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

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Reply 980
Original post by *custardcream
NotSoCool.Fly - I know it's low, but it's a lot up from where it was, and I'm trying to cope :smile:. I've been here 4 weeks now! :O

Toto - you brought tears to my eyes :redface:. No, I'm not back to old ways, I'm fighting as hard as I can, I WANT uni to WORK, and I want to ENJOY it too :smile::smile::smile:. And I guess I accept that I just WON'T until I'm healthier.
_________________________

Later tonight, it will be an entire 4 weeks since I have engaged in any form of self-destructive behaviour. You may all worship me now :biggrin: *ROFLMAO*

I've had a better day. I reflected on some stuff that was said yesterday about something that's been bothering me, and felt better for it. Food was easier today than other days (banana and icecream at lunch instead of a heavy sponge/pie/crumble) and my mood had lifted from the reflection. I also got let loose with a pair of scissors in a group today and I now have my grown-out fringe back :biggrin: - was sorely missed!



Excellent stuff Custard!!.Keep it up :biggrin:.We are all so very proud of you!
Reply 981
Original post by TotoMimo
x



Toto! :frown:
I know you from the food forum. I guess a lot of people would be surprised to find out that you, the creator of a million food topics, actually suffered from an eating disorder. But I'm the same - it's weird how something so often seen as a dislike or a fear of food, is actually more of an obsession.
I suffered from an eating disorder for three years and although I'm somewhat recovered, it never truly goes away. My love-hate relationship with food is here to stay, for the rest of my life I guess. At my worst point I was eating around 300 calories a day, and I would go into the bathroom with loads of food and chew it and spit it into the toilet like some disgusting ritual so I could taste the food without actually eating it. It still embarasses me to say that. I occasionally still do, though I've heard it's a health risk as it can cause stomach ulcers from the excess acid.
I still hoard food in my room. I have boxes and drawers filled with snacks and drinks that I don't think I even intend on eating. Again, obsession. I disgust myself sometimes because I absolutely adore food, so much so that I feel like a freak for doing so. I get genuinely excited about eating out in a restaurant. Yet it's tinged with guilt for daring to enjoy it, what a disgusting fat pig for 'lusting' over food in such a way.
I started starving myself when I was in a relationship with a bulimic partner. His obsession with perfection and weight loss manifested itself in me. He was constantly picking holes in my appearance, telling me I needed to exercise more, lose more weight, that other girls were prettier than me and he'd go looking elsewhere if I wasn't careful. He abused me in more ways than one. I began hating everything about myself, self harming, starving myself but it was never enough. I would go into these weird trance-like states where I would be above myself, watching me rushing round the room looking for something sharp I could cut myself with, only returning to my own body after I'd done so. This was my punishment if I ate too much. At points I honestly wanted to die because I couldn't see any way out.
I lost all my friends. I became convinced they were trying to fatten me up - looking back it's obvious they just cared about me and hated what I was doing to myself. I stopped spending time with them and isolated myself. I felt like I was living in a bubble. I still only have a couple of friends.
But things have got better for me. I broke up with the horrible ex and am now in a fantastic relationship, two years strong. when I started eating properly I put on a lot of weight, and since then I've always struggled to maintain it - I know logically I'm a normal, healthy weight. But I look in the mirror and see fat. I lay in bed and grab at my thighs, my stomach, my arms, and feel sick. But I'm scared to get back into the trap of dieting. I can't diet healthily, and I've tried - for me it's either all or nothing.
I have nobody to talk about this with. My boyfriend is very understanding but nobody can truly understand the mindset unless they've experienced it for themselves. I feel like I'm still fighting a hard battle and it's even harder to appear normal on the outside because it means nobody notices I need help.
Sorry for the wall of text. I don't know what I'm even trying to say, but I needed to vent. I wish you all the best and I hope we can all look back on these times when we're older and think of ourselves as survivors rather than victims.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 982
Original post by briesandwich


That, and lately I've realised this stupid thought I have when I think about adding more, like somebody is saying "Well, if you eat more you don't have an ED, do you? You're just faking it for attention then, and it was all a lie. You're not really ill, you're just selfish". Does anyone else have this? It seems stupid because I obviously don't want to have an eating disorder, but the idea of everyone else thinking I'm just faking it for attention terrifies me. It is stupid really...


