So in the last month or two, at least two well know individuals have publicly acknowledged that they have struggled with an eating disorder: Kara DioGuardi of American Idol fame, and Monica Seles world class tennis champion.
In an interview with a reporter from the New York Times, Ms. Seles noted that she struggled with binge eating for many years and ultimately determined that food had become her "best friend,"something that would comfort her when she felt bad. Ultimately Ms. Seles said that she had to "throw out the word diet" and she "allowed myself to eat every single food group. My extreme cravings went away." She resolved that she had to "do this one thing for myself, not for my mother, for the media or for my career."
I think throughthis brief glimpse into Monica Seles' struggle with an eating disorder she seems to have struggled with the same kinds of things that most struggle with when trying to overcome an eating disorder: pressure and expectations from others, the use of dieting to achieve one's weight goals. Ultimately, it would appear that Ms. Seles' recognized that she had to change how she viewed food, her body and herself in order to live a healthy life. "I needed to stop my love-hate relationship with food and just have a love relationship with it. After that i could have a love relationship with my body."
Is it helpful to hear about famous people's struggles with eating disorders? Is it motivating to hear about how they overcame their struggles? No trick questions here...just wondering what you think. More and more celebrities seem to be coming forward with their personal struggles - and I often wonder how helpful it is for the rest of us...
If you haven't seen the article in the New York Times about Monica Seles follow this link: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/monica-seles-talks-about-binge-eating/?emc=eta1
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