What is an eating disorder? Well, one of the many definitions of an eating disorder is an unnatural pattern of behaviors and thoughts. All eating disorders have similar characteristics. It could be fear of gaining weight, food, weight or calories. Families who suffer from eating disorders along with other family members or friends also have a higher risk of depression, obesity, substance abuse or excessive food consumption, and other eating disorders such as bulimia or binge eating. People with eating disorders may struggle socially, physically and/or mentally, there are also many symptoms and signs to look out for. A common eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is an eating disorder in which a person is obsessed with thoughts of an abnormally thin body image that they may or may not have, but which is irrelevant because they cannot see it. They may appear to have a bipolar view of themselves. One day they agree with the way they are seen and the next day they hate it. This especially happens with dancers, gymnasts and/or runners. In any case, what anorexic people do is starve themselves until they get their body the way they want it, which is a very unhealthy way to live. The way you treat your body, starving yourself, could harm your social, physical and mental life. This means you may turn down times when friends ask you to go out with them. In other words, you may decide you don't want to go out with your friends or family because you need to exercise and don't need to eat. You might say that you are already fat enough that you no longer need to eat. This could also be a bad influence on your younger friends and/or family members… middle of paper… eat and be heartbroken to find out. Don't put yourself, your family or your friends in that place, in pain or danger. Be smart, don't be stupid, believe me, you won't regret it, you will be proud of yourself. You will also be happy because there is always the possibility that you could, and probably will, get seriously ill, and maybe even die from all of this. Works Cited Ellsworth, Loretta. "Chapter 3 and Chapter 23." In the blink of an eye. New York: Walker & Co., 2010. 10 and 128. Print."KidsHealth: The Web's Most Visited Children's Health Site." KidsHealth: The most visited children's health site on the web. The Nemours Foundation, nd Web. March 17, 2014. .Segal, Jeanne and Melinda Smith. “The Help Guide helps you help yourself and others.” The help guide helps you help yourself and others. Np, nd Web. March 19. 2014. .