Eating Disorder

i totally understand that.... up until i developed an eating disorder i was constantly being ridiculed from classmates about my weight... it was very traumatic for me, whether it sounds like it to some or not.

 

I think being slightly to moderately overweight is more acceptible for guys. I was never teased and in sport, my size gave me the courage to leap in front of on-coming oponents.

 

Okay so this is my issue. I am completley fine, eat a normal amount,don't throw-up intentionally afterwards but I still get questioned and it's uncomftrable. I got really sick last night because I ate cheese and drank on an empty stomach and this morning my mom accussed me of doing it on purpose and I blew up. What's an appropriatte way to respond and to stop feeling like after I eat or before leaving a resturaunt like I am not even allowed to use the bathroom. It's getting really old.

 

Rather dismaying how people around an anorexic such as classmates and parents actually make the situation worse, whether or not they realize it.

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Hi

when i was 9 i suddenly had anorexia, accompanied by a 'reason' not to eat that just appeared in my head & seemed kindof sensible in a twisted way but in reality was ridiculous, but because i was only 9 at the time i couldnt discriminate & i had no-one to point it out to me, & i certainly wasnt going to tell anyone about it.
This anorexia lasted about 6 weeks & then ended. It wasnt a particularly difficult time for me. I have noticed that it coincided with me be put on a different table for lunch at school. But thats not enough to cause anorexia. Maybe theres more that i dont remember.

Since then I grew up but have OCD. I dont have anorexia, but since reading this thread I have noticed that some things i do remind me of anorexia. when i attend family lunches I dont eat anything because I am a vegan. People ask why i'm not eating anything & I dont like having to explain time after time. Also people say I'm too thin. Other things as well have got me wondering.

I feel sorry for you all. Some things you write seem very true for me.

I agree there is more to this than food or trying to be thin. It has a lot to do with fear & when you're a teenager this can be extremely tough. Its amazing that you have been able to cope with that you have.

I have lots of things I could say in the way of advice, but I never give advice unless it is asked for.

 

Another thing that pyschologists tend to connect with anorexia mainly, is the fear of growing up---the desire to have tiny to non-existent hips, no breasts, etc [this is for females, obviously] can be a big part of the connection.

I believe this to be true for some, because I fully admit my fear of growing up, and I have a difficult time accepting my new, more womanly body/curves. I constantly finding myself looking at like, 12 year old girls wishing I could look like them, and its absurd.

I have an intense fear of growing up.

And I do believe this connects to my eating disorder.

 

At what age do anorexics fear growing up?

I used to fear being expected to 'act like an adult'
but i dont feel i ever grew up.

PS how will you know when you've grown up?

 

I used to be the same way and I got over it slowly. My grandma gave me a bunch of photos from when I was 20, I looked like a 15 year old and at the time I remember how fat I thought I looked. The dress i was wearing looks ridiculously tight because I wouldn't buy anything over a size 5.

 

I'm also quite scared of growing up, always have been.

I'm sure that's another reason why I have an ED.

I mean I suppose I'm considered grown up, because I'm 20 years old, but I know I'm not like a functioning adult.


Lynsey, your very lucky to be over your ED, I'm trying to recover right now.
It's so hard, but I'm starting to do better.

 

With me, growing up... isn't a problem except for a few minor issues, and those issues nag me a lot.

The body image is a big problem--- accepting my womanly shape is a big issue for me, but more so I am afraid of what I will make of myself and if I will fail, it's really scary.

I'm not irresponsible or immature, where I won't do things because I don't want to grow up, I am just frightened.... and most of all, since my parents got divorced I keep finding myself looking to the past, when I was little for comfort...I know those times can never be again, but I miss them so much it hurts...

 

Oh and speaking of my body image I think mine has hit an all time low. I fit into a size 1 now, and yet I keep feeling like I just keep getting bigger, when I'm physically shrinking... my mind is playing tricks on me, and I hate it.

 

to anyone...


how big a problem is your eating disorder, on a scale of 1 to 10, ie how much does it ruin your life (where 10 represents the most problem)?

 

physically: 7
emotionally/mentally: 10

I can get myself to eat often, but I can't get the obsession with it out of my head, ever. it consumes me emotionally day in and day out.

 

anorexia isnt a preserve of teenage girls. it is a preserve of cancer patients.
there's no shame in succumbing to it.
i am real interested in your story.
how long have you had it at what age has it affected you,why do you think you have it,do you think you will ever recover fully?

 

Eating disorders are probably related to anxiety that can take many forms....fear of leaving home, public speaking phobia, speech failure, fear of groups, .....and on and on.

