Gosh, you don't look like you have an eating disorder...

Have you heard this before?

I have to admit that I am having difficulty with being patient with people who hold the misconception that someone cannot have an eating disorder unless they are emaciated.  More often in our distorted society, the image of emaciated models is so prevalent, that it becomes difficult to look and someone and know who actually meets weight criteria for anorexia nervosa because of our desensitization to below normal weight models.

Let's keep facts in mind.  There are more people with bulimia and binge eating disorder than with anorexia nervosa.  It is possible to meet criteria for these disorders and exist on multiple places in the weight spectrum from normal weight to severely obese.

Telling someone that they don't look like they have an eating disorder is one of the most damaging things that one can say.  First, it does not validate someone's attempt to be honest about their struggle and what is happening with them, and I had actually known people who upon hearing this makes them want to lose more weight in order to achieve the "proper look" of an eating disordered person.

Similarly, someone recovering from anorexia nervosa may no longer meet weight criteria for their illness, but still struggle with cognitions to the point that if they were told that they didn't look eating disordered, would make attempts to resume their previous state.

In the end, it has to come down to us, those who have suffered, to correct misconceptions, and the sufferers to be prepared for the ignorance of others and not allow this to deter them from their goal of recovery.