Self-destructive eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are prevalent on college campuses, and can be a serious struggle to get through. For one Eastern student, it was a life or death battle she did not know if she would overcome.

Brigid Matchen, a senior sociology major, is recovering from anorexia nervosa. Matchen had desired to shed a few pounds in high school her senior year. She began by exercising regularly and eliminating fatty foods from her diet.

Slowly, she started cutting out more and more food from her diet. The constant dieting and exercise led to dramatic drops in her weight.

“It was working. I kept receiving comments like ‘Wow, you’re losing weight,'” Matchen said.

Matchen’s behavior became more compulsive. Not only was she starving herself, she would also freak out if she didn’t complete enough exercises every day. Matchen recalled one day when she had forgotten her push ups, “It was around midnight. I sat up in bed and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t finish my workout.’ I then proceeded to do them in bed,” she said.

Matchen’s weight fell from 150 pounds to 105 from her compulsive exercises and poor eating habits.

As time passed, her fingers began to turn purple, her hair became thinner, thin hair (called lanugo) grew around her throat and she ceased to have her menstrual period.

Teachers from Matchen’s high school called her parents because they suspected she had an eating disorder.

At first, her parents were in denial about her eating disorder, but they finally realized the teachers were right and decided to confront her.

“My parents thought I was going to die,” Matchen said.

The confrontation was a wake-up call for Matchen. She had physical and psychological exams and was told that if her weight dropped to 100 pounds, she would be placed in a day hospital.

According to the Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders Web site, one out of a hundred female adolescents has anorexia and four percent of college women have bulimia.

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by a secretive cycle of binging and purging. Bulimia nervosa has three primary symptoms: eating large quantities of food in short periods of time, often secretly; following the binges with some form of purging; and having extreme concern with body weight and shape.

Bulimics use several methods for binging, such as self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, fasting and obsessive exercise, the Web site said.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. The disorder has four primary symptoms: refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for height, body type, age and activity level; intense fear of being “fat”; feeling “fat” despite dramatic weight loss and loss of menstrual periods, the Web site said.

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are both fatal diseases that can have long-lasting effects on body functions.

Although there is not clear-cut evidence why people develop eating disorders, health experts suggest they can stem from many other problems.

Statistics from Eastern’s Clinical Services said that sometimes women manipulate their bodies to gain approval, affection and acceptance from the opposite sex. Eating disorders are also known to be caused from psychological and emotional problems and issues with a person’s family.

After recognizing that she had a problem, Matchen took some steps towards recovery.

Upon graduating high school, Matchen began going to counseling.

She now attends the Counseling Center once a week to discuss what is going on in her life and mentioned that it helps get her emotions and feelings out.

Matchen admitted she still struggles with anorexia. Sometimes she becomes obsessed with what she eats.

“I have episodes where I start to write down what I’m eating. You never really overcome it,” Matchen said.

Matchen offers advice for anyone suffering from an eating disorder. The person must first realize he or she is suffering from the disorder and then should seek counseling.

For friends or relatives of someone suffering from a disorder, it is not best to tell the person to eat.

“Don’t tell the person ‘You have to eat,’ because that won’t make the person eat. That will discourage him or her,” Matchen said.

Also, Matchen said that inviting the person to go out is important.

“Even if he or she won’t eat much if you’re going out to dinner, it still shows that you care,” Matchen said.

She added that just being emotionally available for the person is important.