Anywhoooo, I'm not looking for advice really, maybe just a "OHHH I do that too!" so I feel a little less alone with these thoughts. :tongue:


Hey I know this is a really old post but I want to respond because this is me, right now.
Reading this thread makes me feel like a failure, like I failed at my eating disorder because I never even reached an unhealthy BMI, never got diagnosed or hospitalised. I feel like a fake because I wasn't ever a 'proper anorexic'. I felt like that at the time too, like nobody would take me seriously unless I was a certain weight, which in a way became another form of motivation - if you lose more weight then you'll be a proper anorexic and people will care about what you're going through.
That's another reason I find it so hard to talk to people about it. I know from the outside people will just think I'm pretending to have an eating disorder because it's 'trendy' or something. Meanwhile I'm in a sort of limbo where I know I'm either going to get really fat or really skinny if I allow myself to relax for a second.
Anyway reading all these stories makes me want to meet everyone in this thread for an enormous group hug because it's making me tear up and I just want to help you all. And be helped by you.
Reply 983
Original post by floskii
x


For both posts, :hugs: :redface:

I can definitely identify with the food obsession; even when I ate literally nothing I used to spend hours poring over recipes on the internet, working out when I'd buy the ingredients and how much they'd cost, knowing full well I'd never actually cook any of it.
And yeah, like you said, I still have a major obsession with hoarding food. I have a shoebox of old chocolate in my room (I mean like years old) from when friends or family would give me chocolate as like a gift and I'd 'save it for later,' even though I'd never eat it. And the top drawer in my desk is full of food which I take from my mum's cupboards and 'save for later' - Tesco value crisps, chocolate biscuit bars... it's as if saving it in a drawer is the same as eating it. It makes me feel guilty when I open the drawer; it's embarrassing :frown:

Hope everyone's okay today. Today I've been listening to Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - not specific to EDs recently but it does kind of make me feel calmer. It's kind of like, none of this is so important anyway :redface:
Original post by floskii
Toto! :frown:
I know you from the food forum. I guess a lot of people would be surprised to find out that you, the creator of a million food topics, actually suffered from an eating disorder. But I'm the same - it's weird how something so often seen as a dislike or a fear of food, is actually more of an obsession.
I suffered from an eating disorder for three years and although I'm somewhat recovered, it never truly goes away. My love-hate relationship with food is here to stay, for the rest of my life I guess. At my worst point I was eating around 300 calories a day, and I would go into the bathroom with loads of food and chew it and spit it into the toilet like some disgusting ritual so I could taste the food without actually eating it. It still embarasses me to say that. I occasionally still do, though I've heard it's a health risk as it can cause stomach ulcers from the excess acid.
I still hoard food in my room. I have boxes and drawers filled with snacks and drinks that I don't think I even intend on eating. Again, obsession. I disgust myself sometimes because I absolutely adore food, so much so that I feel like a freak for doing so. I get genuinely excited about eating out in a restaurant. Yet it's tinged with guilt for daring to enjoy it, what a disgusting fat pig for 'lusting' over food in such a way.
I started starving myself when I was in a relationship with a bulimic partner. His obsession with perfection and weight loss manifested itself in me. He was constantly picking holes in my appearance, telling me I needed to exercise more, lose more weight, that other girls were prettier than me and he'd go looking elsewhere if I wasn't careful. He abused me in more ways than one. I began hating everything about myself, self harming, starving myself but it was never enough. I would go into these weird trance-like states where I would be above myself, watching me rushing round the room looking for something sharp I could cut myself with, only returning to my own body after I'd done so. This was my punishment if I ate too much. At points I honestly wanted to die because I couldn't see any way out.
I lost all my friends. I became convinced they were trying to fatten me up - looking back it's obvious they just cared about me and hated what I was doing to myself. I stopped spending time with them and isolated myself. I felt like I was living in a bubble. I still only have a couple of friends.
But things have got better for me. I broke up with the horrible ex and am now in a fantastic relationship, two years strong. when I started eating properly I put on a lot of weight, and since then I've always struggled to maintain it - I know logically I'm a normal, healthy weight. But I look in the mirror and see fat. I lay in bed and grab at my thighs, my stomach, my arms, and feel sick. But I'm scared to get back into the trap of dieting. I can't diet healthily, and I've tried - for me it's either all or nothing.
I have nobody to talk about this with. My boyfriend is very understanding but nobody can truly understand the mindset unless they've experienced it for themselves. I feel like I'm still fighting a hard battle and it's even harder to appear normal on the outside because it means nobody notices I need help.
Sorry for the wall of text. I don't know what I'm even trying to say, but I needed to vent. I wish you all the best and I hope we can all look back on these times when we're older and think of ourselves as survivors rather than victims.


