Anyone dealing with anorexia or know someone who is?

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Feanaro_s_Wife

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I would like to know if there is anyone here who has experience with anorexia. You could be a counsellor, family member, or the person who suffers with this disorder.

I just need some insight into this.

Malia
 
I’ve seen patients who were suffering from complications of anorexia.

I’ve sent you a PM.
 
My best friend since I was 12 has battle bulimia through out most of her life -which is very closely related to anorexia.
In my experience anoxeia/bulimia is a control issue. My friend has confided when she feels the rest of her life is out of her control she has the most difficult time fighting against her bulimia. Food is the one area in her life she can control.
It is also connected to body image. She is a victim of childhood sexual abuse. Another friend of mine who also was abused sexually as a child has a lot of food issues. She goes through phases where she starves herself -living on tic tacs and water. Then to binging and then vomiting.
 
I’ve dealt with Anorexia and food issues personally, a couple of times (though by looking at me most would assume I’ve always been a binger, but this is not the case). During Junior High I starved myself after my best friend was killed in a horrible car accident…my dad is a firefighter, I had heard all the radio traffic from the accident…including them declaring a code 0 at the scene…a victim found dead on arrival…I starved myself for several months, until I passed out in the cafeteria one day during lunch…It was very much a control issue…my friend had just died, I had just started Jr. High, my school wanted me to take my SAT’s…It all piled up and I felt like I needed control of something…so I took control of my food…once I adjusted to all the new things I was able to relax the control over my food…until college anyway…

Freshman year I was overwhelmed with all the newness of it and I took control of my food again…I starved myself off and on for the whole year, finally I got settled into life and the control relaxed…the bad thing is that I didn’t eat very healthy at all and the pounds started to pile on…it didn’t help that they also found my PCOS around that time and didn’t warn me about the weight gain associated with that and the insulin resistance…

so now I’m being careful, because I need to lose some of those extra pounds, but I have to watch how I do it or the anorexic tendencies come back…it also has to do with body image, I was always told by an aunt that I was too chubby and no man would want me because I was heavy…that just fed into it all…Thank God for my husband, he’s very good about reassuring me and reminding me that its important to be healthy rather than skinny…

It can be an uphill battle, but its worth the fight…
Jamie
 
No one has spoken about treating anorexia or bulimia. My understanding is that they are very serious psychological disorders that require psychological as well as medical attention. I have known several women who were bulimic or anorexic. They all received intensive medical and psychological treatment as young adults. But I understand that bulemics and anorexics struggle with their problems and frequently relapse later in life.
 
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auroraj42:
I’ve dealt with Anorexia and food issues personally…

Jamie
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Thanks for sharing that Jamie.

I am dealing with the fact that my sister suffers from anorexia. About 6 years ago she was hospitalized from the effects (organ failure etc) and very nearly died.

My problem is that she doesn’t really open up to anyone and also refuses to seek treatment or help of any kind.

I can see that when her life gets stressful she is fighting not to slip back into old patterns, but sometimes she fails.

It is scaring me and my family to watch this, but we feel helpless.

I guess I want to know two things from all of you…
  1. What should I do?
2)What is it like to be anorexic?

If you don’t want to share your personal stories publicly, please PM me and tell me how to help my sister.

Malia
 
Feanaro's Wife:
Thanks for sharing that Jamie.

I am dealing with the fact that my sister suffers from anorexia. About 6 years ago she was hospitalized from the effects (organ failure etc) and very nearly died.

My problem is that she doesn’t really open up to anyone and also refuses to seek treatment or help of any kind.

I can see that when her life gets stressful she is fighting not to slip back into old patterns, but sometimes she fails.

It is scaring me and my family to watch this, but we feel helpless.

I guess I want to know two things from all of you…
  1. What should I do?
2)What is it like to be anorexic?

If you don’t want to share your personal stories publicly, please PM me and tell me how to help my sister.

Malia
Click to expand...
An anorexic does not see her eating disorder as a problem. Instead, she views her anorexia as a solution TO her problems.

If I were you, I would contact an anorexia treatment center in the area (or even a national program) and seek their advice about how best to approach your sister about this.

