stable? Are you irritable? Depressed? – Do you feel anxious a lot? – How are you relating to food, your body, your weight, and exercising? We need to start talking about anorexia in people with higher weights. Doctors need to start asking better questions. Love, always. Meret. "You don't have to be thin to be underweight". (Tabitha Farrar, host of "The Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast" - I highly recommend you listen to her episode with Dr. Rachel Mullner.) And here's the link to the article I read in this episode: https://www.verywell.com/anorexia-nervosa-in-individuals-of-higher-weights-1138302 Please consider supporting the podcast by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted If you want this sort of badassery to come to your phone automatically, please DO subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987& ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We’re right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/

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