Eating Disorders and life with one - Discussions, Opinions, Advice.

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Hi there. I am a third year Business Management student at the University of Dundee. I am starting my dissertation project and it is on "Are eating disorders increasing with the growth of social media?". I am analysing this area and I find it very interesting and believe that something needs to be done to eliminate the whole "size zero culture, photo shopped magazines, television programmes including: Americas Next Top Model etc. If anyone knows of individuals who have suffered with an eating disorder and would be willing to help and complete a short survey of around 10 questions that would be fantastic. Also it is worth noting this analysis will be done with complete privacy and the participants will be completely anonymous. Thank you for reading this message. Hollie Katelyn Gowans.

Reply 7001

Mackay

I'll complete a survey. I'm not sure about the whole size zero culture thing - that's not what spurred me on. I'm a 19 year old male, so I didn't get my eating disorder wanting to be Kate Moss or something. I think eating disorders are about a LOT more than food/size personally.

Reply 7002

Anonymous #173

I'll complete the survey - I do think mine is partially fuelled by the size zero culture, although it's a lot more complex than that.

Reply 7003

username91207

Bloody anon function - that's me, Snowy^

Reply 7004

teva1993

Thankyou. Your responses never fail to be inspiring. After telling the GP and receiving your response, I felt on top of the world... as if Id suddenly been given free reign to eat whatever I like whenever I like. I had a hearty meal and enjoyed the evening.
However, the next morning, I had a sudden pang of guilt for having eaten (properly!) and felt the need to compensate that day by eating less. I hope this isn't a vicious cycle. I would like nothing more than to eat, enjoy it and not feel guilty. Im sure this is something lots of people empathise with. Perhaps it'll just take some time but I'll get there. It's not worth damaging health for some niggly voice in the back of your head.

Original post by TotoMimo

I think personally, I wish to commend you. You're in a truly amazing scenario that no other ED-sufferer can indulge themselves in.

You have experienced the medical diagnosis and your own significantly dangerous frame and scenario as you have. This situation whereby you've understood you are very much in a state of unhealthy mass is actually very much coveted by the people on this thread that wish to, bizarrely, be thinner and lighter than they are.

People always want to be what they are not. Thinner, stronger, brighter, smarter, leaner, and so forth. You are beautiful. By striving to be something beyond your reasoning, suddenly anything you are not happens to be the best thing ever!

Reply 7005

TotoMimo

Original post by teva1993

Teva my dear, this could well be a habitual voice that calls to you when you assume you're doing well.

Think with reasoning and logic. As soon as you start to doubt yourself, you start to make your doubts into entities. They become real, like people - you start to envision someone telling you "Look what you've done!" - this is, to any other person, just an overactive imagination, but to another person, this is their advisor. To an ill man or woman, they are being told off by a person with as much authority as a military father.

You are doing amazingly. And though this voice yearns to make you stop - don't. I am a BMI of 21.8 these days, and I am happier than I have ever been. The further away from weight-worries you take yourself, the less likely you are to have them at the forefront of your mind.

I used to think that gaining weight was some kind of trick, like it was someone telling me to make myself ugly as a joke. Like hell it was - it was saving my life! And after I was a healthy weight, I started realising, girls like a man that's not some kind of humanoid clothes horse! And suddenly I got noticed again. And boys are supposed to have LESS body fat percentage than girls! And suddenly, two stones later I was wanted again!

Let me assure you, unisex-wise - nobody wants an adult at less than seven stones. I know this because everyone looked at me like I was going to die. In fact, when I was less than NINE stones (and I am 5' 7") people kept asking me if I was unwell.

I am my perfect weight for my height now (140lb, 5' 7" male) and though I consider I might feel like a lump day to day, the positive attention I get reassures me I am doing well.

Nobody wants to cuddle a human xylophone. Remember that. Not even a fellow (previous) anorexic wants to cuddle a human xylophone, for any reason.

Reply 7006

x-Disenchanted-x

I agree. In fact, weight is honestly one of the last things I care about in the opposite sex. My ex-boyfriend was very skinny, but I've been attracted to guys from his size to those who are very overweight but I'd never rule someone out because I thought they should be thinner. I LIKE that no two guys look the same. I notice a great smile or the ability to make me laugh rather than care about what number they're hitting on the scales. I need to learn to apply this to myself as I'm sure it works both ways!

Reply 7007

Wait, what?

