The Pitfalls of Saying “My Eating Disorder”

The concept of mental health is increasingly considered a part of our overall health. It’s high time we conceive of mental health when we think about our well being.

Once it’s easier to take ownership of our mental health struggles, people can be more transparent about taking care of themselves. That may mean being patient with ourselves during hard times, recognizing how to support others with mental health struggles or identifying our own mental illness.

The acceptance of psychiatric diagnoses and various types of treatment including medication has enabled a newer generation to equate mental health with physical health. Conversation and openness about daily psychological and emotional challenges normalize a once taboo experience.

All of the changes apply to eating disorders as well. Since shame is central to these illnesses, tolerance and understanding make it much easier for people with eating disorders to talk about their struggles and seek help. Moreover, the plethora of social media about eating disorders means you don’t have to feel alone with an eating disorder.

For young people, the evolving concept of mental health has one pitfall. It’s too easy to conflate mental illness with identity. At a time in life when people are searching for meaning and a sense of oneself, the mental health struggle itself starts to seem like the core of identity. Young people don’t talk about depression, anxiety, OCD or an eating disorder. They talk about my depression, my anxiety, my OCD or my eating disorder.

The meaning of the possessive pronoun is not just about ownership but about possession itself. The mental health issue feels like it makes the person special, makes that person who they are.

This is especially troubling for eating disorders because the illness itself is already deeply entangled with identity. A key part of treatment, written about in many places including in the blog, is to separate the eating disorder from identity.

Despite the fact that mental health needs to be just as important to people with eating disorders, it’s also critical to address that the eating disorder is an illness, not a possession or identity. The eating disorder is a mental health struggle that may be yours to face but the illness itself is not yours to own.