I don't remember the first time I felt unbeautiful, the day I chose not to eat

They pull up the chairs to the table,
She looks at the food on her plate
At the toast and the butter, her father and mother
She pushes away

And they rise in the morning, and they sleep in the dark
And even though nobody's looking, she's falling apart

She gets home from school too early
And closes the door to her room
There's nothing inside her, she's weak and she's tired
Of feeling like this

And they rise in the morning, and they sleep in the dark
And even though nobody's looking, she's falling apart

They call her for dinner,
She makes up a reason,
She looks at her arms and she rolls down her sleeves
And her mother is starting to see through her lies
And last night night her father had tears in his eyes....

And they rise in morning, and they sleep in the dark
And even though nobody's looking, she's falling apart

And we rise in the morning, and we sleep in the dark
And even though nobody's looking, she's falling apart
-Lisa Loeb, "She's Falling Apart."

This song from 2002  sums up life with an eating disorder well, I think.

Eating disorders, like many other disorders, do not discriminate. Rich and poor, black and white, male and female, it doesn't matter. Eating disorders strike, and they are deadly. EVERYONE CAN SUFFER. Read: This Child

An eating disorder isn't something you have just for a couple weeks, it's something you battle for months, years, for some people - a lifetime.

Want to know some scary facts? You don't have to be underweight to DIE from an eating disorder. That's right. Many people think that if they aren't underweight, they aren't in the danger zones. You think you can stop before it gets out of control, that this is your way of control? One day, what you are controlling will in turn control you.  Eating disorders are not just about food. Lord, if it were it'd be simple, wouldn't it? It's about starving, LITERALLY, for perfection. Starving for control. It can be a form of self injury. You can't wrap eating disorders up with a tidy-little bow.

EATING DISORDERS SUCK.



By the way, if you want to support eating disorder awareness, please consider sponsoring me in the NEDA walk in Minneapolis. In fact, if you live in the Twin Cities metro, please consider joining my team, as well!