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College Tribune | November 12th 2008
Saluting the sick Aoife Ryan speaks to Susan Horgan, founder of the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of Ireland, about unhealthy food attitudes. Body perception is a dangerous thing. Of all the psychological disorders, anorexia and bulimia have the highest mortality rates. The increase in eating disorders all over the world has led to a criticism of media distortion and unfair ideals. However, the demand for perfection continues, led by the same machine, and has reached frenzied heights in the last decade. For those affected it is often the case of if we cannot control our own shape, our own body, then everything is consequently out of balance and futile. The praised voluptuous girls of previous generations have been drowned out by a succession of ultra-controlled, zero-percent body fat contemporaries within our media. For those with natural shapes and sensitive personalities, the effect has been more than slightly damaging. Even worse, this does not necessarily even mean one body shape, but those who are also naturally thin. Being saluted one moment for your godgiven slenderness and then judged as high strung, unwomanly or even sick the next is a problem that goes unaddressed for the most part, being either brushed off by those who see them as lucky and just moaners, or by the unsympathetic who don’t believe you can be that naturally skinny. It seems fair to say that no one in this day and age is left without a few bullying digs. Until the twenties the preferred beauty was of an increased size. The innovation in fashion and the introduction of the flapper dress led to the need for altering natural body sizes. Up until now it was the clothes which complimented the body, rather than the conscious changing of the body shape in order to highlight the beauty of the outfit itself. 1950’s stars such as Audrey Hepburn saw a move away from the sensual to a more refined style and the sixties brought with them the iconic figure of Twiggy. By any comparison, although this increased the desire a large amount for the need to be thin, the general public did not display the dramatic efforts of today. It leads us to question what exactly it is about us that fuels our need to gain appraisal by pushing ourselves to the extreme. “There is no straightforward answer to why disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are so prevalent today in society unfortunately. People use it as an answer to their problems” says Susan Horgan, founder of the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of Ireland. Paradoxical though it may seem, Horgan sticks by her claim that these disorders are initiated as the answer to their strife. “Eating disorders are outlets of expression that enable the sufferer to gain control. It’s a response to things like pressure, family problems such as maybe an alcoholic or absent parent, or a parent who strictly diets, and past trauma or abuse. You have to consider the person’s history and also their personality.” Explaining that our character flaws and even our sometimes celebrated traits can
be risks, Horgan goes on to say that “if you are a perfectionist, you will realise that extreme dieting and body control is something which you can determine; before it gets out of hand
“There is no straightforward answer to why disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are so prevalent today in society unfortunately. People use it as an answer to their problems” that is. Biological factors such as low serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain are also now being recognised. Of course the person’s culture and the society they live in day-to-day is another important determinant.” Horgan’s past is something bounded to what she now does for her job. Having experienced first hand the terrors of living with anorexia from aged nineteen, Horgan can relate and
cites her profession as more of a vocation. It was at 27 that she began her “therapeutic journey” and went on a regular basis to a psychiatrist. “I didn’t like my job at the time so I decided to go back to college and get my degree in psychology and then over to the National Centre for Eating Disorders in London to further my education in the field.” She is now a certified trainer and psychologist with twenty-five years experience who has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes throughout her career. Eating disorders can be triggered by something miniscule to surrounding friends and family, but which is blown out of proportion and seems insurmountable to the sufferer. It could be a comment, a magazine picture or a photo. It could be the anxious or stressed state of the person at the time it strikes them. It is a moment of vulnerability which attaches itself to everything in that person’s life and begins to leach, attacking every aspect of it. “At the resource centre we address the physical problems and also the mental, spiritual and emotional impact. It can be a very frustrating and demanding job, because these
illnesses are resistant. You really have to learn to switch off from the problems once you go home and never invest too much in the results of those you treat or you will only end up damaged yourself. It is rewarding though-treating people. I love what I do.” Research has shown that up to twenty years ago, for every ten to fifteen females with anorexia or bulimia there was only one male equivalent. Nowadays for every four women with anorexia there is one male equivalent, and for every eight to eleven female bulimics there is one male. Male sufferers also must cope with the added stigma of having a “woman’s disorder”. Horgan confirms the increased problem, stating, “Many of the older males that come to see me are less open and responsive to treatment. Boys of eleven and twelve are slightly less so, but are still aware of their ‘peculiar’ position.” Horgan left Dublin seven years ago to live in Wexford so she could offer a more nurturing environment for her patients. “We help the patient in a number of ways, such as CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy, an umbrella term for psychiatry treatments), interpersonal therapy and other holistic approaches. “The family must also be educated. These disorders are manipulative and devious and can make the sufferer seem very similar. We have to learn to distinguish them, which as a society I don’t believe we have. We do on some level see that person as vain”. Sufferers also tend to question what risks, even after recovery, they can take. They wonder if looks-conscious industries and the media would be impossible without certain relapse. “People need to know that it is totally reversible. I do workshops and lectures in schools and colleges to spread this message.” One message that has been said but not sung is that the privileged voices of society need to stop saluting the overtly, unnaturally skinny who are not exotic, extreme pictures of beauty but extreme examples of sickness. It is a reassuring sign when someone so deeply involved in the treatment and prevention of such mental illnesses can assure her patients that “in the heat of it all, difficulty is opportunity.”
The bottom line concerning Ugg boots is that they have no place in a fashion article. Yet according to an incomprehensible number of Irish students, they are a vital asset to their wardrobes. For every critic of the Ugg boot there are at least three or four ardent supporters. And so, five years on from its introduction to the Irish market in 2003, the Ugg boot remains an enigma. Taking the issue to the students of UCD, it didn’t take long to persuade five female students to take part in a discussion about the Ugg craze. In accordance with their request to remain anonymous they each took the name of a character from the MTV cult series The Hills. When questioned on the style of the average student, Whitney rambles off “Ugg boots, black tights and a denim skirt” as if it is a popular catchphrase. “Moon boots and knee high socks are also big,” Lauren says, rolling her eyes in disgust. Suddenly there seems to be something even more offensive then Uggs. Concerning the appeal of Ugg boot’s Heidi states openly,