For those of you who want to know and even for those of you that do not, I will inform you that I have struggled with an eating disorder for the past five years. Eating disorders are commonly very secretive. Most of these people will do anything to hide their symptoms. It is a very shameful disease, and often talked about in disgraceful terms. I once told my mom I would rather smoke than throw up. She approved and stated that although she would not condone me smoking, she would rather I smoke if it meant I would not throw up. Looking back on this discussion, I ask myself WHY? Why is one coping mechanism more socially acceptable then another? Why does society have more negative associations with purging food then with smoking tobacco?
It boggles my mind that we treat each vice differently, when the consequences of both are obviously unhealthy. Both can cause heart and lung conditions. Smoking can cause cancer of all sorts. Eating disorders can cause ulcers, digestive problems, heart failure, and a variety of medical issues. BOTH can lead to early death. Yet one is treated as only mildly disconcerting (smoking). When a person is seen smoking, people often ignore them. We have been trained to disregard this occurrence. Purging, on the other hand, is rarely ever acceptable. If we catch our friend throwing up after a meal, we automatically want to correct the behavior. We find it WRONG. But why? Why are two similarly unhealthy choices treated so differently?
A vice is, a vice, is a vice! Whether I choose to smoke, gamble, steal, cheat, or barf, I am making an unhealthy lifestyle choice. All scenarios are unlikely a good solution to the problems that they mask. And I hope that no mother, friend, lover, nor society as a whole ever turn their eye to such issues. I make a conscious decision to not treat any of them as acceptable! I wish my mother would have told me the same.