Could anorexia be caused by brain washing of females who are bombarded by media images of the slim trim, wonder woman who all of America loves. Fit this mold or else. Some of us can't withstand the brain washing power then develop anxiety over it. Possibly, those who inherited anxiety, simply add this to the list of symptoms?

There are medication for anxiety....My big thing is medication since I've had good luck with them.

Are you taking medication?

 

I'm 36 now (feeling old). I've always been a "happy round guy." Not obscenely overweight but overweight all the same. I put on a bit more weight after my partner (of 18yrs, we met in school) died in a car accident 2 years ago(depression I guess, I was always a comfort eater). This despite having 3 girls to look after. When I weighed myself one day I decided to get fit and loose all the excess weight. I decided to try and set goals for myself and it sort of started from there.

As I said before I went from 5'7", 177lbs to 117lbs over the course of about 5 months (from January to the end of May) and it held there till about mid-July, since which time I've lost another 7lbs. I became really aware of my issue with food when I started to see a nutritionist.

The scariest thing is I've started to be almost revolted by food. I look at it, think about all the callories and can't even think about eating. I can now tell you the amount of fat (and carbs) and the number of callories of everything in my kitchen. I have no idea how I came by this knowledge, I just seem to have picked it up. To make matter worse, whenever I see a plate of food I'm calculating the callories involved.

 

well being a proficent calorie counter is part of an anorexics armour or skill.
sory to hear about your troubles and thanks for sharing.
its strange how we dont hear more about the perils of comfort eating!
its not usually untill it goes too far and people become obese or anorexic.
my advice as always is to get back into a rgular healthy nutritous balanced diet, iknow its boring and scary, but you will become healthy and your MIND WILL SETTLE.
please beleive me.

 

btw 36 isnt old ,its the doorway to true wisdom!

 

Thanks.

 

Not necessarily all anorexics are calorie counters. I know plenty that didn't worry about calories, but rather only limited themselves to either a certain amount of food a day, a certain food group, or ate halfway decent, but overexercised.

When my troubles started, I was about 11, so calories didn't make much sense to me... I simply just skipped breafast and lunch, and picked at my dinner... I didn't utilize calories in the slightest. In fact there were days I would eat junk, but nothing else...candy bars and the like, but nothing else to make up for me eating junk.

For me, I always "gauged" my "sucess" on how empty my tummy felt, and sure eating a candy bar has lots of calories, but it won't fill you up...so I was proud even if I just ate a candy bar.

Now I'm obsessive with calories though and it's the hardest thing to get away from ....I'm obsessive compulsive in general so it's a difficult struggle for me to get away from the obsession with calorie counting. I find myself distraught and upset if I can't find anything to eat that's under 100 calories... *sigh*

Also, I like how you mentioned that we don't hear about the perils of comfort eating.... that actually makes me really sad, because comfort eating/overeating is just as much a problem as anorexia is, but it is less recognized by society. For some reason people don't seem to look at obesity as unhealthy as they do someone who looks much like a skeleton, but the truth is, both are in equal amount of danger. I also think that it's harder for those with overeating issues find it hard to talk about because it's not as recognized as a problem and they tend to get looked down on for it, rather than helped.

I have friends who are overweight or obese, and know they have a problem, but so many people around them just call them fat, or say "ugh, why dont you just stop eating a gallon of ice cream then!"

However, when people notice my problem, or if I confide in them, I am often drowning in pity, which actually irritates me to all hell--- and it bothers me a lot that no one seems to see overeating issues as much as a problem as anorexia.

Comfort eating is dangerous as well as not eating when you're upset... Connecting food with emotions, period, leads to bigger problems. That's the root of all eating disorders---connecting eating to emotions.

On one hand, people look at stick thin models and feel that that's a big cause of anorexia-- I feel that advertising has a lot to do with the problem in comfort eaters--- "Feeling blue---GRAB A BLAH BLAH CANDY BAR! WOO HOO!"
etc. Advertising has always used the method of getting to your emotions to get you to buy and use a product, and they do it with food too.

And in my opinion diet commercials are far more dangerous than a fashion magazine. The message diet commercials send are "Use this product and you will feel better about yourself, have more friends, get more boyfriends/girlfriends, and be overall happier with life"

very dangerous.

This is part of why it is so difficult for anyone with ANY type of eating disorder to recover... we are constantly receiving all sorts of messages everyday--
Part of the contradicting thoughts and feelings in eating disordered patients is from the mixed signals. You have your family and friends trying to get you to eat right and live healthy, while you have advertisements telling you to do otherwise, and people you're not close to criticizing you for the way you look or eat.

The focus on food in this world is insane.