Molly Seidel shares more about her struggles with anxiety, depression and eating : "I will never overcome my eating disorder."

I read the article this morning on the ESPN app. It was very good.

What's the difference between an eating disorder and disorder eating?

Is this only a First World problem?

What percentage of students who attend Notre Dame are Catholic?

If you tell a priest during confession about an eating disorder will he be trained to

point someone in the direction of a health specialist?

I sure wish Karen Carpenter would have gotten some help for her eating disorder.

I support any runner who brings attention to this problem.

We need healthy runners competing at their physical and mental best.

Hi!

The line between disordered eating (going to abbreviate it to DE) and an eating disorder (ED) can be hard to detect. Factors to consider are preoccupation and quality of life. When you have DE, you think (and worry) about food more than the average person. What am I going to eat? How many calories are in it? Did I eat too much yesterday? If I eat bread, should it be oat, whole wheat, multi-grain? etc. When you have an ED, the thoughts become all-consuming. Most of the time you’re awake, you’re thinking about food, worrying about food, counting calories (note, many, but not everyone with an ED does this one), planning what you’re going to eat tomorrow or the next day, worrying that you ate too much yesterday, worrying about your weight/body shape, thinking about how your friend invited you to dinner and looking up the menu online hours in advance, scrutinizing it, planning what to order, etc. People with EDs can report not being able to concentrate on work, school, conversations with people because it’s so hard to focus with all this ED stuff in your head. Also, quality of life. People with DE are still able to function well but those with an ED don’t. They often cancel outings with friends or family because there’s going to be food or the plans interfere with their exercise routine. I mentioned a minute ago about ED thoughts interfering with work/school/conversations, which also plays into quality of life. Those with EDs often become more isolated as their illness progresses. There are other DE/ED differences but those are 2 big categories.

I believe it started in affluent countries, but over time has spread to other parts of the world. While it’s more prevalent in First World countries, EDs likely happen everywhere.

I googled. According to the university itself, 80% of its students identify as Catholic.

I know nothing about Catholic priests and the training they receive, but I’d like to think they’d at least encourage someone in confession to see a doctor/counselor. I really hope it’s not just some religious BS like “you need to pray harder, pray for god to relieve you of your ED burden.”

Karen Carpenter DID get help, but this was during the 70’s early 80’s, when ED treatment was, well, bad. Very few people, including health professionals, knew anything about anorexia. There were no special treatment centers like we have now, very few therapists who specialized. Anorexics like Karen were often hospitalized when their health was in danger, fed to a healthy weight, and then discharged. This is NOT a cure. EDs are mental illnesses and psychiatric care like therapy, is essential. Karen was hospitalized repeatedly, often for months at a time, but because no one helped her with the underlying issues that caused her anorexia, it wasn’t a cure. She did extensive, daily therapy with Steven Levenkron, one of a few ED specialists in the US at that time, but because EDs are complex and very hard to treat, she did not recover and still died as a result of her illness. If you’d like more info on Karen, her life, work, and anorexia, look into the book ‘Little Girl Blue’ by Randy L Schmidt. It’s excellent!

So do I! DE & ED are so prevalent in running, the more talk about it, the better!

Agreed!

Sorry for how long this is. If this brought up more questions, feel free to ask!

Good for her for being honest, real and telling her story like it is.

Many people struggle with mental/emotional disorders, addiction, etc.

Its true that you never overcome these things and have to find ways to manage them for the rest of your life.

Its great to see her, and other athletes, using their platforms to remind us all that there are many bigger issues out there that cannot be disguised with nice tidy bows.

Eating disorders for runners is very much a U.S. phenomenon. Not that prevalent in other countries. The pressures on a college student/ athlete or a professional runner are great. I'm glad Molly is getting through it. But if it is too much for some women they should not compete. No running career is worth the negative impacts of a eating disorder.

olyrun wrote:

Eating disorders for runners is very much a U.S. phenomenon. Not that prevalent in other countries. The pressures on a college student/ athlete or a professional runner are great. I'm glad Molly is getting through it. But if it is too much for some women they should not compete. No running career is worth the negative impacts of a eating disorder.

