ENIGMA- Mental health and social media

ENIGMA

How social media has affected peoples mental health, and is it really to blame?

An inside look into eating disorders and how social media assists in their spiral Illustrations and articles by Holly McQueen

CONTENTS Social media: Is it normalising unhealthy coping mechanisms?

Eating disorders: It’s more than just anorexia.

Eating disorders: Safe space or catalyst for disaster?

Eating disorder recovery: The beauty in freedom Suicide and social media: Is there a correlation?

Social media: Is it the demon we make it out to be?

CONTENT WARNING This magazine contains articles which discuss sensitive subjects.

These subjects will include, selfharm, a wide range of eating disorders and suicidal ideation. If anyone is not comfortable reading about these topics, please feel free to close the magazine and continue with your day. For those who do still wish to read the magazine, there will be separators between each topic, so if you would like to just skip a certain topic you are able to.

Please enjoy your read, and thank you to those who I interviewed for giving me the information to be able to write and spread awareness about these topics.

The next article includes the mention of selfharm. If you are sensitive to these topics, please make sure, if you are going to read the article, you are not alone, and if you do get upset by the article you please take the necessary steps to make sure you’re safe.

Social mediaIs it normalising unhealthy coping mechanisms?

Social media, an endless swamp of influencers, celebrities, businesses, and more.

A place where you can find just about anything with a few clicks, or a quick search.

Social platforms are amazing places for finding new friends, being inspired by others, keeping contact with old friends and family, however with just as much good being in social media, there is an equal amount of negative.

Among young users of social media, there has been a rise in self-harming tendencies over the years, with alarming reports showing that 24% of boys aged 16-24 have used self-harm as a coping mechanism, as well as these tendencies rising to 35% in girls.

Although there are many other contributing factors to teens using self-harm as a coping mechanism, in a

study by Aksha M Memon, of The University of Texas public health, showed that youth who spend elongated amounts of time online experience higher levels of psychological distress, unmet need for mental health support, poor mental health, as well as increased suicidal ideation.

Although information regarding self-harm and its sombre link to social media is readily available online, we interviewed multiple people who gravitate to the mental health side of social media and asked them if they had ever encountered content including NSSI*.

In one question we asked “have you become used to seeing content including self-harm while online?”. One interviewee answered “Unfortunately, yes it seems that there’s a lot of self-harm in the place I go online. I would say that I am more

used to it.”. While shocking as it may seem, many other interviewees

answered similarly, answers such as “Not only online, but in real life.”, “I have become used to seeing it, and I think that self-harm shouldnt be normalised to do, but normalised to talk about.”, “I have become very used to and very desensitized to hearing stuff about self-harm online.”

Yet still, in between the sharing of self-harm, there is a larger amount of ‘self-harm aftercare’ posts, as well as reasons not to be ashamed of scars it can leave behind and many more positive affirmations online to do with self-harm, how to stop doing it, and much more.

Though it is an unfortunate fact that many online users have become used to seeing or hearing about NSSI, it is also clear that there are many more positive online posts to do with NSSI. Whilst self-harm should not be normalised as an act of coping, it should not be considered taboo to talk about, and again while social media may increase the overall risk of individuals engaging in such behaviours, there is also a wide variety of help online for these individuals. *NSSI- non-suicidal self injury.

The next few articles include the mention of disordered eating. If you are sensitive to these topics please make sure if you are going to read the article you are not alone, and if you do get upset by the article you please take the necessary steps to make sure you’re safe.

Online, there are often posts on mental health, stating how to get help, what it's like for those who experience mental health issues, and so much more. However, few topics have become neglected and forgotten about when it comes to spreading awareness of them online. One of these being eating disorders and disordered eating traits.

Although commonly thought that the only eating disorder to exist is Anorexia nervosa, one that can lead to health problems, both physically and mentally and in the worst cases,even death. One misconception with Anorexia however, is that it's thought that all of those suffering are in smaller bodies, underweight or severely underweight. Yet these are untrue. Sufferers of anorexia can be of any weight, as the disorder is a mental disorder and not a weight based disorder.

Symptoms of the disorder include but are not limited to, restricting food intake, over exercising, obsession over calories, not eating certain foods or out of a certain time period. Symptoms can vary between each suffer, as no two eating disorders are the same.

Some other lesser known eating disorders include BED- binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, ARFID, diabulimia, OSFED and more.

BED

Binge eating disorders as classified by the suffer eating very large quantities of food without the feeling of control or hunger over a short period of time.

