A few weeks ago, Demi Lovato shared a powerful side-by-side photo on her Instagram. One photo was taken while the 25-year-old singer was in the depths of her eating disorder; the other, more recently, while in recovery. Her message was simple: ?Recovery is possible.? But to those struggling with an eating disorder, it?s a complicated one.
Search any of the numerous eating disorder recovery-themed hashtags on Instagram?#edrecovery, #edwarrior, and #bopo being just a few?and you’ll be flooded with thousands of side-by-side photos similar to Lovato?s. But her message, while presumably well-intentioned, ignited an impassioned dialogue within the eating disorder recovery community regarding the use of these common before-and-after photos, and what purpose they really serve. On one hand, as an eating disorder survivor, I believe graphic transformation photos are often unhelpful and potentially harmful to those actively battling an eating disorder. Given the competitive and comparison-driven behaviors these illnesses often breed, seeing someone with the classic physical symptoms of an eating disorder can reinforce the misconception that someone with an eating disorder must look sick in order for their illness to be considered valid.
Graphic before-and-after photos can be harmful to those battling eating disorders.

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Before-and-after photos can also perpetuate the false and oversimplified idea that by ...