No body is perfect: Rise in eating disorders a cause of concern

Branson went through phases of anorexia and bulimia from ages 14 to 19.

“[Anorexia and bulimia] are more about the inner struggle of feeling like you have control more than what people think about how you look,” Branson said, adding that she would sometimes go days without eating. “I’d give myself one thing that I could eat. … And then you get hungry and you go on your binges, and you eat a lot; then you feel guilty after you eat it, so you throw it up. And then you think, ‘I don’t want to throw up anymore,’ so I’m just not going to eat. That was my only way of feeling like I had some sort of control – the control over my body.”

Because of her eating disorder, Branson said she didn’t begin menstruating until she was 19, which, Walker said, is a significant sign in understanding the severity of the illness.

Ironically, it was Branson’s modeling career that forced her to finally get healthy, she said.

“When I got into modeling I actually did a turnaround,” she said, adding that as a swimwear and lingerie model, she needed to look healthier and [curvier]. “Instead of being obsessed with being skinny, I am obsessed about being healthy.”

Though Branson is now a doting mother of four, she said she experienced infertility problems because of hereditary issues that were exacerbated by having had an eating disorder earlier in life. To get pregnant she had to have surgery, but once she gave birth to her twin boys, she said “everything kicked into gear,” and her third and fourth children were born naturally after that.

Buhot – a child therapist and member of the Naperville-based National Association of Anorexia Nervosa Associated Disorders – said her three-year battle with anorexia began as a diet, and gradually morphed into a yearning for physical perfection.

“The pressure was all internal … I was competing against myself. Every day I wanted to be better than the day before,” she said.

Buhot started dieting in college – at age 18 – in preparation for a spring break trip to Panama City Beach.

“It was a way to get control, and once it started, I felt like it was something I was good at, and it kind of became my identity,” she said.

When Buhot’s father visited her at school in October of her sophomore year of college, there was a staggering difference in her weight from when she left home in August.

“It was enough for him to be like, ‘I’m pulling you out of school,’” she said, adding that if her father had not interfered, the problem would have gotten progressively worse.

Buhot and her family sought treatment and received counseling for anorexia.

“It took them a lot of family therapy to understand that I wasn’t just choosing to do this,” Buhot said of the recovery experience. “To this day, if I lose a few pounds, my family goes into panic mode, because it takes them back to that time.”

Share and Enjoy

No body is perfect: Eating disorders often ‘bio-psycho-social’ illnessess

Branson went through phases of anorexia and bulimia from ages 14 to 19.

“[Anorexia and bulimia] are more about the inner struggle of feeling like you have control more than what people think about how you look,” Branson said, adding that she would sometimes go days without eating. “I’d give myself one thing that I could eat. … And then you get hungry and you go on your binges, and you eat a lot; then you feel guilty after you eat it, so you throw it up. And then you think, ‘I don’t want to throw up anymore,’ so I’m just not going to eat. That was my only way of feeling like I had some sort of control – the control over my body.”

Because of her eating disorder, Branson said she didn’t begin menstruating until she was 19, which, Walker said, is a significant sign in understanding the severity of the illness.

Ironically, it was Branson’s modeling career that forced her to finally get healthy, she said.

“When I got into modeling I actually did a turnaround,” she said, adding that as a swimwear and lingerie model, she needed to look healthier and [curvier]. “Instead of being obsessed with being skinny, I am obsessed about being healthy.”

Though Branson is now a doting mother of four, she said she experienced infertility problems because of hereditary issues that were exacerbated by having had an eating disorder earlier in life. To get pregnant she had to have surgery, but once she gave birth to her twin boys, she said “everything kicked into gear,” and her third and fourth children were born naturally after that.

Buhot – a child therapist and member of the Naperville-based National Association of Anorexia Nervosa Associated Disorders – said her three-year battle with anorexia began as a diet, and gradually morphed into a yearning for physical perfection.

“The pressure was all internal … I was competing against myself. Every day I wanted to be better than the day before,” she said.

Buhot started dieting in college – at age 18 – in preparation for a spring break trip to Panama City Beach.

“It was a way to get control, and once it started, I felt like it was something I was good at, and it kind of became my identity,” she said.

When Buhot’s father visited her at school in October of her sophomore year of college, there was a staggering difference in her weight from when she left home in August.

“It was enough for him to be like, ‘I’m pulling you out of school,’” she said, adding that if her father had not interfered, the problem would have gotten progressively worse.

Buhot and her family sought treatment and received counseling for anorexia.

“It took them a lot of family therapy to understand that I wasn’t just choosing to do this,” Buhot said of the recovery experience. “To this day, if I lose a few pounds, my family goes into panic mode, because it takes them back to that time.”

Share and Enjoy