You might let your sister know that you’re going to seek therapy in how best to help her. Her reaction might be one of anger or panic or derision, as it threatens her “control,” but at the same time it will plant a seed in her mind that NO, not everyone else around her believes for a second that this is normal.

Because you probably don’t know the extent of your sister’s disorder, be sure to find a center that specializes in a broad range of recovery issues–from laxative abuse to diet pills to diuretic abuse to obessive exercise, etc. It’s all part of the same package.
 
I to dealt with anorexia, for me it wasn’t intentional. I started losing weight by not eating and the thinner I got the thinner I wanted to be so I just wasn’t eating. It got to the point that I really couldn’t eat, my body couldn’t handle the food I would get violently ill. My eyes were sunken in I couldn’t keep warm because I had gotten so thin. I would were 4 pairs of pants and several shirts so no one knew. I really wanted to have a supermodel body. Finally someone in my family saw me and got me to the Dr. I had counsling and got better. As far as the eating that took a little while. I had to take in very small amounts more frequently, and for a while the most I could handle was a couple ounces of shakes at a time. I am good now and really haven’t had to worry about relapse so far. I just don’t weigh myself and try to keep my clothes fitting. The hardest part is when I am pregnant because at every visit they have to weigh you. I can’t stand to see my weight go up, but pray helps. I will pray for your sister.
 
Feanaro's Wife:
Thanks for sharing that Jamie.

I am dealing with the fact that my sister suffers from anorexia. About 6 years ago she was hospitalized from the effects (organ failure etc) and very nearly died.

My problem is that she doesn’t really open up to anyone and also refuses to seek treatment or help of any kind.

I can see that when her life gets stressful she is fighting not to slip back into old patterns, but sometimes she fails.

It is scaring me and my family to watch this, but we feel helpless.

I guess I want to know two things from all of you…
  1. What should I do?
2)What is it like to be anorexic?

If you don’t want to share your personal stories publicly, please PM me and tell me how to help my sister.

Malia
Click to expand...
 
Medical note:

Bear in mind here that the disorder that is being discussed is anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia (literally, “lack of appetite”) can come from other causes. For example, the times that I’ve had severe gastroenteritis, I have been anorexic, meaning that I didn’t even want to look at food. But that is different, and should be differentiated in the terminology.

DaveBj
 
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DaveBj:
Medical note:

Bear in mind here that the disorder that is being discussed is anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia (literally, “lack of appetite”) can come from other causes. For example, the times that I’ve had severe gastroenteritis, I have been anorexic, meaning that I didn’t even want to look at food. But that is different, and should be differentiated in the terminology.

DaveBj
Click to expand...
Shame on me, I apologize. I am usually very accurate when descibing medical conditions and actually am a bit anal about it, lol… I don’t know why I left out the “nervosa” part of it. Maybe it made it sound more serious and I just couldn’t deal with it at the time? It won’t happen again.

Malia
 
I found a good website (I have been checking various sites over the past 2 years that I’ve had internet access) and joined a support group for families/friends of those who suffer with eating disorders. I am hopeful that they will be able to help.

Malia
 
to be honest, I enjoyed having anorexia. I felt proud of my weight, and I felt like I was worth something. self discipline was my impetus. Then, my parents threw me in a psychiatric hospital for 3 months…that was the most horrible experiance i’ve ever had. It freaked me out so much, I’ll probably never be anorexic again. I’m not trying to be a troll, that is my honest feelings about anorexia. i feel bad for other people when they have it, but I’d love to have it if they didn’t throw me in that accursed hospital.
 
A friend is dealing w/ this in her daughter.

It’s a large family, lots of positive attitudes, no history of abuse, no history of body image issues, they don’t watch movies w/ lots of thin women, the kids are homeschooled so the girl is not around thin, scantily dressed girls all day (who she might want to copy).

Their mental health professional said that recent research points to the possibility that anorexia nervosa may be a form of (or manifestation of?) OCD.

Best of luck helping your sister. It sounds like a scary thing to deal with. —KCT
 
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