Top Ten Worst Things to Say to Someone With an Eating Disorder
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Good Intentions
You just found out that your loved one has an eating disorder. Or perhaps an acquaintance revealed their struggle during the course of a conversation. You want to be understanding. You want to help in any way you can. You want to encourage, affirm, support, validate. But what you thought were kind words seem to offend, even injure the person you so wished to show your empathy.
What went wrong? It's hard for someone without an eating disordered mind to comprehend the right and wrong things to say. Consequently, both you and your friend are left unsettled, unsatisfied, maybe even angry to a point that might damage your relationship.
As someone with insight, I've compiled a list of the top ten worst things to say to someone with an eating disorder, both from my own experience, and horror stories from other eating-disordered women. Some of the worst offenders to an anorexic might sound benign to you at first read, but once you understand how your loved one hears things, you'll find your relationship vastly improved. I hate to say it, but this is one case where it's not the thought that counts.
Bad Reactions
- Why? (Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses with multiple factors, and the last thing you want to do is put him/her on the spot, after a vulnerable revelation.)
- But you don't look like you have an eating disorder! (Sounds like: "You're fat!")
- If you want to lose weight, why don't you just diet and exercise? (This is like telling an alcoholic to just have a "few" drinks.)
- It's what's on the inside that counts. (Sounds like: "You're ugly.")
- You look great to me! (You do not know if this is his/her healthy weight, or what s/he may have done to get here.)
- How long has it been since you've eaten? (This is unimportant, and sounds callous. Eating disorders are never, at the heart, about food.)
- I had a friend once whose sister was bulimic, and she... (Invalidates him/her as an individual; sounds like you think you know it all. No two eating-disordered people are the same.)
- Just eat what you want! (Sounds like: "It's not a big deal.")
- Nice weather we're having. (Self-explanatory.)
- ____ (Self-explanatory.)
|
How I Live Now
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Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa: A Family-Based Approach
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Eating with Your Anorexic
Price: $6.00
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Skinny
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Recommended Reading
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Distorted: How a Mother and Daughter Unraveled the Truth, the Lies, and the Realities of an Eating Disorder
Price: $7.50
List Price: $14.95 |
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Talking to Eating Disorders: Simple Ways to Support Someone With Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, Or BodyImage Issues
Price: $5.34
List Price: $14.00 |
|
Treating Bulimia in Adolescents: A Family-Based Approach
Price: $26.60
List Price: $35.00 |
|
What's Eating You?: A Workbook for Teens With Anorexia, Bulimia, and Other Eating Disorders
Price: $10.17
List Price: $14.95 |
Constructive Comments
I may be able to list for you the "wrong" things to say, but I'm afraid I can't tell you what's right. I don't know you or your loved one. Each person has a unique situation; each conversation is a unique interaction. I can give you a few helpful tips for framing your responses:
- Empathize (This doesn't mean telling the person that you know how they feel, because you don't, and that's obvious to both of you.)
- Focus on Feelings rather than facts. Try to validate the person's experience, and take the emphasis off of attempting to grasp some objective "reality."
- Listen - This person is telling you something intimate about themselves, and even if they do not conciously know what it is, there is a reason why. Rather than giving the impression of being burdened, appreciate the trust s/he has placed in you by confiding. It is a compliment.
If someone close to you does have an eating disorder, I suggest you pick up a few books on the subject. My recommendations are above. The rest is up to you.
Helpful Resources
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Comments
good job! :)
I have myself an eating disoerder and my idiotic BF said :well just eat lots of fat...
smart a*** like it is working that way....
Is there anything you can do if it's someone you don't know? I sometimes see girls in my classes and I wonder if there's anything I can say that would affect them positively, if one of their acquaintances hasn't tried to help by saying something...
Great job on this Hub - I wish everyone could know this information.
As a former anorexia and bulimia sufferer for many years, I have very mixed emotions and reactions to information such as you present. Just as the introduction of sex and drug "awareness" and "education" to pre-pubescent children has only helped to increase the incidence of teen pregnancies and drug experimentation and addiction, attempts at "educating" the general public about eating disorders has only served to trivialise what is a very serious, and deadly, disease.
An eating disorder is not a conscious or unconscious decision or lifestyle choice that the sufferer makes. Rather, it is a silent predator that sneaks up and strikes without warning - and inevitably leave their victim feeling powerless and ashamed. Most sufferers will go to ridiculous extremes to hide their conditon and do not confide their sorry state to anyone!
You are absolutely correct in saying that it's not about food though.
As for what people should say ... well, sometimes the simple acknowledgement of a complete lack of experience or understanding can be very potent. The most useful, touching and empowering comment I have ever heard in my life was "I have no idea what you're going through".