20% of elite (granted the definition of elite is a bit debateable) UK distance runners have reported eating disorder issues. 16% of german. How high does it have to be prevalent? Even Kenyans are down at 7% which while high is still pretty darn noticeable.

Kind of hard to differentiate disordered eating, eating disorder, orthorexia and just being highly disciplined athletes, trying to do all they can in their diet to be at their best. It wouldn't be so problematic if there wasn't so much online confusion and propaganda.

Not a fun way to go through your 20's. I hope she gets better. Running fast is not that important.

Yeah that ultra girl with all the pelvic stress fractures needs to come out and admit her disordered eating too. It’s blatantly obvious and she’s in healthcare. It sets a good example for others if they just admit they have a problem.

Plant head, who? Do you know her name?

Nothing to see here move along.

This story is the biggest yawner in the industry. I predict over the next year another Distance runner will come forward to tell us all that she has an eating disorder. And the year after and the year after and .........

Each and every time many will tell her how brave she is to share her story and how much she is helping others blah blah blah.

It will not change a thing and the cycle will start over again.

The things she talks about, like the anxiety about eating anything “unhealthy,” learning to eat more than feels natural during a training cycle are things that I see very commonly even in my very non-elite female running friends.

They are constantly talking about “earning” food (e.g., “I ran 22 miles today, I guess it would be okay if I ate half a muffin”). They order bunless black bean burgers or split a single sushi roll when we go out to eat, and then don’t finish it, even when running 50-60 wpm. They almost all have amenorrhea.

This is way more common than people realize, and not just among top-tier runners.

Nice article. Very interesting and informative!

olyrun wrote:

Eating disorders for runners is very much a U.S. phenomenon. Not that prevalent in other countries. The pressures on a college student/ athlete or a professional runner are great. I'm glad Molly is getting through it. But if it is too much for some women they should not compete. No running career is worth the negative impacts of a eating disorder.

Not sure if it’s a simple fix of just “don’t be a competitive runner”. A runner with a eating disorder might even be worse off without the structure.

its true wrote:

The things she talks about, like the anxiety about eating anything “unhealthy,” learning to eat more than feels natural during a training cycle are things that I see very commonly even in my very non-elite female running friends.

They are constantly talking about “earning” food (e.g., “I ran 22 miles today, I guess it would be okay if I ate half a muffin”). They order bunless black bean burgers or split a single sushi roll when we go out to eat, and then don’t finish it, even when running 50-60 wpm. They almost all have amenorrhea.

This is way more common than people realize, and not just among top-tier runners.

One thing you never see discussed is the environment among the women’s team in college can way beyond toxic when it comes to judging each other for eating “bad food”. It almost is a competition of who can diet the hardest.

Yeah, it's a woman thing.. I watch my wife and her friends do this all the time. It can be simple, go to starbucks and one orders a latte or whatever, the next orders a coffee -black only no sure no anything... the next is black only, but also DECAFF... the next orders hot water and only 1 tea bag... I fully expect the next order an empty cup.

tough gig wrote:

Nothing to see here move along.

This story is the biggest yawner in the industry. I predict over the next year another Distance runner will come forward to tell us all that she has an eating disorder. And the year after and the year after and .........

Each and every time many will tell her how brave she is to share her story and how much she is helping others blah blah blah.

It will not change a thing and the cycle will start over again.

Have you battled an ED before? It's not something that's comfortable to talk about openly, especially for someone at the top of the NCAA and now marathon in the U.S. She should be praised for her courage and vulnerability that undoubtedly inspires others (including myself) to be a happy and healthy distance runner. You are promoting the damaging stigma rather than listening empathetically. Please stop.

The point is more how many woman have told this same exact story? The only sort of unique part is that she came back. But the list of distance runners who developed an eating disorder and talked about it is long.

75% of Americans have an eating disorder. 65% can't control their eating and 10% do the opposite. Eating disorders did not exist 75 years ago because people were not wealthy enough to have unlimited resources and unlimited time, both of which are required.