Anorexia Support

I am 'recovering' from Anorexia (or that's what the doctor's have said anyway) after a few years of struggling with it. I would like to find someone else in a similar situation to me so that we can support each other in recovery, be there when you need someone to talk to and just generally help each other.

I don't know if there is anyone out there who would be willing to do this, but thanks anyway

I can relate to that. The difficult thing with anorexia though is that we never feel 'ill enough' to deserve help. But I promise you 100% you are. The majority of people with anorexia will never be hospitalised - even if they would benefit from it, so much of it comes down to whether there's a bed available anyway. And even in hospital you don't feel ill enough - there's always that feeling that someone else is thinner than you or more sick. The fact that you have anorexia says that you are ill enough. Don't let the illness try to convince you otherwise!

Reasons to recover I find are:
Having energy again!
Not feeling so cold constantly
Being able to go out with friends and not panic so much about eating
Not feeling so physically weak
Eating something without feeling that intense guilt every day
Being able to be flexible around meals instead of planning everything way in advance
Healthier hair and skin
Better concentration

etc etc!

In the EDU I was in there were 22 beds I think (out of 51 beds in the entire hospital, including the other wards). There were two sides to the EDU I was in, so 11 of the beds were for the Acute ward and 11 in the Progression/Transition ward. They were almost always full, besides every now and then for a couple of days while awaiting a new admission. So usually you'd be with around 11 people at a time, but different people were at different stages - e.g. Transition didn't have to have supervision at meals or do post-meal supervision, and over on the Acute ward some people ate upstairs in the EDU kitchen, but you progressed when you were ready to eat downstairs in the hospital's dining room (at specific EDU tables with staff supervising).

I have anorexia nervosa and I also have eating problems, not to mention the other physical and mental disabilities.
Drop me a message if you wanna chat

I'd say I'm recovering but I don't actually have much to eat anyway.
I do try to sort out my diet but I end up having problems that get in the way.

Hi there!!
I am also 'recovering' and would be happy to help any time
I know, it's tough, especially around this time of year, and with being teenagers and all the stuff idiots say, as well as the media. It can be really easy to relapse (I should know) but you should just know that there are loads out there in the exact same position as you and we can all support each other

Thank you for taking the time to post on here, it's really kind of you How long have you been dealing with this? How are you doing at the moment?

What kind of problems do you have, if you don't mind me asking? I hope you are doing ok

I have been dealing with eating disorders for about 6-8 years (I am 18)
I would prefer to PM my conditions rather than announce all of them.

I haven't been able to deal with my eating problems recently because I haven't been able to exercise as my physical problems stop me from doing so.

How am I at the moment?
Tired, sore, worn out, stressed, paranoid, in pain (from one of my physical problems), depressed.

So yeah... Fun times...
I get to have surgery soon to see if they can sort out a few of my problems.

Wow, that's a really long time, you must feel fed up of living like this. That's absolutely fine, I understand that. This sounds really stupid, but I don't actually know how to use PM but I am happy to.

It sounds like things are really hard at the moment, what kind of support do you have around you? That must be difficult not being able to exercise. I know this is the last thing you will want to hear and I can hardly talk but I am saying it for your benefit. It is probably your eating disorder finding excuses saying that you can't recover if you can't exercise, it is always possible, you can do it, you just need to be determined. I don't want you to take this the wrong way because I understand exactly how impossible it feels to change things, you would only have to see the mess I am in to see I know what it is like. You can recover though and I honestly believe life is better when you manage it, you just have to live through recovery first.

I do feel bad for you though, it sounds like you are going through a very very hard time and I hope there are some things to make you life better because every day must be such hard work. There is hope though and the surgery should improve things. You will get through this

To PM you should click on my name in your browser and look around my page to find "send message" or similar it should take you to the messages screen. otherwise you go to the compose page:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/private.php?do=newpm

And put the person's name in the box.

I have no support from people around me because of the amount of time I have to spend out of my country because of studying. I spend 2 hours on the train to travel so I end up staying away for 2 weeks at a time.

I can't move without something being in pain. Even as I'm typing now I have some random bruise or something on my left side of my chest stopping me from breathing in fully. No idea how I got it or how long it will stay there.

I also end up eating "easy made" foods because of the pain when I spend 30 minutes or more preparing food so its simpler and less painful to make something that takes a minute.

I can change things and I know I can, I don't have a lack of willpower. I have a lack of motivation because currently I am unable to unless I want to be in constant pain.
I'm waiting for surgery and after I'll have to spend a week or more immobile, after that I hope I'll be able to actually do stuff again because my problems stopped me from doing them.

So yeah, I know what I will be doing once I can but I'm unable to.
And it just annoys me because I lost so much when I ended up injured.

I understand what you are saying, and it's not that I want to be hospitalised, but that I always felt like that was a stage of this illness and something I had to go through. It's so hard to believe that this is an illness and that I am too thin because I honestly don't believe it or see it at all.(Don't read this if you think it might be triggering for you)Put like that, there are so many reasons to recover and I want to feel happy and open and free again, but I cannot see how people can live happy lives if they are not thin. I have put on some weight recently (I think something has changed recently in the way I think which is why I posted on here), but I just feel so unhappy all the time. I am disgusted by how my body looks and feels and I feel like everyone around me is thinking the same things. I don't feel in control of my eating anymore. I so badly want to restrict just to feel in control and clean again, but part of me knows I shouldn't and it will only make things worse.It's interesting to hear about the hospital, thank you. I struggle to imagine how they work because surely it's a competition between everyone and you just make each other worse?

I am 'recovering' from Anorexia (or that's what the doctor's have said anyway) after a few years of struggling with it. I would like to find someone else in a similar situation to me so that we can support each other in recovery, be there when you need someone to talk to and just generally help each other.

I don't know if there is anyone out there who would be willing to do this, but thanks anyway