Some traits include, eating much faster than normal, eating without the presence of hunger, eating alone from embarrassment, feelings of guilt, distress or disgust. One misconception about

BED is that sufferers are not just overindulging, in fact the binges they experience are often far from enjoyable, rather they are extremely distressing and often include far more food than one would want to eat.

Though some may think it easy to just stop eating, those who experience BED will often feel out of control to the point that they are physically unable to stop, and sometimes cannot even recall what they have eaten afterwards.

Bulimia nervosa

Much like BED, sufferers of bulimia will often ingest large quantities of food, however will compensate after by method of purging these can be vomiting, excessive exercise, using laxative or diuretics or fasting. This disorder can lead to many health issues, such as tooth decay from vomiting, as well as damage to the throat, excessive laxative use can seriously affect the heart and the digestive system. Sufferers may also experience bloating, fatigue, swelling of the hands and feet, constipation, irregular periods and abdominal pain.

ARFID

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. ARFID is often characterised by the sufferer avoiding certain foods or restricting their intake. Although some may avoid foods due to sensory issues, such as taste, texture or temperature, othr may avoid foods due to traumatic experiences such as choking or vomiting.

OSFED OSFED stands for other specified feeding or eating disorders, also known as EDNOS- eating disorder not otherwise

Eating Disorders : Its more than just anorexia

specified. OSFED is a cumulation of a range of disordered eating types, and suffers may experience many symptoms from other specified eating disorders, this means they may experience symptoms of anorexia nervosa, bulimia and BED simultaneously. However the suffer may also experience purging disorder, which may include using laxatives or vomiting after eating as well as night eating syndrome, where they may eat when waking during the night or eat a large quantity of food after their evening meal.

Diabulimia

Diabulimia typically affects type 1 diabetics, and is a form of eating disorder in which the person will purposefully restrict insulin to lose weight. Diabulimia is considered one of the most dangerous, with sufferers being susceptible to blindness, falling into comas, severe dehydration, stroke, atherosclerosis and even death.

Many people being obsessed with health and fitness in the current day are unaware they are often engaging in disordered eating behaviours, and with fitness being so widely spread across the internet, it's often hard for sufferers and those in recovery for eating disorders to escape it, which is a factor that helps the rate of disorders rise.

Eating Disorders and social media influence: Safe space or catalyst for disaster?

Social media is a vast array of content, ways to make new friends, find new people and see parts of the world you never even imagined could exist. However , amongst the good, the smiles, the laughs and the best bits, is a manipulative force. It is invisible, and takes grasp of its victims gradually, slowly pulling them further and deeper into the abyss.

That force being the ever coming wave of ‘health and fitness influences’. Although its name sounds safe, just a place to learn how to make better food choices, to become that little bit more active, beneath is something much darker.

In the UK alone, it is estimated that at least 1.25 million people suffer with disordered eating, however the number is likely to be much higher, as some do not even realise they are engaging in these behaviours, as they are advertised as ‘healthy’ online.

To find out how social media has affected some of those who have unfortunately suffered through eating disorders, we asked how

social media had influenced the development of them.

We asked Ro, a 17 year old eating disorder sufferer, who is currently in recovery, if she believed social media had an impact on the development of her eating disorder. Ro answered “Yes, i think social media had a big influence on the development of my eating disorder.” she then continued “all the ‘perfect pictures’ that people show on social media made me compare myself with them. I wanted to be like the ‘skinny instagram models.”

Another interviewee, 15 year old Millie who is also in recovery replied “Yes, definitely. It is scary how much content there is on social media to fuel eating disorders.” upsettingly, she then continued, “without access to some of what i saw on social media, i don’t think my eating disorder would have gotten as bad as it did so quickly.”

Though the impacts of the media are not just limited to social platforms such as Instagram. Facebook, Twitter as well as others, but as another interviewee said, “It’s definitely influenced my behaviours (the media)

in a negative way. But not so much social media, more like media such as films and TV shows.”.

Unfortunately, as it is hard to stop this content being shared around social media, due to its overall acceptance in society, others -who will be remaining anonymous- said that the communities that sprout from the toxic content, are actually some of the most supportive they’ve been in. Regrettably, one of these communities is the eating disorder community, where those suffering from similar disorders will gather to share their problems, and receive support from one another.

One of the participants stated “the community is very supportive of one another and it is actually wonderful to see. There’s really no judgement and a lot of kindness”. Whilst another said “We are the ones really aware of what’s happening and if we ever see that someones going too far, we tell them, we help encourage them to get better and we NEVER ditch one another.”.

