Disordered Eating vs. Normal Eating

For the month of November, 安德瑞森健康中心周二在北京教室举办了一系列关于饮食失调和正常饮食习惯的课外课程. The courses were led by Rachel Keele, 安德瑞森健康与大学健康中心主任, who also has personal experience with disordered eating. 基尔导演“相信人们与食物的关系远比他们可能吃或不吃的个别东西重要得多. 了解饮食失调和正常饮食的样子是解决和改善这种关系的第一步.“我们开设课外课程就是为了帮助学生迈出第一步!

Elizabeth Dovich (junior, communication), who attended the disordered eating short courses, 她说她“真的很喜欢”这个系列，并学到了“吃饭不应该是一件苦差事”. 虽然我仍然应该确保我吃的是正确的食物种类, I shouldn't stress about getting it right every time. 我也喜欢他们如何展示正常的饮食会有起起落落, and I shouldn't expect it to be perfect all the time."
Like Elizabeth, 我还发现这些练习很有用，因为我在感到压力时往往会吃得过多, 或者在极度焦虑的时候选择几天不吃东西. Even in my "normal" mood, 我很怀疑我的饮食或饮食习惯是否真的正常和健康，或者有些问题. Knowing that both of them can affect not just my appetite, 但也发展严重的疾病，如糖尿病, cardiovascular problems, or cancer in the long term, I saw the need to make an improvement, but did not know where to start. Nonetheless, listening to Director Keele's personal story, 她用来帮助自己保持正常饮食的策略, 复习饮食失调和正常饮食的定义和清单对我自己的生活很有帮助，也很实用.

According to her presentation, 饮食失调包括任何妨碍维持健康生活的饮食方式, which includes physical, psychological, and social aspects. 饮食紊乱往往不符合我们的生理需要, and can also come in different forms of eating. You might be eating too much, and other times, not enough. And once in a while is not a big problem, but if it happens on a regular basis, that could be a form of disordered eating. 经常吃东西来缓解压力也是饮食失调的一种形式. 不用说，导致压力的饮食是饮食失调. 基尔主任还强调，重要的是要注意饮食失调和饮食失调之间的区别. She said, “而饮食失调更多地是由病理学和临床功能障碍来定义的，伴有一些非常具体和极端的行为, disordered eating consists of generalized, common behaviors that happen consistently.这意味着这种做法可以出现在任何人的生活中，即使是那些我们认为健康的人. As Alex Hess (senior, English) has mentioned:

“我认为饮食失调绝对是我们应该更多讨论的问题, but in more nuanced ways. In my personal experience, 我读到和听到的关于饮食失调的大部分内容都集中在社交媒体和美容行业是如何对女性和女孩实施有毒的美容标准的. While this is extremely true and important to recognize, 我认为我们需要同等重视在健身兄弟文化和体育运动中猖獗的饮食失调. 真正消除饮食紊乱，过上更健康的生活, 我们需要睁开眼睛，看看一些形式的饮食失调是如何被病态化的，而另一些形式的饮食失调是如何被颂扬的, 以及它如何与特定的性别角色和刻板印象相互作用.”

Jaylene Koon (senior, 护士)也同意饮食失调是每个人都必须接受教育的事情, especially due to social media. 她说:“作为一名护理专业的学生，了解我们所服务的病人群体是很重要的! 最近的研究表明，社交媒体的持续增长与饮食失调的增加直接相关. 像#今天吃什么这样的趋势可能会对一些年轻人对营养的看法产生负面影响. In addition, 随着“减肥食谱”和“无负罪感食谱”的泛滥，饮食失调变得更加常态化.“这些令人震惊的统计数据鼓励我不仅要自我教育, 也要养成健康的饮食习惯，这样我就可以为我未来的病人提供资源.”

So what is normal eating? From what I understood from the presentation, 正常饮食是一种不需要太多压力的行为——你不会过多地考虑你的食物, moralizing your food choices, or feeling guilty about not perfecting your choices. Instead, 你会把食物当作快乐和能量的来源, 这会让你感觉更好，表现更好(注意这个词了吗 better, not best) throughout the day. And although food will help you feel better, 重要的是要注意，你不能依赖食物来增强你的情绪状态. 另一件要记住的重要事情是，虽然你在正常饮食中不会过度考虑你的食物选择, you would still be mindful of several factors, such as your eating pace, the taste, and your feeling. Taking time while eating, processing the taste of the food, and being aware of your feelings or satiety is crucial. 

If the description of normal eating sounds alien to you, 试着采纳Keele主任在会议上介绍的这些建议:
确定你“正常”吃的是什么.“你目前没有练习的具体正常行为是什么??

1. Acknowledge what you will LOSE by taking this journey.
2. 选择一些小步骤，让你朝着正确的方向前进. (ex. Eat slowly, record diet)
3. Enlist the help of family and friends.
4. Progress with patience, flexibility, and adaptability.
5. Don't select an end date. 随着时间的推移建立一致性，尽管有时你会断断续续.

The National Eating Disorders Association also runs a website containing helpful information, screening tests, and a helpline (text and calls), 所以，如果你想获得更多的资源，请登录我们的网站. Another great news for the Andrews students is that telehealth provides free nutritionist counseling sessions. 这意味着你可以从专业人士那里得到实用和个人的方法来解决你的饮食失调! So, 我鼓励你充分利用这个机会, while applying the tips and advice listed above.