Eating Disorder
More and more emphasis is put on how we look. So many people are blaming the media! Because, there is so much more publicity now it appears that this issue is bigger than ever and perhaps it is. When I think of the Olympics and those tiny bodies tumbling, jumping, running or skating across the TV screen, I think about the pressure these children have to be perfect. And that leads to teenagers wanting to be perfect and adults wanting to be perfect.
The body requires nourishment – it is your vehicle for life – there is no way to trade it in on a new model and most people seriously take better care of their cars than they do their own body. WHY? Perhaps because it is FREE. It came with birth – just a thought…
So many times we are led to an article, a page, a link or a book because of our awareness. Just today, I stumbled upon a video of Kathy Rigby as Peter Pan. Her tiny frame intrigued me and I researched her. Here is what Wikipedia had to say about her…
In 1981, Rigby starred as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. During that production, Rigby met her second husband, Tom McCoy. She credits McCoy with enabling her to fight bulimia, a disease which she had lived with since the end of her gymnastics career
During the 1980s, Rigby also began publicly speaking about her experiences with eating disorders. Rigby, who suffered from bulimia for 12 years, in an article she wrote for People Magazine in 1984, said: “I wanted to be perfect in my attitude and in my weight. Inside I was going crazy. I probably consumed 10,000 calories a day or more in fast foods. I can tell you where every McDonald’s and Jack in the Box was along the way (to my voice lessons) — and every bathroom where I could get rid of the food.” ] According to a People Magazine interview in 1991, “twice she was hospitalized and nearly died from electrolyte imbalance.”
YES!! She too struggled with Bulimia. At first I was shocked and then I realized that this is such a private disease – it is like going to the bathroom – also very private – something we do not share with others.
When I met Barbara Niven, a couple of years ago at an Ilearning Global event – she shared her battle with Bulimia – she took it to the next level and made a video about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q58kyTdFf98
Barbara Niven: actress www.barbaraniven.com
Who else do we know?
Diane Keaton –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/diane-keaton-book-then-again_n_1097731.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2059434/Diane-Keaton-My-secret-battle-bulimia.html
Mary Tyler Moore
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/articles/body_image/93_beautiful_bulemic_dead.cfm
Karen Carpenter (musician): Went on a water diet to lose weight and, as she put it, to appear more attractive. Continued to diet even after losing 20 lbs, until her death at the age of 32. She died of cardiac arrest due to anorexia.
http://www.anorexia-reflections.com/karen-carpenter-anorexia.html
Jane Fonda: Award-winning actress Jane Fonda revealed several years ago that she had been a secret bulimic from age 12, and struggled with anorexia and bulimia for 30 years. Jane became one of the first Hollywood actresses to break the silence and talk openly about eating disorders and campaigned to raise awareness about anorexia and bulimia. In her autobiography “My Life So Far”, Jane honestly talks about her 30 year battle with eating disorders.
Margaux Hemmingway: actress, model, suffered with bulimia
Famous celebrities who have spoken publicly about their suffering with Eating Disorders: (this list is constantly being updated)
Kelly Clarkson: The ‘American Idol’ winner struggled with bulimia for six months until friends discovered her secret and begged her to get help.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19377418/ns/today-entertainment/t/kelly-clarkson-reveals-battle-bulimia/#.TtpsBGMk67s
http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2007/06/kelly-clarkson-comes-clean-about-eating-disorder/
Sandra Dee: Model and actress Sandra Dee struggled with an eating disorder. “I was anorexic for many years – even before people knew what it was – they didn’t even have a name for it back then.”
Diana, Princess of Wales: Princess Diana
http://www.settelen.com/diana_eating_disorders.htm
“Eating Disorders, whether it be Anorexia or Bulimia, show how an individual can turn the nourishment of the body into a painful attack on themselves and they have at their core a far deeper problem than mere vanity. And sadly, Eating Disorders are on the increase at a disturbing rate, affecting a growing number of men and women and a growing number of children.”
http://www.mirror-mirror.org/princess-diana-eating-disorder.htm
Sally Field: Actress Sally Field struggled with an eating disorder in the past. Sally began her three-year battle with anorexia and bulimia at the age of 20. “Everybody then was Twiggy, except me.”
http://caringonline.com/eatdis/celebrities_s.html
http://www.celebrities-with-diseases.com/celebrities/sally-field%E2%80%99s-eating-disorder-was-life-threatening-2585.html
Zina Garrison: tennis player said, “Bulimia CRUSHES your self esteem”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2006/may/07/tennis.features
Felicity Huffman: Actress Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) battled both bulimia and anorexia
Janet Jackson: Singer Janet Jackson has been quoted in the media as having an ongoing battle with an eating disorder.
Elton John: Elton John has gone public about his struggles with bulimia, as well as a less common eating disorder of chewing and spitting.
http://www.celebrities-with-diseases.com/celebrities/elton-john-went-to-rehab-to-battle-drug-abuse-and-bulimia-3457.html
Wynonna Judd: Country singer and songwriter Wynonna Judd (one half of the legendary mother-daughter duo ‘The Judds
Whitney Houston
http://caringonline.com/eatdis/celebrities_w.html
Demi Lovato: actress, singer, has discussed her struggles with eating as a writer for Seventeen magazine.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/demi-lovato-interview-teen-star-opens-bulimia-cutting/story?id=13405090#.Ttpet2Mk67s
Katherine McPhee: Singer Katharine McPhee, American Idol runner-up, struggled with bulimia while auditioning for American Idol in San Francisco in August 2005. She suffered from an eating disorder for 6 years, since she was 17 years old.
Mary-Kate Olsen: Actress Mary-Kate Olsen (‘The Olsen Twins’) checked into an eating disorder treatment center and underwent treatment for anorexia after months of speculation and rumors about her thin appearance and denying of being anorexic.
Sharon Osbourne: (married to Ozzy Osbourne), who has survived deadly colon cancer in the past, has confessed she has been suffering from bulimia for 35 years and she is still struggling. “I’ve been able to conquer just about everything except bulimia.” Sharon had gastric bypass surgery but still battles with her eating disorder.
Dennis Quaid: he shed 40 lbs. for the role of Doc Holliday in the film Wyatt Earp, he called it “manorexia.”
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1172023,00.html
Portia de Rossi: Wife of Ellen Degeneres – http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2010/11/portia-de-rossi-opens-up-about.html
Lacey Schwimmer: “Dancing With the Stars” http://www.accesshollywood.com/dancings-lacey-schwimmer-opens-up-about-conquering-anorexia_article_26872
Richard Simmons: Fitness and diet guru Richard Simmons suffered from an eating disorder in the past.
http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/7206/an-interview-with-richard-simmons
Meredith Vieira:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38560934/ns/today-books/t/operation-beautiful-just-say-no-fat-talk/#.Ttp1O2Mk67s
Oprah Winfrey: I’ve felt safer and more protected when I was heavy.
http://insidetv.ew.com/2010/04/29/oprah-winfrey-network-eating-disorders/
Kate Winslet: British actress Kate Winslet (Titanic, Sense and Sensibility)
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/02/12/kate-winslet-speaks-out-against-anorexic-role-models/