Beneath the Surface

1. Introduction

I wanted a cookie, but the thought of the calories held me back. So, I reached for what seemed like a healthier choice—some strawberries would quiet my craving right? Wrong. My merciless sweet tooth refused to be satisfied. Desperate, I grabbed a protein bar, convincing myself it was both nutritious and indulgent enough. But it wasn’t—I was still hungry, and that was only the beginning of the toxic cycle. Before I knew it, I was mindlessly devouring anything and everything in sight. Chips, cheese, candy, juice, cake, ice cream, a cookie, and then another. Soon, I was face-deep in the whole jar, unable to stop until it was empty.

Lying there afterward, chocolate smudged across my face and fingers sticky with crumbs, guilt hit me like a wave. “I’ll just skip eating tomorrow,” I thought to myself. “Maybe I can run it off later.” But those thoughts weren’t just temporary—they took over my mind, tightening like invisible chains. I felt trapped, imprisoned in my own brain. 

Eating disorders are so widespread in today’s society, yet they are so overlooked. Over the span of four years, I’ve battled multiple eating disorders. How many people noticed? Just one. If I’m being completely honest myself, I didn’t even know I had an eating disorder until my friend pointed it out. I was in denial, convincing myself I didn’t have one, trying to persuade myself that I was normal. According to the Polaris Teen Center, half of all teenage girls, and nearly a third of boys report using unhealthy weight-control behaviors. One in 25 teens is living with a serious eating disorder. And nearly 70% of girls say media and celebrity images shape their idea of the “perfect” body. 

2. What Are Eating Disorders?

There are three primary types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals with anorexia often experience an intense fear of gaining weight and may perceive themselves as overweight even when they are underweight. Common symptoms include rapid weight loss, fatigue, dizziness, and low mood. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by cycles of binge eating followed by unhealthy behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives. These behaviors are typically accompanied by feelings of guilt and shame. Key indicators include consuming large amounts of food in one sitting, a sense of loss of control, and purging. Binge-eating disorder involves episodes of eating large quantities of food, often when not hungry and in secret. People with this disorder may feel ashamed about their eating habits and often try to restrict food intake afterward, which can intensify urges. Signs include eating rapidly, eating to the point of discomfort, and eating alone to hide the behavior. While these three are among the most widely known, they represent only a small portion of eating disorders. Many other disorders exist that are less commonly discussed but are just as serious.

3. Causes and Influences

According to the Mayo Clinic, most eating disorders stem from genetics, mental health, and environmental factors. Although there haven’t been any scientific discoveries yet that prove genetics to be a probable cause for eating disorders, current research states that genetic traits that intensify the feeling to be perfect or increased sensitivity could be linked to the development of these disorders. The combination of teen mental health struggles and social media influence creates a dangerous environment for the development of eating disorders. There are thousands of social media stars that teens idolize for being skinny, pretty, and have seemingly the perfect life. TikTok, for example, is filled with content that often glorifies extreme thinness and unhealthy weight-loss tactics. A simple search for “skinny” or “weight-loss” will provide you with videos that influence you to go on a calorie deficit, or reduce the amount of calories you consume. If you’ve lived through your teen years, you know very well that we aren’t patient, we want instant results, and don’t want to wait months for weight-loss to occur. When the idea of a calorie deficit is introduced to a developing teen, it can be extremely harmful—especially without proper  understanding because of how far it can be taken. Finally, environmental influences such as family eating routines and peer behaviors can contribute to the development of disordered eating—sometimes without even noticing. Alix Earle’s podcast “Hot Mess, Overcoming My Eating Disorder” describes how your peer’s eating habits can influence you. She talks about how it started with her friends eating salads for lunch, and like any teen does, she wanted to fit in. Barely satisfied with the salad she ate for lunch, she noticed her friend’s meals getting smaller and smaller, eventually turning into half an apple for lunch. She talks about how this mentality was so normalized in her friend group, and how nobody batted an eye to the little amount that they ate. 

4. What Can Be Done?

Once the mentality of restricting food intake and dieting becomes burnt into your mind, overcoming it can be a grueling challenge. Although there is no single treatment that works for everyone, effective options include psychotherapy, medication such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, and nutrition counseling. For many individuals, recovery can seem nearly impossible, which is why early detection is critical. Preventing the disorder from taking control of your life requires mental strength. Strategies for this include staying aware of the symptoms and behavioral patterns associated with eating disorders, monitoring social media use, and following body-positive influencers rather than those who promote unhealthy ideals of perfection. Increasing awareness about eating disorders can have a significant impact on early intervention. Educating teenagers about the facts and warning signs helps them remain conscious of their eating habits and behaviors, hopefully preventing the disorder from fully developing.

5. Conclusion

Eating disorders are multi-layered battles fought quietly beneath the surface, often invisible to our friends and family, and sometimes even to ourselves. My own experience taught me that denial and silence only strengthen the grip of these disorders, but awareness and understanding can be the first steps toward healing. By educating ourselves and others, challenging harmful beauty standards, and offering compassion instead of judgment, we can help break the cycle for future teens. Recovery may be difficult, but with support and courage, it is possible to reclaim control—not just over food, but over our lives.

Works Cited

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Anorexia nervosa." Mayo Clinic, 9 Aug. 2024, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes…. Accessed 27 May 2025.

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Binge-eating disorder." Mayo Clinic, 23 Feb. 2024, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/binge-eating-disorder/symptoms-c…. Accessed 27 May 2025.

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Bulimia nervosa." Mayo Clinic, 29 Feb. 2024, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-2035…. Accessed 27 May 2025.

Polaris Teen Center. "10 Statistics of Teenage Eating Disorders." Polaris Teen Center, 12 June 2018, polaristeen.com/articles/10-statistics-of-teenage-eating-disorders/. Accessed 27 May 2025.