What Is Up With Ellen Muth’s And Her Rumored Eating Disorder?
By
PsychReel
In this blog, we will discuss Ellen Muth’s rumored eating disorder, and also cover topics like who is Ellen Muth, what eating disorders are, types of eating disorders, their treatment, and frequently asked questions.
What Is Up With Ellen Muth’s And Her Rumored Eating Disorder?
Ellen Muth seemed to become thinner with every public appearance of her and people started speculating that she was suffering from an eating disorder due to her thin body but she has never talked about suffering from an eating disorder.
There were also reports of her having swollen glands in the pictures released by media of her recent appearances and people spread the rumors that she was suffering from bulimia and indulged in compensatory behaviors like vomiting that resulted in her glands appearing swollen.
Let us explore who she is and what eating disorders are and understand what are eating disorders, different types of eating disorders, and how to treat them.
Who is Ellen Muth?
Ellen was born on March 6, 1981, in Milford, Connecticut, US. Her parents were Dr. Erich Muth, a renowned optician, and Rachel Muth. She has an older brother, Karl.
She had her early schooling at the ‘Skip Barber Racing School,’ where she took part in a variety of activities including dancing, horseback riding, vocal training, and target shooting.
She has been interested in acting since childhood. When she was 10 years old, she decided to learn acting. Her family was supportive of her interest in acting. She started modeling at 12 and her photos were used for her father’s optician practice.
After that, she joined ‘Ford Models,’ and began appearing in commercials in 1993. She enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in New York after deciding to pursue acting as a career and graduated in 1994.
Today, she is best known for her performances in the film Dolores Claiborne and the TV series ‘Dead Like Me.’ Her character ‘Selena’ from her film, Dolores Claiborne, won her appreciation and a few awards.
She also appeared in other films and TV series such as ‘A Gentleman’s Game,’ ‘Margarine Wars,’ and ‘Rain,’ ‘Two against Time,’ ‘Cara Unashamed,’ ‘The Truth about Jane,’ ‘The Beat, and ‘Hannibal.’
An interesting fact about Ellen is that she loves races and also enjoys driving six-speed cars. She is reportedly a cat person and loves Burmese cats in particular.
What are Eating disorders?
Feeding and eating disorders are characterized by eating and feeding-related behaviors which are problematic or disruption of eating in a healthy fashion, that might cause changes in absorption or consumption of food which negatively impacts psychosocial functioning or physical health. Overall, eating disorders affect up to 5% of the population, seen more often in adolescence and young adulthood.
In the category of feeding and eating disorders, the DSM-5 recognizes rumination disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, pica, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
Types of eating disorders
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
It is an eating and feeding disorder that was recently defined. Children suffering from ARFID are extremely picky eaters and have little interest in eating. They eat only a limited variety of selective foods, which leads to improper growth and failure in meeting the required nutritional levels.
It usually develops earlier than other eating disorders. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, which are more commonly seen in girls, boys are more susceptible to ARFID. Also unlike anorexia and bulimia, people affected do not have excessive concerns about their body shape and weight.
The symptoms include nutritional deficiencies, reduced or no appetite, lack of interest in having food, etc. People suffering from ARFID may not feel hungry or may react negatively to the smell, taste, texture, or color of food.
Some kids are also scared and imagine scenarios of having pain, choking, or vomiting when they eat. When food restriction or avoidance is based on your own sensory features such as sensitivity to appearance, texture, color, smell, etc., then behavior during these conditions can be described as “restrictive eating,” “selective eating,” and “food neophobia.”
Pica
It is an eating disorder in which people eat nonfood items compulsively. Dirt, clay, flaking paint, chalk is among the most common items ingested. Basically, any items which are available easily around us.
Glue, hair, cigarette ashes, and excrement are some of the less common materials. This condition is more frequent in children, affecting 10% to 30% of young children aged 1 to 6. It’s also common among kids and adults who have intellectual or developmental problems (ID).
At times, pregnant women also crave strange items like nonfood items. For these women, pica most commonly involves ingestion of dirt and it may be related to an iron or zinc deficiency. The symptoms include stomach pain, irregular bowel movements, blood in the stool, etc, apart from the obvious compulsive ingestion of the items under question.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa which is often simply called anorexia is an eating disorder whose main identifying features are an abnormal bodyweight which is on the lower side, a constant and persistent fear of gaining weight, and also a distorted sense of what healthy weight can be.
People with anorexia nervosa place significant efforts on controlling their body weight and shape, often by using extreme and threatening efforts that significantly affect their daily lives.
