Well the title says it all…my friend is recovering from anorexia. Does anyone know someone who’s suffered from it or has suffered from it themselves? I really want to understand what people who went through it felt so I can understand it and maybe help her if she wants or needs help…please reply guys I don’t want her to hurt herself because of something that could have been prevented…thanks for your time
If she’s recovering then what’s the problem?
Professor X beat anorexia a few years back.
I’m sure he has some good tips for her, including “STFU and eat” and “Hamburger.”
[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
Professor X beat anorexia a few years back.
I’m sure he has some good tips for her, including “STFU and eat” and “Hamburger.”[/quote]
“No matter what I say…all you will hear is ‘burger’.” lulz
I came for the pic of the fat guy with the “I beat anorexia” T shirt and can now leave satisfied that T-Nationers are on the ball!
If she’s “recovering”, she should be fine, no?
I’m sure it requires professional psychological assistance, since it’s a quite serious thing. Best wishes to her.
Yes, I know a couple people.
It is a hard one.
Often people are grateful to feel able to talk about things. If you really are interested in how she feels about things, I’m sure she would appreciate a listening ear and would tell you what you want to know. Different people can have different reasons…
It has been found that people with anorexia have a severely distorted representation of their own body size. They see themselves as huge. Some studies have found things wrong with the part of their brain that represents their body - but it can be hard to know whether that caused the starvation or whether it was caused by the starvation…
You can’t save her…
But you can be a friend to her. Luck.
[quote]Nards wrote:
I came for the pic of the fat guy with the “I beat anorexia” T shirt and can now leave satisfied that T-Nationers are on the ball![/quote]
Hahaha! good one.
On a more serious note, as shitty a situation anorexia is, I find it hard to sympathise with people who have it. There are people who have real diseases like cancer that cannot do anything about their disease, they are the ones who are genuinely powerless, all she has to do is PICK UP THE FORK.
[quote]supa power wrote:
On a more serious note, as shitty a situation anorexia is, I find it hard to sympathise with people who have it. There are people who have real diseases like cancer that cannot do anything about their disease, they are the ones who are genuinely powerless, all she has to do is PICK UP THE FORK.
[/quote]
I know, right? And people with depression should just cheer the fuck up!
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]supa power wrote:
On a more serious note, as shitty a situation anorexia is, I find it hard to sympathise with people who have it. There are people who have real diseases like cancer that cannot do anything about their disease, they are the ones who are genuinely powerless, all she has to do is PICK UP THE FORK.
[/quote]
I know, right? And people with depression should just cheer the fuck up!
[/quote]
No, give them tons of anti-depressants and line your pocket right?
These “diseases” are self inflicted and can be dealt with by eating a highly nutritious and sugar free diet. Anorexia is only a disease in the west.
I can understand where supa power is coming from…you sometimes just want to ask an anorexic how much thinner they think they can get…I mean if they think they’re too fat, but they’re skin and bones, you want to ask them what they see in the mirror, and what is their ideal look? A mathematical line?
Time & understanding I would imagine are the two things she needs most I’d say.
I tend to believe a lot of people’s issues are often reducible to an inherent human need to maintain a certain sense of power, control & progression etc in their lives. Only problem is, some people sometimes choose really dodgy methods for maintaing a sense of control & in their lives.
Perhaps, in thinking of your own life ups & downs you can find something in your own way of dealing with stuff which is somewhat similar in that respect (especially, if that coping mechamism was something you used to hide from others etc).
[quote]supa power wrote:
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]supa power wrote:
On a more serious note, as shitty a situation anorexia is, I find it hard to sympathise with people who have it. There are people who have real diseases like cancer that cannot do anything about their disease, they are the ones who are genuinely powerless, all she has to do is PICK UP THE FORK.
[/quote]
I know, right? And people with depression should just cheer the fuck up!
[/quote]
No, give them tons of anti-depressants and line your pocket right?
These “diseases” are self inflicted and can be dealt with by eating a highly nutritious and sugar free diet. Anorexia is only a disease in the west.[/quote]
It’s not so easy. When your hormones are telling you “you are fat”, you have no appetite, etc. it’s very hard to pick a fork.
^^ I can understand that…but my thing is just how you want to ask the person what they’re thinking.
I mean if my buddy had a mental illness that made him totally misunderstand numbers…I would understand that it’s not really his fault…but I’d still have to ask him why he thinks 1+1 would be “purple” and not the more obvious 2, if you catch my drift.
Not exactly.
I really don’t know the specifics of the causes of anorexia, but I do know how hormones can totally change our perception of things.
“Hey! You look quite thin, not fat at all, so maybe just eat more, ok?” is not going to cut it when the issue has a physical basis. We’re not talking about complexes, but about something deeper.
my sister went through a bout of it when she was like 14. It wasn’t too long, maybe like 6-8 months. I hear it has to do with control (no shit!?!) which made sense cause my dad is the biggest control freak I know.
Give her something to control, like, lifting weights er sumthin along those lines? I have a feeling that is why I love lifting weights cause of the control I have over it.
Also maybe when she eats give her control of what it is and how much, but at the same time somehow make sure that it is enough for her to eat I guess.
[quote]GorillaMon wrote:
Time & understanding I would imagine are the two things she needs most I’d say.
I tend to believe a lot of people’s issues are often reducible to an inherent human need to maintain a certain sense of power, control & progression etc in their lives. Only problem is, some people sometimes choose really dodgy methods for maintaing a sense of control & in their lives.
Perhaps, in thinking of your own life ups & downs you can find something in your own way of dealing with stuff which is somewhat similar in that respect (especially, if that coping mechamism was something you used to hide from others etc). [/quote]
I was watching a documentary on anorexia and one of the women with anorexia felt like she had no control over anything so she controlled what she felt was the only thing she could, what she ate.
So definitely control for her, I imagine it can also be power over the people who love them or maybe punishment of the family or themselves.
I never really got the sense that it had anything to do with their size.
[quote]carbiduis wrote:
my sister went through a bout of it when she was like 14. It wasn’t too long, maybe like 6-8 months. I hear it has to do with control (no shit!?!) which made sense cause my dad is the biggest control freak I know.
Give her something to control, like, lifting weights er sumthin along those lines? I have a feeling that is why I love lifting weights cause of the control I have over it.
Also maybe when she eats give her control of what it is and how much, but at the same time somehow make sure that it is enough for her to eat I guess.[/quote]
Sorry, totally didn’t read the whole thread, but yes I agree with the control thing or feeling powerless too.