Why I became anorexic

Many years ago, when I was 13, I became anorexic: I ate very little and exercised all day. Although I never took laxatives or induced vomitting, it was still a severe case of anorexia. I went from 135lbs to a skeletal 95lbs in the span of more or less 6 months. Right before I got into therapy, I had huge mood swings and even had some bodily function issues (yeah, let's not go into that one right now). I think I even had some kind of memory-loss becuse there are parts of that summer that I don't quite remember. So, it makes sense that researchers have found a link between eating-disorders and chemical imbalances in the brain. I still don't quite understand how that chemical mix-up can occur, but I can believe how fudged up my system was when I was anorexic. I had this perversed image of food and of my body, and although it is not as extreme as it was back then, I still have moments where I question my shape and mentally calculate how many calories are in a muffin. But then again, how doesn't in this day and age.

My only problem with this new research is not with the finding itself, but with the absence of other factors causing anorexia. Sure, you can blame many problems of society with what goes on between your ears, but there are many things going on in front of your own eyes that can warp someome's psyche. The media has a large part in planting the seed of fat-fearing attitudes. And yes, many of those messages are informative and necessary (aren't we gettign fatter and fatter every year according to those number crunching honchos?), but there are also many other images and messages that are misinterpreted by young girls who end up becoming anorexic or bulimic. There might be a new drug to cure anorexia, but will there be a drug to cure whatever is making the media sick?