Thin Documentary about Eating Disorders

This documentary highlights the challenges of eating disorders and also the misconceptions about them. For starters, these women do one of the hardest things by admitting they need help and admit themselves into an institution.

After being admitted, it seems like the focus becomes less on helping them heal through counseling and life style changes but instead, staff that focuses on attacking the women’s integrity through minor infractions such as smoking in the bathroom or covering up stories for other women.

I agree that the women should be honest about any wrongdoings within the institution, since it could harm themselves or another patient. For example, someone hiding food in Shelly’s room harms them from fully recovering. However, the way the staff goes about it does not foster a nurturing environment, but instead turns the institution into a high school environment filled with cliques and harsh criticism of one another. This toxic environment holds several of the women back in the recovery process.

Additionally, when Polly and Michelle sneak out to get tattoos, the employer spews out misconceptions and oversimplifies the illness, suggesting they should eat six small meals a day to lose weight. This highlights the life-long battle that these women have to face with an eating disorder. Even when they are recovered, it almost seems like the world is working against them. In Renfrew, many of these women never fully recovered as many of them were discharged early due to insurance benefits getting maxed out. These women are left to fend for themselves, which only makes them slip back into their old ways.

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We see the stress of Polly getting kicked out of Renfrew was enough for her to revert back before she even left the facility. We also see Alisa return to her old habits quickly after getting discharged as well.

Overall, this documentary was a chilling highlight into the realities of living with an eating disorder or being related to someone with an eating disorder. It brings up strong concerns about the quality of care for these patients. The staff seems unsupportive and petty, despite Renfrew being one of the better institutions for this type of illness. Additionally, it appears that the recovery time is extensive for eating disorders, so insurance benefits need to be reevaluated. Many of these women lose their chance of recovering when their benefits run out. However, there are moments of positivity and hope in the documentary, where the women seem happy. These moments primarily come from sharing the strength of one another in a way that they understand. This documentary feels like a call to action to reevaluate the institutions that specialize in this kind of care and the insurance coverage offered for this type of illness.