Eating Disorder Help

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Author:
Deborah Wilson

Given all the education and warnings on the subject, it's surprising that so many women still suffer from anorexia nervosa, a disorder that leads people to starve themselves. If left unchecked, anorexia can lead to serious longterm health consequences and can even be fatal.

Knowing all of this, why do so many young women succumb to this dreaded disease? Has the Internet played a role in fanning the fires of what its sufferers often affectionately refer to as "ana"? Young women are gathering on what are called pro ana or pro anorexia websites. These sites feature message boards where women can bond and share tips on how to lose weight. Whereas anorexia often used to be a lonely and secretive part of a woman's life, now it has become a way for women to bond, a club anyone can join as long as they desire to be thin.

In addition to message boards and chat areas, these sites also feature "thinspiration" photos, usually photographs of extremely thin models and actresses. The Internet makes it easier to collect these photos and post them so they can be shared and admired.

In combination with the Internet, the obsession with celebrity in recent years has caused the pro ana movement to explode. Tabloid reports about young actresses who seem to be wasting away to nothing sell a lot of copies. The popularity of gossip websites has also exploded. On sites such as Awful Plastic Surgery and PerezHilton.com, people talk obsessively about celebrity, including how thin certain actresses seem to be getting.

Most of us can't figure out why our fellow humans would willingly starve themselves since throughout our evolution, we have always tried to avoid famine and starvation. In a society that has an obesity problem, in which every plate of food is supersized, the idea of anorexia is both unthinkable and morbidly fascinating.

Perhaps anorexia will always exist. It is not a modern problem, after all. It's just that modern technology seems to be making it easier to become seduced by the fantasy of bodily perfection. Hopefully, the same technology that allows women across the world to bond over starvation will eventually help save them.

Websites that promote recovery are popping up just as fast as sites that promote anorexia. The message is getting through to many young women. The more people who share their stories of recovery rather than stories of starvation, the more positive voices there will be on the Internet for the next generation of women.

Recovery Resources:

Health Diaries features a section on diaries by women who are recovering from anorexia.

A Healthy Place features anorexia information and resources, including treatment information and news.

About the Author
Deborah Wilson is a freelance writer specializing in health and wellness.

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Eating Disorders... Eating Disorders Do Not Discriminate Who suffers from Eating Disorders? Eating Disorder sufferers are male and female alike. We are of all ethnicity's, religions,and economic backgrounds. We are of all ages,with very different body structures. We can look normal on the outside and yet be suffering terribly on the inside. Genetics, Psychology, and Media all influence the onset of an eating disorder. Once we get caught in the cycle, some days it seems as though we will never break free. We constantly beat ourselves up, every moment of every hour of every day. If we could just be perfect in some way then we would be ok. It is easier to stand alone, free from the rejection, and disappointment of others. In our loneliness we listen to the constant torment inside our heads. You are stupid! You can’t do anything right! Why would anyone want to be your friend? You are so fat! No one ever is going to want you! Who would ever love you? Every sufferer has her or his own negative voices.We try to out run them in anyway we can.We, so badly, want to be in control of our lives.Our Eating Disorder is the one thing we have control over, or so it seems. After some time, even our eating disorder becomes out of control.We may become depressed, defensive, angry,hopeless, self harming and some of us may become suicidal. So, we isolate ourselves,blocked off from the world. One more lap, onemore sit up, one more pound, and yet that one more is never enough. We weigh ourselves over and over and over again, thinking that the numbers will change. We stop eating, constantly overeat, binge,or cut. We use laxatives, enemas, drugs, and alcohol. We lock ourselves in the bathroom to purge, and we exercise, exercise, and yet still exercise. THERE IS HELP! THERE IS HOPE!DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. Mary Pat’s life has been...