Eating disorders among the most life-threatening mental illnesses, says advocate

Eating disorders, especially when they reach advanced stages, rank among the most lethal mental illnesses, warns Elín Vigdís Guðmundsdóttir, chair of Sáttar, an Icelandic advocacy group for those affected by eating disorders.

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You can be struggling with bulimia [...] for many years without it necessarily showing much on the outside.

Guðmundsdóttir explained in an interview that individuals can struggle with conditions like bulimia for many years without obvious external signs. The illness can have severe and dangerous consequences, often before a person even receives a diagnosis. "This impacts your mental health and self-confidence and self-esteem," she stated.

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This is, of mental illnesses, the most life-threatening.

She further elaborated that shame frequently isolates individuals, preventing them from seeking necessary assistance. However, Guðmundsdóttir stressed that these struggles often have understandable origins. "In almost all cases, there is a very normal explanation. You might just have a nervous system that is more sensitive to this, or you might have experienced some trauma, and what was a coping mechanism turned into a harmful one."

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This impacts your mental health and self-confidence and self-esteem.

"You just need help to see that first so you can seek help and get the assistance and have a much better and more enjoyable life without [the illness]," Guðmundsdóttir added, emphasizing that recovery and a better quality of life are achievable with the right support.

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But in almost all cases, there is a very normal explanation. You might just have a nervous system that is more sensitive to this, or you might have experienced some trauma, and what was a coping mechanism turned into a harmful one.