To avoid weight gain or to promote weight loss, they severely restrict the quantity of food they eat. They control their calorie intake by purging after eating or by using diuretics, laxatives, diet aids, or enemas (injections of fluids used to cleanse or stimulate the emptying of the bowel).
They may also push themselves physically, so that they can lose weight. And no matter how much weight has been lost, the person still continues to be scared of gaining weight.
Bulimia Nervosa
Individuals with bulimia nervosa generally alternate dieting, or eating only low calorie foods which they consider safe, with binge eating on greasy and unhealthy high calorie foods.
It is defined as eating a large amount of food over a short period of time with a sense of loss of control over how much they are eating or what they are eating. The behavior is usually secretive because they hold feelings of shame or embarrassment.
Binges can be very large and is often consumed rapidly even after reaching fullness to the point of nausea and discomfort.
A binge period lasts at least once a week and is usually followed by “compensatory behaviours” such as fasting, vomiting, laxative abuse, or excessive activity in order to avoid weight gain.
People with bulimia nervosa, like those with anorexia nervosa, are too obsessed with ideas about food, weight, or shape, which have a negative and disproportionate impact on their self-worth.
Rumination disorder
It is a medical condition in which people regurgitate undigested or partially digested food from their stomach, rechew it, and then swallow or spit it out.
Reportedly it does not taste acidic because the food hasn’t yet been digested yet, so it tastes normal unlike how vomit tastes. Rumination typically occurs soon after every meal. The statistics regarding the number of people suffering from this condition are not known as not many people report their problem out of embarrassment.
Binge-eating disorder
It is a serious feeding disorder in which a person frequently consumes unusually large amounts of food and is unable to stop eating.
Though many people overeat and it is quite common, people with the binge-eating disorder find it hard to stop even when they start feeling uncomfortable. However, Unlike people with bulimia nervosa, they do not frequently use compensatory behaviors to get rid of the food.
They avoid social situations because they are afraid of losing control of their eating and embarrassing themselves in front of others. Binge eating is a persistent condition that can result in major health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
Causes and risk factors of feeding and eating disorders
There are no conclusive pin-pointed causes that may be leading to the development of eating and feeding disorders. There may be many causes like that of other mental health issues, such as: Genetics and biology and/or psychological or emotional health.
The risk factors might include family history; that is, the eating disorder is likely to occur if someone in the family is suffering or previously suffered from any eating disorders, abuse; childhood bullying or abuse, etc.
People who have other mental conditions are also at the risk of developing eating disorders, especially people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and intellectual disability. Other risk factors include feelings of stress, the pressure of being ‘perfect,’ fear of failure, etc.
If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.
Ellen Muth’s eating disorder rumors
Despite speculations, Ellen Muth never confirmed whether or not she has/had an eating disorder. The rumors started when her fans felt like Ellen was growing thinner over her appearances.
Some people felt like she was always thin and others believed she might have been suffering from an eating disorder. They even pointed out her swollen glands and assumed it was because of bulimia. Regardless there is no official confirmation from here, only rumors.
Treatment of the eating disorder
When treating an eating issue, it is preferable to work as a team. Primary care clinicians, mental health experts, and dietitians with experience in eating disorders can all be part of this team.
Treatment is determined by the type of eating disorder. However, nutrition education, psychotherapy, and medicine are usually included.
Conclusion
We explored who is Ellen Muth, what are eating disorders, types of eating disorders, rumours of Muth having an eating disorder, and treatment of eating disorders.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs): What Is Up With Ellen Muth’s And Her Rumored Eating Disorder?
Why did Ellen Muth stop acting?
Ellen Muth put a break on her acting career to focus on other things that interest her such as cats, conventions, and coffee.
What is Ellen Muth from Dead Like Me doing now?
Ellen Muth has taken a break from her acting after her last role in ‘Hannibal’ and now she got into a business away from the spotlight.
Who played Georgia Madchen?
Georgia Madchen from Hannibal was played by Ellen Muth from 2013-2015.
What are some of the famous movies and shows Ellen Muth featured in?
Dead like me, Truth about Jane, Dolores Claiborne, the young girl, and the monsoon are some of the movies and shows she featured in.
What is Bigorexia disorder?
Bigorexia is a body dysmorphic disorder that causes a fixation with the thought that your body is too small or not muscular enough, according to the DSM-5.
What does binge and purge mean?
Binge is to eat a lot of food uncontrollably and purge is to force oneself into vomiting out the binged food.
References
Abraham, S., & Llewellyn-Jones, D. (1984). Eating disorders: The facts. New York: OxfordUniversity Press.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).