Okay, so my eating disorder is a little different to all that I have read so far. I have a phobia of food. I only eat certain foods, I won't even try anything else because, well because it terrifies me. My parents forced me into therapy around the age of 12, but I hated it. It never achieved anything, I just felt patronised and humiliated. I'm not close with my parents, it always seems to get in the way. Like no matter what we're doing or talking about my dad will drop in a snide remark about how i don't eat anything. I know he gets worried about me but I'm an average height, normal weight healthy teenager (according to the doctor when I broke my arm). I'm closer to my friends than I am with any of my family, and only my closest ones know about my phobia. But everyone knows I'm weird about food, they often make fun of me for eating chicken nuggets (one of my few foods), but they don't know why I always eat them. It really hinders my self esteem at times, especially as I'm hyper critical of myself; I have no real confidence in myself. I would say I'm confident, but just not in myself. I always think that if I ever find a girlfriend, it'll get in the way and ruin the relationship. I did have a girlfriend for 6 months, but we were never really that close, I told her from when we started dating about it but I don't think she understood the scale of it. I'm scared for university because I don't know what I'll do, but on the other hand it could help because there will be no pressure from my parents; but I'm really not sure, it might not help at all, if anything it could make it worse being that I choose all my meals. Thanks for reading all of that if you did :P if you or anyone you know is in the same situation then let e know, I don't know of anyone with the same sort of problem :s-smilie:

thanks.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7008

Willum Infanta

I've only had 4 drinks tonight, quite glad i did because any more and I think the stupid thoughts would become stronger and I'd hurt myself.

I'm gonna need to really start budgeting in January but I don't know how i will then be able to afford to eat properly - my body is literally one of the main and last problems I have with myself.

If I was a normal weight and had a little muscle I'd be so much more confident and happy.

Would love to know what to eat day in day out that'd end out with me not having my weight the first thing people see.

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[QUOTE="jazzykinks;45552596"]

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Reply 7011

Anonymous #149

Binge eating disorder (prev. bulimia)

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Reply 7012

jazzykinks

Original post by Cinnie

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Reply 7013

TotoMimo

Forgiveness is an incredibly important factor in recovery too.

You have to understand that the human being is really, really crap. I mean, it screws up all the time, and despite the best of intentions, it flaws REALLY often! When we screw up, an ED-sufferer often goes into a punishment spiral, a series of self-loathing and hatred. Why oh why do we do it to ourselves? Can't we realise people are better when they see they've screwed up, want to make themselves better, so build on their mistakes?

You WILL make mistakes, so EMBRACE them.

Jazz, you talk about "retaliation". So you're going to respond to an ignorant, mean-spirited statement by being mean-spirited and spiteful in return? I don't think you've thought that through very well.

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ARGH!! ANON function!!!! That was me.

Reply 7016

TotoMimo

Original post by Anonymous

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It's called the single most irrational way of thinking your mind can indulge in!

You are desperate to look like that which your boyfriend does NOT find attractive in order to indulge a totally pointless notion of what is "attractive." It's like being told all your life that farts smell wonderful, and then a boy tells you that roses are wonderful-smelling, and that everyone knows farts smell crap. And yet, you continue to say farts are amazing, and are desperate to prove to the world that farts smell amazing.

Stop being desperate to give your boyfriend a fart. Give him a rose for christ's sake!

Reply 7017

PonchoKid

May have binged tonight and now feel very sick :sad:

Posted from TSR Mobile

^ same =[

Original post by PonchoKid

May have binged tonight and now feel very sick :sad:

Posted from TSR Mobile

And, what, you feel less like a valid, real person now?

I am constantly battling with people that have that "fear". When I do a group conversation, the biggest conversation stems from "feeling ugly" or "feeling greedy".

What the hell IS this? It's this notion that having a day or night that you've enjoyed immensely should, as the media dictates, make you feel guilty as hell. "Guilt-free dessert!" "Guilt-free Christmas Dinner" - **ck it. F*** it all. Christmas is the embodiment of happiness and love between all men. Between friends and family, bringing smiles and happiness to all the people you happen to know.

"I ate six canapes, Christmas Dinner, THEN we all went mental on the Miniature Heroes!" - well, so freaking what. That's what a person does.

I have never answered a letter or email where a person freaks out because their boyfriend said "My girlfriend ordered the steak and ate the lot. Then she ate ten chocolates. I am worried that she enjoyed herself that much. She should really learn to only eat half a steak and one chocolate, maximum."

Never. I have never answered that letter, ever.