The documentary Thin was released in 2006 and directed by Lauren Greenfield. It follows the lives of four young women, ranging from their teens to early thirties, who are sent to temporarily reside in a treatment care facility in Boca Raton, FL, for eating disorder patients. All four of the women hail from different states within the U. S. and grapple with a variety of disordered eating habits, ranging from anorexia nervosa (restrictive eating), bulimia nervosa (binging and purging), to binge eating disorder. Upon being released from the treatment facility, the women quickly slip back into their old ways of struggling with obsessive-compulsive rituals to lose weight quickly, whether by severely restricting caloric intake or binge eating and self-induced vomiting.
Witnessing one of the women at the treatment facility demonize a refined sugar-laden vanilla cupcake was especially poignant. People who suffer from eating disorders often perceive "fattening" and "unhealthy" foods as the most dangerous weapon and have truly lost sight of the bigger picture beyond their focus on controlling their food intake and weight. Seeing the women form friendships and bond over acting like silly teenagers jumping on the bed, or hugging each other goodbye, was also touching. A reminder that these treatment facility patients are human beings, capable of forming bonds, and who each have distinct backstories before their eating disorder took over their lives.
Many critics have accused rehabilitation facility staff of treating their clientele with a cold, clinical approach centered more on increasing caloric intake and body weight rather than uncovering and addressing the core emotional and psychological issues that led these women to engage in disordered eating habits and rituals. The climax of the documentary features one of the four women being asked to leave the facility for modeling disruptive and rebellious behavior. Upon her departure, she engages in self-induced vomiting and requests to smoke cigarettes in the cab leaving the facility. It is revealed at the end of the documentary that all four of the women drastically dropped in weight proceeding their release from the treatment facility, and the woman who was asked to leave committed suicide.
Thin did not hesitate to share graphic footage of women who struggle with life-debilitating mental health issues repeatedly vomiting into toilets, hysterically expressing their desire to die, or struggling to hush the voice of their inner critic, one of which condemns themself as "disgusting" or "pathetic." What the documentary did lack was including footage of the women making strides toward recovery. Not only in terms of recognizing distorted perceptions related to body dysmorphia but also addressing the motivations they harbored to engage in dysfunctional eating, exercising, and purging rituals or seeing the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. Being able to envision a life where they are not slaves to their mental health disorders, spending every day counting calories in vegetables and sugar-free gum, binge eating in shame and secrecy, vomiting into toilets or running X amount of miles on the treadmill. Questions therapists at the treatment facility could have potentially posed were, is there anything you want out of life you can't achieve in this state of mind? Is there a lifestyle you'd like to be living you would not be able to enjoy if you are struggling with engaging in disordered eating habits on a daily basis? Were there major events or changes in your life that triggered the beginning of using disordered eating rituals to cope with being unable to control other aspects (of your life)?
There was also a lack of acknowledgment of external factors that could have affected the self-esteem of these women. For example, Western society's strong focus on thin body ideals, the American beauty, fashion, and entertainment industries, or the pressure to remain "elegant" for women who grew up doing ballet or gymnastics.
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