- Jun 1, 2022
- 5
- 3
Hi! A while back, I posted about my transition from gymnastics to diving/wrestling. I ended up sticking with diving and volleyball, and it is going really well.
Anyway, I am a 14-year-old girl who has struggled with a restrictive eating disorder (not officially diagnosed, but recognized by medical professionals), since I was around 8/9, so very young. I am also a former level 7/8 gymnast and have been doing gymnastics since age 7. How common is this? What has your, your child, your gymnasts' experience been with their relationship with food? I do have a close friend (an Xcel Gold gymnast) who struggles with severe anorexia, but again, what of this is related even to gymnastics, since I also have non-gymnast friends with eating disorders?
For me, it is probably correlated to a lot of things. I deal with lots of different mental health issues; anxiety, OCD, depression, etc. I think my restrictive eating was a way of control, but did gymnastics play a part? Probably yes. You can often look around, see who's winning, and compare yourself to them. We also would line up in height order in leos in front of a mirror (is this typical?) It definitely did not help with body image. What is everyone's experience?
Anyway, I am a 14-year-old girl who has struggled with a restrictive eating disorder (not officially diagnosed, but recognized by medical professionals), since I was around 8/9, so very young. I am also a former level 7/8 gymnast and have been doing gymnastics since age 7. How common is this? What has your, your child, your gymnasts' experience been with their relationship with food? I do have a close friend (an Xcel Gold gymnast) who struggles with severe anorexia, but again, what of this is related even to gymnastics, since I also have non-gymnast friends with eating disorders?
For me, it is probably correlated to a lot of things. I deal with lots of different mental health issues; anxiety, OCD, depression, etc. I think my restrictive eating was a way of control, but did gymnastics play a part? Probably yes. You can often look around, see who's winning, and compare yourself to them. We also would line up in height order in leos in front of a mirror (is this typical?) It definitely did not help with body image. What is everyone's experience?