Navigating Society’s ‘Ideal’ Body Shape, Kcal on Menus & Diet Culture

Navigating society’s ‘ideal’ body shape, calories on menus & diet culture in eating disorder recovery -- a mental health update and rant about what it's like to recovery into society's 'ideal' body shape, managing toxic 'recovery community' comments, and how to stop comparing yourself to others.

Eating disorders are NOT 'only valid' if they fit a certain stereotype. Recovery is NOT only genuine if it follows a certain trend. And that is damn difficult but damn beautiful at the same time.

Eating disorders are not a choice, not a lifestyle, not a one-size fits all. For example, whilst eating disorders predominantly affect 11-25 year old girls, they do not exclusively affect this demographic – they can affect any gender and any age group. And, let me tell you, a struggling 11 year old girl's journey will look a whole lot different than that of a 40 year old male's! There are different classifications and, even within classifications, behaviours may present differently, which means that there is no one set of symptom or physical characteristics that define an eating disorder.

Different people can experience different eating disorders, and they may experience them in different ways. What is a common thread is that the eating disorder has a significant negative impact on quality of life, and that it takes over different parts of everyday life. So be kind, always, because you never know what others are going through.