What Are The Do's and Don'ts Of Representing A ED in a Episode Story?

Someone, please enlighten me. I don’t wanna misrepresent it or offend anybody.

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I don’t know what a ED is :sweat_smile:

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Eating Disorder

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Hey thanks for the tag
Here is my opinion
If u think that u want ur char to have ED…it shud…its ur story and i blv that every author has their own way …esp if the ED actuually connects with plot!

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Thanks! But I meant the do’s and don’ts of writing for a ED

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Idk…i hav never experienced…so…maybe tag more ppl…

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I suggest reading this and other articles that will give you accurate information. You can also search up videos on Youtube of people talking about their ED experiences.

Please be careful when writing about these sensitive topics and be sure to research. It may be a time-consuming process, but you don’t want to accidentally offend anyone and/or use harmful stereotypes.

Honestly, in my personal opinion, not trying to be rude, sorry if it comes out that way :slightly_frowning_face:, I don’t think you should write about something you have never experienced. But hey, whatever floats your boat! Good luck.

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I don’t have an ED, but I think if you want to write about it, you should do a lot of heavy research. I’ll link some things like how to write abt an ED, and stories by people who do have EDs.

Resources

https://www.google.com/amp/s/psychwriter.com.au/2018/01/14/eating-disorders-anorexia-nervosa/amp/
On the Literature of Eating Disorders ‹ Literary Hub
Reddit - writing - Advice for writing anorexic character?

Sara's Story - Kelty Eating Disorders
Bodywhys | Claire's Story
Patient Story: Eating Disorders

Also remember that’s there’s different types of eating disorders and eating disorders can look like anything and can affect anyone of any size

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I like bringing awareness about things

i sugest that u ask soneone who has had a eating disorder so u can portray it better it rlly helps

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I don’t know anyone that does.

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then u can make a topic abt it and ask if anyone wants to help u w/ ur story so more ppl can see it :heart:

I’d like to note that this is for a brand new story, and I don’t wanna make mistakes that could be avoided.

  1. don’t make it seem like u have to b a certain size to have a ed, an eating disorder is a mental illness bc it’s the way u think abt eating.
  2. show that no matter how much weight u loose/gain u will never feel that u r beautiful enough, until u get help w ur metallization of food.
  3. therapy/medicine is v helpful for those w eating disorders, show that it’s v beneficial & characters shouldn’t feel bad abt getting help, it’s necessary.
  4. there r many different eating disorders u can have, caused by different reasons. sometimes it can b passed down in the family (my mom was a model & had an Ed, ppl were worried it was passed down to me), it could b bc they were shamed for their weight by friends/family or maybe it’s the general media.
  5. b careful w the subject, don’t show someone get more beautiful or slim bc of the disorder. ppl w eating disorders usually end up being constantly tired, often binging lots of food in secret n they feel shame for enjoying food.

hope this helped, my bff had anorexia for 4 yrs, so I am v familiar w this topic. :cupid:

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im gonna quote thjs again bc sensitivity readers rlly help u get an accurate representation and proofread ur work for any mistakes

this is a touchy subject, so I’m going to tread lightly…

but I think with any mental health disorder, it would be most appropriate to display this as part of the character’s descriptive background rather than the main conflict that moves your plot. here’s some examples of what I mean…

1

a girl wants to go to college, but struggles financially to come up with the tuition (conflict) - a friend notices her unique outfits and after discovering she enjoys sewing, asks her to collaborate on a clothing line they could sell - the girl agrees, but finds that measuring and creating clothing of different sizes causes a previous obsession (background) with body measurements to resurface (tension) - in the end, the girl learns to communicate her triggers to her work partner and they decide to market accessories instead (resolution).

  • here, the focus of the plot is a girl needing money for college. eating disorders are discussed, and cause the girl some difficulty in achieving her goal of raising money for tuition. by making the solution communication with others rather than “overcoming” her eating disorder, you give readers a good example of what to do if they are struggling with something similar as well as affirm the fact that ed aren’t something that you just wake up and decide to be done with.
2

a girl wants to go to college, but her parents say they do not feel she should be on her own due to an ongoing eating disorder (conflict) - the girl desires the education and independence so she goes on a 30 day challenge of working past her eating disorder - in the end she no longer shows symptoms of an eating disorder and her parents let her go to college (resolution).

  • this is a very bad example, do not do this. by placing her ed as the main conflict that drives the story, it identifies the girl first by her disorder with all her other personality traits/interests as secondary to that. in addition, it gives an unrealistic representation of the stages of growth/recovery for eating disorders. lastly, it further pushes the misconception that eating disorders are something that just goes away (like an illness that received medication/treatment). this is very untrue for the vast majority of people with ed.
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A person dealing with ED will try to justify whatever she is doing. She will justify hurting herself whenever she smells food to control her cravings.
She will justify purging out her food when she eats a lot.
So you will have to use a lot of narration bubbles.
One more thing about ED is that people compliment you on losing weight, and they have no idea what you are doing to yourself.
One more thing the person does is that she indulges in smoking etc.
She keeps thinking that she is fat, like all the time.
She sets a goal, a number, which is basically how much she wants to weight. But she is never satisfied. She keeps decreasing the number.

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There are these novels:
• Paperweight by Meg Haston
• Wintergirls
• What I lost by Alexa Ballard

These are some amazing novels you can check out.

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Don’t glorify anything.

Thank you!!