All I can say is :hugs:

Spoiler

I just want to give you the biggest hug. It's scary to think the people in our lives can have such an influence on our self esteem. :sad:

Struggling right now so I don't think it will be fair to post. Love you all.
Reply 985
Thanks to both of you. Right after I posted in here I started bawling my eyes out and decided to ring my boyfriend and tell him I still have this crazy disordered mindset despite everything looking fine on the outside. I feel a lot better having told him, since it means he'll be there to help me stay on the 'straight and narrow' so to speak.
I almost deleted those two posts because I was terrified this thread would become a trigger for me and I'd start trying to compete with everyone, but I'm determined not to let it as I've come too far.
My food obsession is really odd. I have a huge folder on my computer just with pictures of pretty foods, I read cookbooks and food magazines all the time even though I have no intention of cooking anything.. the weirdest thing I do is collect food containers like bento boxes and tupperwares. Crazy huh? I don't even use them!
Anyway at the risk of going on another tl;dr ramble I'll just stop here.
diamonddust I think you should feel free to post whatever's on your mind, just spoiler it if necessary so nobody has to read it if they feel it could be triggering. It's good to get things off your chest. Thanks for the kind words and I really hope everything gets better for you. xxx
Reply 986
Original post by diamonddust
All I can say is :hugs:

Spoiler

I just want to give you the biggest hug. It's scary to think the people in our lives can have such an influence on our self esteem. :sad:

Struggling right now so I don't think it will be fair to post. Love you all.


One day I will come to UEA and track you down and give you the biggest hug ever. Until then, :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

You are lovely and you deserve to give yourself a break. Kick that stupid pooey piece of poo where it hurts.
Original post by Kebabbi
One day I will come to UEA and track you down and give you the biggest hug ever. Until then, :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

You are lovely and you deserve to give yourself a break. Kick that stupid pooey piece of poo where it hurts.


THanks. :smile: I hope you're ok! :smile: And thanks Floski! :jumphugs:
Original post by *custardcream
I also got let loose with a pair of scissors in a group today and I now have my grown-out fringe back :biggrin: - was sorely missed!


This made me laugh because I remember when I was IP there was a very very emaciated girl in unit and in an art therapy group she tried to blow up a balloon for papermashe (sp?) and she was told off by the nurses because it would mean she was burning too many calories. I know they do it and say it for serious reasons but I still cant help but laugh a little at some of the rules. :redface:

Also have they given you a goal weight of an expected discharge time? (Im just being nosey really.lol).

I think you are doing so well. When I was IP even with the 24hour supervision it took me a while not to try and cheat so the fact that you have gone 4 weeks without behaviours is a massive deal and well worth commending. :smile: Well bloody done custard xxxx
The thing I hated most was how i look back and realise that an eating disorder CONTROLS your life. You would plan your day around food to make sure you wouldn't eat later..check whats for dinner because if it was doing your own night then you could skip it and be able to eat in the day. Your weight and food and exercise becomes all you think about. Have I lost any weight today? Did having milk in my tea mean that i've put on any weight? I need to make sure i have enough time to exercise before i go out. Have i run for longer than yesterday? I used to restrict myself to 500 calories a day, and then one day a week when it could be 1000. My skin looked dull I'm ashamed at how I used to be. At the time i honestly thought i was trying to do the healthy option for my mind and body :/ after a while of having a healthier diet and with more varied food my hair became stronger, eyes didn't look as dead, skin was smoother and more plump and glowed
and properly coming out of how i used to be and changing my attitude towards being healthy took over a year.
I wish i could have been 'normal' for that year and a half when i had my eating disorder because it feels almost like i have 'lost' that time :/ I still don't think i could ever have that complete i don't care about health attitude ever. But i am definately alot better.

Toto i really do think you are an amazing person- for what you have achieved career wise, and for being able to speak in such depth about this touchy subject, especially for you. I'm glad you feel you can speak about it. Because when it was at its worse you want to just hide it from everyone and not let them know

I wish you all the best for everything you wish to do in life. You won't remember me.. but you are a true inspiration and i won't forget that.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 990
Original post by diamonddust
X



Original post by Sugarcandy
X


hi thanks for your concern, i haven't been on this thread much recently and i can't post here atm. anyways you dont need to worry :smile:

thanks, amanda xx
Original post by squiff93
hi thanks for your concern, i haven't been on this thread much recently and i can't post here atm. anyways you dont need to worry :smile:

thanks, amanda xx


:jumphug:
Keep fighting hun xxx
Reply 992
Original post by diamonddust
:jumphug:
Keep fighting hun xxx




Spoiler

Original post by squiff93

Spoiler



Spoiler

Thanks for all the support :redface:

Good day up until tea tonight.

