Triggering? Girls and Eating Disorders

NY Times has an article on 'contagion' and eating disorders especially among young girls regarding Young Adult literature.  

Quotes:

"The Internet has given rise to countless “pro-ana,” or pro-anorexia, Web sites that promote anorexia as a “lifestyle” rather than a disease. Photos of rail-thin celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and the Olsen sisters serve as “thinspiration,” while reading lists tout the appeal of eating disorder books."

"I’ve gotten tips, motivation and many of the characters have become my role-models"

"Are there things in this book that will trigger unsuspecting people? And if so what do we do about that? What their response was, was that we have a culture that glamorizes this. The docs say, Yes, the book is going to trigger people. Turning on the television triggers people — looking at billboards, going to the computer, walking past a magazine rack. But the challenge in the book they felt I had met was to show the entire story. There is nothing glamorous or lovely about an eating disorder. It’s horror."

"There is a dangerous trend to view anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than a serious mental illness"

"Books such as these should be read with careful parental supervision."

From the Comments:

"IN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION: In writing about eating disorders, are authors, unwittingly, creating an alluring guidebook to the disease? MY ANSWER, BASED ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IS: “YES”

More than 28 years ago, I, as a teen, first began reading about bulimia and anorexia in popular, safe magazines like Woman’s Day, and Ladies Home Journal...These magazine articles, which were meant to inform, led me down the road to be a practicing anorexic/bulimic for almost 15 years. Be VERY wary of these types of books. They may very well turn out to be a how-to guide for your teen."

"On the “Yes” front: I know my disorder was triggered by an article in New York Magazine - among the first on the topic, a few years before it burst into the headlines...

On the “No” front: Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, pica, EDNOS, are all manifestations of an underlying problem. Whether you want to define this problem as a reaction to external issues (e.g., poor peer relationships, dysfunctional family, etc.) or internal issues (depression, OCD, bipolar) or most likely an interaction of both, there will be SOME trigger and SOME manifestation. If it isn’t an eating disorder, it could be acting out, or inappropriate sexual behaviour, or kleptomania, or cutting, or something else. The psychological force is a river, and if you dam one channel it will cut itself another.""

"I don’t think it’s a coincidence that more girls are having problems with anorexia and bulimia at the same time. The same goes for “cutting.” No one cut or had these eating disorders before they became popular. Just like no one considered shooting up their schools until others did it"