The Pandemic Makes It Harder to Cope With Eating Disorders

I really feel compelled to create a post just about every year as National Eating Disorder Awareness Week rolls about, in particular this year as the pandemic and its inherent isolation have adversely impacted so lots of of us with each diagnosed consuming issues as properly as disordered consuming.

However, though there is so considerably to say, and I’m not recognized for my succinct writing, this post will be somewhat short as I only have the use of my (dominant!) correct hand for the foreseeable future.

Observation: Typing with one particular hand is slow, cumbersome, and tiring.

Last Sunday, early in the morning, as I was walking my dog Shelby, I slipped on the Northeast’s infamous black ice and hit the pavement. The element of my body that hit 1st and took the brunt of my fall was my left arm.

Verdict: I broke each of the bones in my forearm—the radius and the ulna—and one particular of these went by means of the skin. One bone was shattered in a lot of tiny pieces. Because of the complexity of the fractures, I necessary surgery, which was performed late Sunday morning, much less than 4 hours right after I arrived at the hospital. Additionally, due to one particular of the bones breaking the skin, I necessary IV antibiotics to protect against infection. I stayed in the hospital overnight so I could total the course of 3 doses. The surgeon told me that the bone that went by means of the skin narrowly missed the key nerve in the forearm.

I’m household now, out of work for two weeks, and nevertheless in discomfort. I’m not working not so considerably mainly because of the typing issue—there are techniques about that—but mainly because of the discomfort. Every time I take discomfort medication, as prescribed, I promptly fall asleep. And no, I’m no toughing it out with out the medication. I’m nevertheless in discomfort when I do take it.

Source: Jutta Albers/Pexels

Now, the pandemic has fueled the embers of consuming issues that have been simmering in lots of of us. Who knows? Given a particular quantity of time and the correct situations, the embers may have died down, quietly.

But the lockdown initiated by the pandemic, with all its secrecy and isolation, acted as a breeding ground for consuming issues. Steps away from our kitchens day in and day out, not to mention our smartphones and our computer systems, we’d be superhuman if the thoughts of restricting or bingeing or purging didn’t creep into our minds.

With the pandemic possessing surged ahead for this previous year, dragging all the things behind it in a state of chaos, these of us who have an consuming disorder history want absolutely nothing more than to re-establish a semblance of order. What much better way to do that than to return to the vestiges of a thing that worked for us once—controlling all the things that we place into our mouths? Even what seems to be a lack of manage to the outdoors world is a statement.

There has been a plethora of articles about how the pandemic has impacted people today with consuming issues. In June 2020, The New York Times published “Disordered Eating in a Disordered Time.” The post speaks to how the “social isolation and unstructured days add to the anxiety of those struggling to achieve a healthy relationship with food.”

On Jan. 23, I posted “There Is No Tidy Ending to My Eating Disorder,” in which I wrote about the issues I’ve been encountering with my anorexia in the course of this year of COVID-19. I watch videos of faceless young anorexic girls, fantasizing about how I would really feel if I got down to a weight that low once again. It’s tempting to be blinded by weights, numbers, calories consumed, but one particular ability that my former therapist and psychiatrist Dr. Lev and I worked on was searching at how I’m destroying all the things I’ve worked so challenging for up till that point. And that is named insight.

Source: Pixabay/Pexels

It does not imply that the thoughts have stopped it signifies so far I’ve resisted acting on them. And then a wrench was thrown in. I was noticed for a stick to-up by my neurologist this previous week. He raised my migraine medication, which at larger dosages also decreases appetite. He asked me how my consuming was and it took me a minute to comprehend what he was asking about. He was inquiring about my history of anorexia. I reassured him that I was fine, that I hadn’t restricted in years. He turned back towards his personal computer, happy.

My anticipation raging, I virtually licked my lips. I saw my (skinny) self partying in my thoughts.

“Go Andrea. Go Andrea.”

Need to speak to someone? Call the NEDA helpline at 1-800-531-2237. You can constantly leave a message and if an individual is not at present out there, they will return your get in touch with or message promptly. 

Thanks for reading.

Andrea

Source: © Andrea Rosenhaft