

Check out the featured post and read more here: https://www.ibelieve.com/health-beauty/how-to-approach-someone-with-an-eating-disorder.html
I thought I wanted to be like her.
Her white teeth glowed from across the room as she tossed her perfectly poised hair across her shoulder. From where I was sitting in the coffee shop, I could hear her laughter. I didn’t need to see the smile plastered on her face—I knew it was stuck there like it was drawn with a permanent Sharpie marker.
When she got up from the table, I was in dismay. Her body perfectly matched her personality in every way. From afar, she was flawless. Size 0, nearly 6 feet tall, and athletic. She seemed to bask in the sunshine beaming through the windows. Yet instead of being happy for her, I stewed in envy.
Can you relate?
During my teens and early twenties, I found myself striving to be like this nameless individual. Nameless in the fact that to this day, they are still a stranger to me. But something within wasn’t content with who I was. Instead, I wanted to be like anyone and everyone else. Before I knew it, I’d developed an eating disorder and a dangerous addiction to exercise.
I thought I wanted to be like her, but all being like someone else got me was sick, malnourished, and miserable. Eating disorders are among the top 5 mental health disorders young adults wrestle with in the United States. But instead of talking about them, we pretend we’re fine and continue striving to be like someone else (especially unrealistic and unhealthy versions of them). If you suspect someone might be struggling with an eating disorder, here are 3 ways to gently broach the topic.