From those looking into a community which must seem so horrendous to outsiders, the online eating disorder community -excluding pro-ana communities- is a place where people can fully understand what each of them are going through, and can prevent them from doing things which are balntently dangerous. In a way, it is a safety bubble for those who suffer from these disorders, and it is a place where they can be understood and find people to help them and keep them as safe as they can.

Some of the participants commented on the community saying “When i find a safe place, i use them because they are all i have”. Another said “Since i don’t have real friends who will actually understand me, i use social media to vent”.

However unsettling it may seem to those who are blissfully unaware of the struggles of eating disorders and forms of disorder eating, the communities seem like places where these behaviours would be encouraged and applauded, yet in amongst these communities are regular people, both young and old, struggling and trying to find a way to cope.

Eating Disorder Recovery: The beauty in freedom.

When suffering from an eating disorder, getting better isn’t just an instant switch. Unfortunately, as much as many wish, you can not just go back to normal life as if you had never suffered with the illness in the first place, and so those in the process of getting better go through something known as ‘recovery’. As similarly as you recover from a cold or a broken bone, it is a steady but not linear process. With eating disorder recovery there are many ups and downs, times where you feel it is impossible to fully get better, times when you are terrified to eat the food, old habits that bite at your toes asking to be used.

Yet, even with all the troubles, anxiety and hardships those in recovery will endure, they can and will succeed, because the temporary feelings of anxiety, the feeling of being uncomfortable in one’s own skin. They are temporary. The life of freedom

that follows in recovery is a billion times better than one of fear that is lived when experiencing an eating disorder.

We interviewed some of those in recovery, to find out just what life is like through their eyes now that they are emerging into their life of opportunity and moving away from the all consuming demon that is an eating disorder.

Florence Baker has been in recovery for almost a year and shares her experiences with her over eleven thousand followers on Instagram, encouraging thousands of others to take the leap into recovery. We asked how it felt to be able to recover.

“Being in recovery has allowed me to feel free and more like myself, my eating disorder destroyed me. I was left only as a shell of the person I was, I didn’t have the energy for my interests, the time to do fun things,

and I wouldn’t allow myself to rest because I was always doing things to make my eating disorder happy- at the detriment of my own happiness. Now I have space in my brain to have genuine interest, for more fun than how many calories there are in an apple.”.

Another interviewee, Millie gave her thoughts on what recovery means to her.

“Recovery means getting to a place where food and exercise and calories aren’t all I think about. It means being able to socialise, learn, concentrate and engage in conversation. It means enjoying food and enjoying social occasions.

For me full recovery looks like fitting food around life, rather than life coming second after the eating disorder”.

Despite those who fight day in and day out with their own mind to be able to survive each day, many still remain blissfully unaware of the dangers of restricting and dieting -even if it only the smallest amount- can bring into your life, with the slippery slope that delves into eating disorders, some will unfortunately fall victim to its empty promises.

For any of those such people who may be reading this, some have shared their words with us about those who may not believe they are ready to emerge from its depths.

BEN “Do not underestimate the way you feel because no matter your weight, how much you eat etc.. Even the smallest sign of disordered eating should not exist and must be stopped, ask for help because it is NOT normal, even if society pretends that it is.”

@rediscoveringben

An anonymous interviewee “You are sick enough and you deserve help. Please seek help, find people to confide in, and commit to recovery. This ED is not you, as much as it may feel like it. It is NOT how you want to live your life. Even if you are functioning now, you are not at your best, and you DESERVE to be your best.”

DAISY “To anyone struggling with an ED i want to say you are so strong please don’t let anyone or anything tell you otherwise, you are incredible, amazing, and brave. You deserve the food freedom and recovery and to never give up please, recovery is so worth it i promise you and i want you to know you’re not alone, we are all here for you, your friends and family and us in this community we care about you! You’re amazing, don’t ever forget that.”

MILLIE “Get help, now. Please, please don’t wait until you feel ill enough, not skinny enough, because that day isn’t going to come. Eating disorders are dangerous, and can be fatal at any weight. Full recovery is possible. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been suffering, or how many times you’ve relapsed, please never stop believing that you can get better. Also, you deserve recovery, and you deserve to take up space.”

