When I talk to teachers about eating disorders, one of the common things I hear is that eating disorders are completely taboo in the staffroom due to some incorrect, but commonly held beliefs. For this reason, I thought it would be helpful to dispel a few urban myths about eating disorders which you likely come up against often. Perhaps you’d like to leave a comment with some of your own too?
If we talk about eating disorders, we’ll start an epidemic
This is a really commonly held belief. Many people within and beyond schools believe that in talking about and especially in teaching about eating disorders that you’ll convert your healthy cohort into one that is starving themselves to death left right and centre. This simply isn’t true. Eating disorders are deeply complex and you will not cause a pupil to develop an eating disorder simply by talking about it. What you might do is raise awareness amongst staff and pupils of the symptoms of eating disorders which may lead to you recognising some new cases. But that is a GOOD thing. It is only once you have recognised a problem that you can begin to support and address it.
Eating disorders are just a passing phase
This absolutely isn’t true and believing that eating disorders are a passing phase is a very dangerous point of view. In fact, eating disorders can endure for decades if not supported promptly and appropriately. Eating disorders symptoms, no matter how mild, can be indicative of a deep underlying problem that needs to be addressed and supported. The sooner the pupil receives help the better their chances of not developing a fully blown eating disorder and/or recovering. This is unlikely to happen without support.
Kids with eating disorders are just looking to get attention
Again, this is a widely held belief about anorexics. But just stop and think about it. Don’t you think that if a kid just wanted some attention they’d throw a few things about in class or similar? Starving yourself to the point that people begin to worry is quite a long winded affair that takes dedication. I can’t think of a single young person who would choose to dedicate weeks, months or years of their life to starve themselves simply to receive attention. Added to that is the fact that many anorexics go to great lengths to hide their bodies wearing baggy clothes and multiple layers. This is not about attention. The thinness – which, granted, is very attention grabbing – is a symptom of a very serious disease that needs to be taken seriously.
All teenagers diet, it’s not a problem, it’s NORMAL
It’s true that it’s very common for teenagers to diet and in some cases they do so healthily. But that doesn’t mean that the teenager who is dieting to an extreme or who is using laxatives or vomiting to help control her calorie intake is normal or healthy. It’s important to keep an eye on pupils’ diets. Sometimes they go too far and they need your help and support. They certainly don’t need the responsible adults in their lives condoning dangerous behaviour.
She’ll eat when she’s hungry
This approach is often a hangover from dealing with young children who can tend to have a somewhat sporadic approach towards food – but in most cases, with a 2 or 3 year old, you can be pretty sure that she really will eat when she’s hungry. But the driving forces in a healthy 2 year old and an eating disordered 12 year old are really rather different. An anorexic 12 year old will be driven on by her hunger. Ignoring her hunger pangs will make her feel extremely powerful and she most certainly won’t give in to them. Don’t fall in the trap of playing a dangerous waiting game.
His school work is fine so he can’t be that ill
Many eating disorders sufferers are exemplary pupils. As the disorder progresses, many will focus on their school work becoming ever more perfectionist. Often, they will need to spend increasing numbers of hours focusing on their work to achieve the academic grades that become very important to them. They will forgo sleep or social activities to focus on their academic work. If, after all this effort, they are managing to create great academic work – that doesn’t mean that all else is okay!
A teacher’s place is just to support school work
Teachers have a wider responsibility to their pupils which includes their pastoral as well as their academic welfare. Teachers are in a fantastic position to spot the early warning signs of eating disorders too – and by being vigilant and raising the alert as appropriate, the help of parents and professionals can be sought to help support pupils in difficulty.
What did I miss?
Are there any other often repeated inaccuracies about eating disorders that you think need to be addressed?
By Losa March 22, 2024 - 12:30 pm
Re: What Did I Miss? section. I have had various eating disorders for the past 21 years and am currently diagnosed with EDNOS. I have found that most people associate eating disorders with anorexia and being underweight. I read somewhere that most people with eating disorders are not vastly underweight. Family, friends colleagues and the media seem to think that the thinner you are, the more serious your eating disorder. Whilst this may or may not be true physically, mentally it is not accurate. Unfortunately, I have found that this attitude is also prevalent amongst health professionals, mental health staff and have even experienced it from a member of staff who had experience of treating women with anorexia. Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying people should compete for services! And I certainly appreciate the seriousness of anorexia, but the situation I have outlined above has prevented me accessing the help I need as I have been told that - my BMI or my weight wasn’t low enough to get treatment, I was even told (in the early 1990s) that I was too fat (I was 6 1/2 stone and you had to be under 6 stone to b on the eating disorders programme). I just think this is something that needs to be addressed as a common misconception.