I’ve recently been watching a lot of eating-disorder related
TV. On the one hand, it makes me feel good to know that there are other people
out there suffering as much as I am. I feel like I’m part of a group, and the
episodes always show someone going through recovery, which makes me feel like I
do it too. On the other hand, sometimes it makes me feel like
what I’m going through can’t compare to the suffering of these people; that I don’t deserve to go to therapy or have the support of the
people I do.
I still like watching them though. It’s rather cathartic.
The shows:
Supersize versus superskinny:
This was interesting because it’s a show that helps fat
people become less overweight AND shows that being too skinny is also not
healthy. The weight loss and gain on this show is slow and healthy and the
eating habits are analyzed and shown for their true colors. This show helped me
wrap my mind around upping my calorie intake to something more reasonable.
http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3Dz7pihCSnpus
What’s Eating You:
This is a show about people with very serious eating
disorders. It was interesting, it was engaging (to me) especially because I
recognized so many of the symptoms and understood what the people were going
through. There’s only one season, though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZBJhGgZRgI
Shows that perpetuate the ED mindset:
The Biggest Loser:
People killing themselves to lose weight? Hell yeah, that’s
healthy. This season, there’s a girl on there that’s a size 10, and she’s still
losing weight. A size is 10 normal! She looks great! Why is she still busting
her butt to lose weight?? This show also makes it clear that being overweight
means being unhappy. No wonder I can’t tolerate a one pound increase on the
scale. In my mind, that one pound is one more pound of despair.
Am I missing any?
Yes, if you're willing to watch a comedy about eating disorders, then you are missing something!
ReplyDeleteIt's called Starved, and it was canceled after only a few episodes for its controversial nature. It's kind of like a situation comedy and although they poke fun at it, it's one of the only non-reality shows (aka not anorexia documentaries) that actually regards it seriously. If you could do with a laugh, and don't mind laughing at yourself every once in a while, check it out.
I'm posting a link to it from my blog. http://turningituptoeleven.blogspot.com/2010/06/starved-eating-disorder-comedy.html
Enjoy :)
I actually found Starved after I posted this, I think, and I did enjoy it immensely. I was so sad that they canceled it, because I thought the show (like you said) did regard the eating disorders seriously, and at the same time they made me feel more at ease with having one. The only thing I didn't like was the overdone sex scenes.
Delete