20 Dec The frightening new age for Eating Disorders
“We are not a bunch of idiots. If we didn’t get something out of the eating disorder- we wouldn’t stay with it.” Tennie McCarty, author of Shades of Hope, hit the target dead on when she appeared on Dr. Oz. None of us- anorexics, bulimics, overeaters- are TRYING to kill ourselves. We just want to feel pretty, thin, in control, happy, anything. This is what the so called “experts” don’t understand if they haven’t been victim to an eating disorder themselves: We want you to tell us that we are underweight or too thin. We don’t care if you tell us that it’s unhealthy because we want to be unhealthy. Unhealthy to us means underweight which means success.
So now that I’ve sufficiently scolded the people who are trying to help yet wonder why their patient or loved one is only getting worse and falling deeper into the darkness of ED, it’s time for a serious talk.
I have just come to the horrific realization that there is a site out there (actually a sickening number of sites) that promote eating disorders. Pictures, mantras, so called “support”- one click is the difference between a struggling teen and a skeletal corpse.
This is what really gets me angry: these sites clearly state that they believe eating disorder is a lifestyle, not a disease… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! (caps lock doesn’t do this phrase justice. Is there a “reach through the screen and shake you” option?)
I honestly don’t even know where to go from here. I am shocked, sickened, saddened, and fearful. All anorexics, bulimics, overeaters alike, whether recovered, fully consumed, or just beginning to slip away are extremely fragile and delicate beings. It doesn’t take an earthquake break the fragile balance of healthy living we strive to keep intact. A simple push can do that and this website is an onslaught of endless natural disaster.