Out of control

An 18-year-old girl from London recently died of anorexia. What made it even sadder was the fact that she had just been admitted to Cambridge University and had a promising life ahead of her.

The lives of many anorexics are not as troubled as teens who are addicted to drugs, abused by their parents, or involved in gangs. Their profile may even fit into that of a person with a loving and supportive family. However, peer pressure and warped messages from the media lead them to feel unworthy. Thoughts of not being good enough, pretty enough, slim enough enter their minds. They could also be in the middle of a problem that they have no control of and feel that denying their bodies of food and satisfaction is the only thing that gives them some sort of control. But it is a false perception of control, because anorexia soon takes a hold of one’s life and health, the sufferer finding herself slipping away quickly to death.