They sent me up a bowl of soup with 1 slice of toast, no butter. I had to ASK for a second slice of toast, both butters, and the cheese :*( which pretty well crucified me, the soup is a meal I REALLY struggle with anyway. And then they took 2 attempts to get my dessert right. The kitchen have a copy of my menu where it clearly states what I'm having and what substitutions need to be made. I was shaking and sobbing the whole way through this meal. :frown::frown::frown:.

And I have a MP increase up to full desserts at lunchtime tomorrow, because my weight isn't doing much and I'll be leaving in about a month and need to be about 4kg heavier than I am now, which I am dreading... Not so much the calories cos I know I need them, but the SIZE of the dessert portions - seriously, I used to b/p, I KNOW what a large amount is - and the 'half portions' are appropriate small portions of dessert.

BUT

I have bathroom unlocked now :smile:
My CPA on 13th will be a discharge planning CPA and discharge early August :smile:
Reply 995
Original post by *custardcream
Thanks for all the support :redface:

Good day up until tea tonight.

They sent me up a bowl of soup with 1 slice of toast, no butter. I had to ASK for a second slice of toast, both butters, and the cheese :*( which pretty well crucified me, the soup is a meal I REALLY struggle with anyway. And then they took 2 attempts to get my dessert right. The kitchen have a copy of my menu where it clearly states what I'm having and what substitutions need to be made. I was shaking and sobbing the whole way through this meal. :frown::frown::frown:.

And I have a MP increase up to full desserts at lunchtime tomorrow, because my weight isn't doing much and I'll be leaving in about a month and need to be about 4kg heavier than I am now, which I am dreading... Not so much the calories cos I know I need them, but the SIZE of the dessert portions - seriously, I used to b/p, I KNOW what a large amount is - and the 'half portions' are appropriate small portions of dessert.

BUT

I have bathroom unlocked now :smile:
My CPA on 13th will be a discharge planning CPA and discharge early August :smile:


:frown: :hugs: it's ridiculous how often they mess up your meals, all I can say is massive kudos for correcting them every time. If it was me I know I'd definitely stop bothering correcting them, and from there it's a slipper slope... so well done, keep at it hun. And great about the discharge planning! :smile:
Reply 996
Thank you so much, LoveGeneration, for your beautiful compliment and words of advice.

Squiff, I just want to say that although it's too difficult to post here regularly, the fact you're still around and able to check in once in a while is enough for me to be assured of your wellbeing. I know you're having a tough time of it and this is difficult, you're practically retraining your mind to allow your behaviours to run in reverse - but it will be worth it.

Kebbabi, Custard, Diamond - You three have come on probably the most in the past week or so based on what you post. I mean, everyone here has, it seems, gained at least some form of positive encouragement from their posting here; but you three really seem to have changed the way you think about recovery, your disorders, and how to combat them. In mere months you've come from a deathly view of a crippling illness to a positive outlook and even taken real, physical action against it!

If you had the flu, you'd take a lemsip. If you broke your leg, you'd put it in a cast. If you have anorexia... you need to re-nourish your body! Logically, it's so simple, but breaking the mental barriers to ALLOW one's self to do it is an entirely different beast and the fact you're DOING it is like you've already overcome the greatest obstacle - the rest of the incline to the plateau of victory is nowhere near as steep.

XXX
Reply 997
Original post by TotoMimo
Squiff, I just want to say that although it's too difficult to post here regularly, the fact you're still around and able to check in once in a while is enough for me to be assured of your wellbeing. I know you're having a tough time of it and this is difficult, you're practically retraining your mind to allow your behaviours to run in reverse - but it will be worth it.


thanks :smile: i'll post when i can or when i feel that stuffs improving cz i do feel its unfair for me to post here as i am atm.

i think i'm starting to realise that quitting the weekly therapy and the phonecalls everyother day was stupid - it was better to take a bit of time out to talk to someone about how i felt regularly than bottling it up and carrying on like this. i can't change my mind or behaviours on my own and this is my problem :frown:

xxx
Reply 998
I am struggling a lot at the moment.

I think I'm starting to fall back into using this to avoid dealing with everything. But I don't know if I can talk to anyone about it (I am getting counselling at our hospice).

I can't even think of any words tonight. I am just struggling.
Reply 999
Original post by Liv1204
I am struggling a lot at the moment.

I think I'm starting to fall back into using this to avoid dealing with everything. But I don't know if I can talk to anyone about it (I am getting counselling at our hospice).

I can't even think of any words tonight. I am just struggling.


you aren't alone don't worry,

if you want to talk to someone you can pm me, i don't know how helpful i will be but i can listen to you and i understand what its like

x

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