Some common myths are noted below. Only women struggle with eating disorders. Eating disorders are about food. If the person struggling with the eating disorder would just eat, the problem would go away. Our culture places such an emphasis on body size that it stands to reason that patients struggle with body size and thoughts of food.
Recovery involves repairing damage that has been done to all aspects of a person's life.
Eating normally is just one small part of the repair work. People with eating disorders are all slender. Often, a person struggling with a binge-eating disorder or bulimia nervosa has a normal physical appearance or may carry a bit more weight than they would if they were following a normal meal plan. Everyone who is thin has an eating disorder. This myth can be extremely frustrating for a person who has genetically inherited a slender body type.