For women struggling with PCOS and fertility, it can be daunting, especially if they have felt dismissed in the past.

Athletes aren’t the only ones affected by this issue. It also impacts individuals with a disordered relationship with their bodies who have restrictive food patterns and/or overexercise. To the average person and even to many doctors, these individuals may appear healthy unless they exhibit signs of severe malnourishment, such as extreme anorexia.

What becomes even more disturbing is it’s usually not just an internal feeling, but accompanied by behavior such as yelling, throwing something, crying uncontrollably, feeling physically weak, or even something as severe as physical violence toward another person or yourself.