“The Myth of Eating Disorders” is about three girls who have Eating Disorders: Kelly Stewart, Latria Graham, and Sarah Whitworth. This article helps spread eating disorder awareness to people who might have an Eating Disorder and not know it and people who might know someone they think might have an eating disorder.

Kelly Stewart’s Eating Disorder began because food was the only thing she could control in her life. She was 14 living in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Her parents were got a divorce and she only ate “safe” foods. However, and it wasn’t enough for her because she wasn’t seeing any results. Then she told her mom she wanted to see a therapist and didn’t tell her why. After Kelly confessed to her therapist, her therapist told her that she wasn’t underweight. In addition, she told her regular doctor who joked that she wished she could eat like her. Kelly began to feel useless and quit the basketball team her senior year causing her to gain weight from being less active. After that she began compulsively exercising and purging her food, one day she saw blood in her vomit. Kelly freaked out, and called an Eating Disorder hotline. Finally, she told her mother who was shocked and immediately booked her a consultation with the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia.

Latria Graham lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina she began bingeing and purging at age ten because she was depressed about her parents divorce and hated her body. She hides it from everyone and even asked to go to boarding school to hide it from all her close friends and relatives. When she went to boarding school somebody found out her secret, school officials told her parents and she was sent to the doctor. The doctor didn’t believe she could have bulimia. Finally she got help in a Renfrew Center in Florida however she was the only African American and he only overweight patient. It made Latria feel like a double minority for a while but because she is open about her disorder on campus at her college and has found people like herself.

Sarah Whitworth is a 19-year- old who lives in Austin, Texas. She developed earlier than the other girls. When she was in the 6th grade, she felt like she needed to lose weight. She stopped eating chocolate for Lent and became pleased with the results. When Easter came around she was scared of gaining the weight back again so she kept restricting her calories. She made a commitment in May 2002 to dare herself to run 3 miles and did it. After that she became addicted to exercising and increased her distances everyday. It took a major accident to occur in August 2004 to make her get help. When she was driving her eleven year old sister, she blacked out at the wheel because she over exercising and under eating. Now she is better; however, it will never go away. It helps her to think that it will no longer let it stop her from being the happy person she wants to be.

“The Myths of Eating Disorders” by Jenni Schaefer posted in the October 2008 addition of Cosmo girl Magazine .

I chose this article because we just learned about additions and I thought it was the perfect article for me to read to wrap up the unit. Cosmo girl Magazine is a magazine for girl teenagers. It makes me realize how grateful I should be that I have not got that depressed and that if I ever feel that worthless to seek help right away. This information relates to our discussions on addictions and eating disorders.