V's story - Are Beauty Standards more of a Catalyst than a Cause of Anorexia?

It was over 20 years ago now, but I still remember the day it started. I was 12 years old, sitting in my kitchen after a long day at school drinking an entire family-sized carton of orange juice. I knew, rationally, that I was actually hungry and should probably have eaten something, but for some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Interestingly, at this moment, I don’t recall reading any fashion magazines or watching a TV show portraying lots of skinny women, but I do remember feeling a physical sensation of tension and pressure and an overwhelming desire to control my appetite.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the day that anorexia took hold of me.

I was diagnosed about a year later and was referred to a hospital where I was treated as an outpatient before being discharged at the age of 14. I am very grateful for all the help and support that I received and that I was able to fully recover.

Nevertheless, experiences like this leave a lasting impression and, in light of rising eating disorder rates in the UK, I often look back at my adolescent self and that moment in my kitchen and wonder - are beauty standards more of a catalyst than a cause of anorexia?

To be clear, I am not suggesting that body image doesn’t play a significant role in the onset of anorexia. After all, it's no secret that people with anorexia often display distorted views of their own bodies and the association between eating disorders and social media use has been well documented. However, research has shown us that anorexia develops from a complex interaction between genetics, psychology and the environment, meaning that the answer is not that simple. Each individual experience of the illness will be different.

However, substantial numbers of people with anorexia have been found to suffer with at least one other mental illness alongside their eating disorder, most commonly anxiety and depression. Therefore, could it be that anorexia sometimes manifests as more of a coping mechanism for these underlying emotional difficulties?

It is of course entirely possible that the eating disorder itself may increase the risk of developing other psychiatric disorders. However, there is also evidence that those already suffering from other mental illnesses are more likely to develop anorexia, which suggests that body image alone may not always be the driving force behind this illness.

Interestingly, social anxiety is considered to be one of the potential risk factors for eating disorders, which would explain why some anorexia sufferers may be more susceptible to negative body image messaging.

In other words, if this underlying issue already existed, then beauty standards may have been more of a catalyst than a primary cause.

Anorexia is a complicated illness with many potential causes. However, could finding ways to increase self-esteem and emotional resilience in young people act as a more effective buffer than focusing on body image alone?