Binge eating, skipping meals, being afraid of foods and throwing up after eating are some of the struggles an individual with an eating disorder may struggle with.

Nowadays many teenagers and adults are stuck in the mindset of having a “perfect body,” or trying to meet society’s beauty standards. Comparing themselves to celebrities or influencers on social media is quite often these days a behavior seen in teens.

However, the consequences of trying to look a certain way, trying to lose weight in an unhealthy way or being obsessed with counting calories, may lead to an eating disorder.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cases of eating disorders in teens and adults have increased in a significant way.

In the article “Eating Disorders: Another Consequence of COVID-19,” by Amanda D’Ambrosio, she talks about how during the COVID-19 pandemic clinicians have seen a 30-50 percent increase in teens and adults struggling with illnesses such as anorexia, binge eating and other eating disorders.

The pandemic has affected the mental health of many individuals. Having to stay home and isolated has caused many teens and adults with eating disorders to binge eat, which has then caused their eating disorder recovery to be challenging and a nightmare.

According to the article “Study shows COVID-19 has wide-ranging effects on eating disorder concern,” by Stacy Rickard, more than 30 million people in the United States struggle with an eating disorder, and 62 percent of them who deal with anorexia have feared calories and food at home ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Meanwhile, the other 30 percent who struggle with bulimia have reported to have more binge-eating episodes when being at home and having food in the pantries.

On the other side, The National Eating Disorder Helpline is a low-cost helpline. It offers assistance seven days a week at all times of the day, via text message, call or chat on their website for those who might be in crisis due to an eating disorder or those who are seeking help to start their recovery.

Dealing with an eating disorder is not easy at all. However there are lots of counseling and therapy assistance available for those who are willing to get help from specialists and begin their recovery.