People will constantly ask the question “Why would anyone want to starve themselves?” or “How can you just cut yourself? Doesn’t that hurt?!” The topic of self-harming and eating disorders is gaining more and more attention every year as the amount of victims grows. It’s important for society to understand why people do it; what causes it and how it may or may not make the person feel better.
Eating disorders can be considered a type of self-harm in a broad sense, but the two terms are typically used separately. Majority of girls become aware of their appearance during pre-teen years. As society begins to influence us more and more we begin to feel as though we may need to act or look a certain way to make others accept us. During this time period in life, many of us encounter traumatic experiences that may affect us negatively for the rest of our lives. Many girls who have eating disorders or who self-harm have been previously traumatized by a detrimental event in their past.
These females may say they ‘feel as if everyone is trying to control them and tell them what they should and should not do,’ or they may simply say they ‘feel as if they’re losing control.’ Not only are these negative methods ways of coping, but they are also ways to make one feel as though they have control of something in their life that no one can stop them from doing. Unfortunately, these methods may lead to have lifetime problems that leave victims with conditions they may not be able to get rid of. Eating disorders and self-harming are both ways to make these females feel as though they are getting a sense of relief, but one is more geared to beauty perceptions and the other is more of a way to deal with stress or pressure. Probably the best way for a female who is struggling with either of these problems is if she seeks help from a trusted adult, or a professional counselor.
