Like much of the world, I’ve spent the last few weeks in an anxious haze, walking aimlessly between my apartment’s three rooms because there’s nowhere else to go. I’m taking Emergen-C and checking my temperature twice a day. I have an anxiety disorder, and I am also, quite reasonably, afraid that I will get COVID-19. One common symptom of COVID-19 is chest tightness and shortness of breath. As it happens, chest tightness and shortness of breath are also common symptoms of anxiety. So last week, when my chest felt tight for three days and I monitored my breath so closely that breathing started to feel unnatural, I worried, and worried some more.

In her documentary “Miss Americana,” music icon Taylor Swift disclosed her history of eating disorders. Her revelation underscores the fact these disorders do not discriminate. According to the advocacy and awareness organization, Eating Disorders Coalition, they strike all genders, races, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Despite their prevalence – the problem is worldwide – myths about eating disorders abound. Such as that they are a choice. They are not. Or they’re not a big deal. They are. Or that a person with an eating disorder is always severely underweight. Not always.