@__therealrapunzel

LYDIA “To anyone struggling with disordered eating, if you’ve not told anyone, tell someone, don’t wait until you feel sick enough to tell someone because you never will, there is not enough sickness as you believe there might be. You deserve to eat and be happy and have a good relationship with food and it does get better when you choose for it to improve. Eating disorders are not a choice but recovery is. To those recovering, keep going, you can and will change because nothing stays the same, ride the wave because you’re meant to be here on this earth. To everyone, no one is promised tomorrow and time is precious.”

@lydialearnstoeat

From Enigma magazine, to those of you struggling please reach out, even if it only to a family member or a friend. If you wish to contact someone else, there are many helplines that are available.

Mind

SANEline 0300 304 7000

Samaritans

Beat

The mix 0808 808 4994 SEED 01482 718130

National Centre for Eating Disorders 0845 838 2040

The next article includes the mention of suicidal ideation. If you are sensitive to these topics please make sure if you are going to read the article you are not alone, and if you do get upset by the article you please take the necessary steps to make sure you’re safe.

Suicide. An epidemic that's spreading around the globe like wildfire. Though sucide may not ever be linked to one specific reason for those who fall victim to its grasp, there are often similarities on how they ended up in the position. One being social media.

Social media is the phenomenon that took over the world, infesting itself into every nook and cranny of our lives. It's everywhere, adverts for it, adverts on the sites themselves. Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and so many more. Though social media, at its start, was just supposed to be a place where people could make new friends, share posts, and keep in contact with others. Now it has devolved into something more.

It's a place where people can share their opinions on any topic, which sounds great in writing, until their opinions start to dictate others' lives. Online people can share any sort of statement anonymously, hidden behind their screen, a false name, an account that is just one in billions of others.

It doesn't take much to see what is bad about social media, for example, find your favorite celebrity, look in the comment section on any of their social media posts, and you will find it littered with both positive and negative comments. However, the negatives will stick more than the positives will.

In 2020, suicidal ideation reports went up by 81% in schools, with suicide being the second leading cause of death in young people aged 10-24. So why are the rates rising so much?

When children didn't have social media, the mean kids could only pick on them while they were at school, and it would stop once school was over, however with social media, that bullying continues even after school hours. It follows them home, to the place where they're supposed to be safe.

Suicide and social media: Is there a correlation?

59.9% of parents with children aged 14-18 said that thor child had been cyberbullied between 2019-2021, with 19.2% stating that bullying had occurred through social media sites, while others pre opted it being through email, text messages, video games and through non-social media websites.

However it's not just kids picking on others, in a survey we conducted 68% of the participants said they did compare themselves to others they see online, as well as 48% saying they were adamant that social media affects people mental health and 36% it likely affects people's mental health. This in itself may seem like a reason that some would turn away from social media, however startlingly, 60% of the participants said that social media helps them when they feel upset, and 48% said that they feel more at ease when they have access to social media.

Along with this, a study found that with the increase of social media, there had been an equal increase in suicide rates.

Yet, in amongst the comments from others, there is an astonishing amount of support online for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. Posts include helplines across the world, ways to distract yourself from suicidal thoughts, posts on reasons to live, and an endless amount more. So while social media is not to take all the blame, it contributes both good and bad.

Social media: Is it the demon we make it out to be?

So, we've gotten this far, with evidence of social media being a contributor to numerous mental illnesses. So why do we keep it? What makes it so good we just can't get rid of it?

Why? It's a place where friends are made, memories are kept. Social media is a part of our everyday lives, it lets us find family members we haven't seen in a while, old classmates from years back. It stores our memories from years back, in the photos that we post. Even in the swap of negativity on social media, there's so much more positive.

Online, there are communities for just about everyone and anyone, whether you love languages, art, video games or have a bizarre hobby, you're bound to find someone online like you, who enjoys it too.

It's a free support system for those struggling with mental health, with communities for eating disorders, recovering self-harmers and those who are working to better themselves and their mental well-being. The anonymity makes it safe, and carefree for those who are scared to open up about their mental health to those who they know outside of the internet.

Whether we demonise it or not, social media is a place where people can feel safe, can find happiness, even if it's only in a small 10 second video that makes you smile, or a post that makes you think of everything youre

are grateful to have. Even if it's just the tiniest thing, social media has been one of the most accepting places for people.

Social media is full of opportunity, that enables people to bring their businesses from the ground up, where teenages can find rolemodels that they can look up to (and no, i don't mean fitness models), where they can discover things they never knew existed, and fall in love with them.

Social media might not be perfect, but i think it's safe to say, there's definitely some things on there that make our days. Even if its got its downsides, social media is sometimes one of the only reasons people feel they can be safe, and accepted.