1y ago

what's the bigger trigger to anorexia, society or inner trauma?

I always thought that anorexia was a female problem, something affecting young women manipulated by media and peers, even bullied, to become closest to what men want in a woman or what a successful woman is supposed to look like: tall and thin. This would be a social cause.

However, I read that some people, including men, become anorexic to control: they cannot control much in life, but weight is something they can control, like a way to cope with trauma. This would be a psychological cause.

My question is what's the bigger trigger to anorexia, society or inner trauma?

14 comments

It's never a simple answer, and it varies from person to person. For someone who's been on both sides of this spectrum, it's a combination of both

It depends on the person.

I'm male and was a briefly anorexic as a teen.
I'd say it was mostly the former that affected me, feeling ugly and fat compared to my peers. Media and film made me feel matching them was of high importance.

It boils down to the old ‘nature vs nurture’ debate.
Current consensus is that it’s a bit of both. Or, to be more precise (and modern), social factors, biological factors, and psychological factors all interact.

Both, but I personally think that inner trauma is a bigger factor. Everyone grows up in the same society but not everyone develops an eating disorder, so it stands to reason that ED sufferers' particular environment and personal experiences contribute.
- In general I agree, but I'd like to point out that although everyone grows up in the same society, the experience can differ. And everyone is not the same, some people may be more succeptible to the societal pressures.
  
  Yes, of course. I think family is a major factor in shielding you from the harshness of society. If you grow up with an almond mom for example, naturally you're going to have a more difficult relationship with food & body image. Just my 2¢.

What an odd question. I can only offer one perspective. I grew up in a time when the ideal female body type (and only type considered sexy) was short, curvy, with a small waist, bigger boobs and ass, small delicate hands and feet. Petite and curvy I would say, maybe small by today's standards but not at all skinny nor tall. Plush and short in height.
I was/had none of those things. Tall and skinny, big hands and feet, no curves to speak of. I liked being skinny and liked being tall too, but certainly there was not any outside social pressure to be so thin. Then I had a tragedy and was stressed, and yes looking back I am sure that the anxiety around eating was sort of a reaction to that grief and stress.
But at any point did I think I was controlling my eating to be in a more socially acceptable body form? Hell no. And oddly, when the taller, thinner models started appearing, I got much happier about my body, and it eased the anxiety around eating.
I think it's internal. Anorexia/restriction in particular. And yes related to life being out of control.
- What an odd question.
  how come?
  
  Mostly because there are so many women dissatisfied with their bodies because of media, but only a teeny percentage have restrictive eating disorder. If it was because of social pressure like that, it seems like modern society would be much thinner overall. But this is No Stupid Questions, I am not trying to insult you for asking.

It dos not make much sense trying to separate the two reasons you named, because inner trauma is usually caused by social experience, so these two can strongly overlap. I knew an anorexic person (female) and it started with her own father bullying her into anorexia/bulimia when she was a young teenager. Which is especially fucked up because her father was constantly bringing home tons of sweets and unhealthy food and at the same time denied her doing sports. She then found pro-anorexic websites that made it worse. Around the age of 15 she almost died from organ degradation. Later in her life, when she did not even live in the same country as her parents anymore, the pathological weight control trip had become an integral part of her personality that was pretty much independent of her father. So it started out with social pressure during childhood, which created psychological trauma that was sustained into adulthood and remained, even when there was no more social pressure.

Mine is to do with control yes (being male).
Personally it’s internal trauma, I don’t care what society deems good looking or what I should look like (to others).
So I don’t have any major triggers besides someone saying that ‘I look well’, awful thing to say for me personally(I want to appear unwell, it’s common).
Still in full anorexia so I can’t pinpoint why(yet), all I know it’s down to trauma I’ve experienced.

what do you think they're not controlling, if not social things? this is a false dichotomy

Round up all the anorexics and ask

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