Good Cook:
I always appreciate a critical thinker. However, I'm obliged to strongly disagree with you. It is a common misunderstanding that sex education has increased the rate of teen pregnancy and STDs... in fact, just the opposite! I don't know whether you are basing this claim on statistics or not, but I'd be curious to see them
The incidence of eating disorders has doubled over the last 10 years in Australia, and researchers claim that this is due, not to eating disorder awareness, which is practically nill, but rather to the hype and paranoia over the so-called "obesity epidemic." Indonesia, which had effectively no incidence of eating disorders up until very recently, saw a spike with the introduction of the televison... no knowledge whatsoever of the diagnostic criteria of or culture around eating disorders necessary.
I believe the more we talk about these taboo subjects, the better off the world is. Not talking about a problem does not make it go away, it only sweeps it under the rug, and alienates those who suffer. And if those of us who suffer do not speak out, who will?
Thanks for reading,
Maddie
Sorry but... is there anything you CAN SAY to a person with an eating disorder???? or is it all just listening??
that PRETTY much kicks out EVERY average human response... I think instead... we need to look at learning how to monitor our response to the persons REACTIONS because I'm thinking they probably might find a negative way to react to ANYTHING that is said.. no?? We should look at what we say SECOND.... not first.
WE'RE DAMN HUMANS. SOMETIME we're ALL going to tell someone with an eating disorder at least ONE of those things... .
This seems more like a document on WARNINGS for what their reactions might be to ANYTHING you could possibly come up with.... including NOTHING!!!! (# 10) !!
SHAH...... SO THEN WHAT?
I AGREE COMPLETELY with the poster called "Maddie Rudd" .... I personally have Herpes myself... and DISCUSSION, OPENNESS and COMMUNICATION are the only way to change ANYTHING in this shortsighted world of ours .....
SO TALK ABOUT IT FOR F'S SAKE!!!!!
PEACE.
Leslie:
Thanks for reading. Of course we're all human, and it's hard to (nor should we necessarily) censor ourselves all the time. Keeping that in mind, this article was meant as a tool for loved ones or friends who want to lend as much support as they can, and perhaps don't know much about the eating disordered mind. I do not mean to condemn anyone who has said one or more of these things, only to help those who'd like to be sensitive to understand what sorts of things are particularly hard for a person with an eating disorder to hear.
There are plenty of other things to say besides the items on this list. If in doubt, consult a mediator or counselor to help you navigate the troubling discovery that your loved one is struggling with an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are severely misunderstood by most of the population, precisely because there has not been an ongoing, open discussion about them. I am attempting to change that. If you found out that your grandmother had Alzheimer's, would you not go and find out all you could about it before talking to her? Believe it or not, eating disorders are more prevalent than Alzheimer's, yet less generally understood.
Would you tell an alcoholic, "Why don't you just have ONE glass of wine?" No. Because you know that would not get a positive reaction. Similarly, I am trying to educate people about some of the popular (avoidable) triggers for eating disordered people, to provide that same level of base understanding in the general public.
Once again, thanks for visiting and taking the time to share your thoughts.
Best,
Maddie
hey :) i think your pointers are really accurate. i suffer from anorexia myself and am currently in recovery. i've had people say some of those things to me and they really hurt. yeap! good job here..
Excellent tips, this is a really great article.
This is so true- people just don't know how their comments affect someone with an eating disorder. Read the book "Distorted" - it's just out and is an incredible read with lots of examples of what people say. Great book!
Hey...I have a friend with an eating disorder so this page interested me. But I feel inclined to agree with the other person who commented, inquiring as to what we CAN say. You did knock out initial thoughts that people would tend to think after being informed. So, in turn, I think it's fair that you post some comments that are GOOD to say to someone with an eating disorder. Besides, your explanations for the comments aren't all rational; saying "You look fine to me" seems, in my mind, a sweet comment to say to someone with an eating disorder if the delivery is genuine. That's what I told my friend when I found out and I accompanied the words with a hug and lots of follow-up support. She is very sensitive about the problem and appreciated that comment. Perhaps when clarifying what you mean with some of those comments could turn them into appropriate reactions to "The News". :) Thank you for your time on this subject.-Calli
Hi Calli:
The problem with saying "You look fine to me," is that the person to whom you are speaking may be under their healthy weight, even if they do not look emaciated to you. By telling a person with an eating disorder that they look fine, or even good, the way they are, you are reinforcing that he or she needs to continue to maintain at that weight, even if doing so is unhealthy.
As far as things that ARE helpful to say, it definitely IS a lot of listening. Asking questions can be helpful and feel supportive, if done in a gentle manner (not interrogating). It's also more helpful, since eating disorders aren't actually about food or body at their core, to talk about and/or validate the person's feelings.
Thanks for reading critically, and contributing to the discussion. I'll write a hub on the best ways to talk to someone with an eating disorder as soon as I can, since there seems to be a demand for it.
Best,
Maddie
Oh, thanks so much. I guess I skipped over the part where they were severely skinny - my friend is overweight. I look forward to reading your hub regarding positive comments. :)
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Jennifer Chait says:
12 months ago
Wow, I had no idea about all of the things you shoulden't say. What's hard is that there is no perfect comment (like you said above - everyone is different). Very useful post. It's sad that we need useful posts like this though. Great hub.