Anorexic or not? Never dealt with these matters before:)

[Slagar]

So I have this friend. She doesn't eat [solids]. If she does, it'll maybe be chocolate or something lol. She seems to live off liquids... water, tea, coffee, and sometimes soup.

She claims she has a really slow metabolism. I know in the past she used to take some kind of dieting/weight-loss pills, and I sort of wonder if she still does. Any mention of an eating disorder, and she gets very offended... but talking to her, I know she's very scared of gaining weight. She doesn't like talking about it, and some of her best friends have given up trying to get her to eat, and just accept her "eating" habits.

 

She looks thin, but she's not clearly anorexic, in my opinion anyway.

 

I'm just wondering how detrimental something like this could be for her health? Long term? Are there any ways to get this through to her? Perhaps I'm wrong and this is just okay for her body type?

I know she gets bad headaches for long periods sometimes, for which she takes painkillers, and she used to get quite regularly dizzy/fainty, but she doesn't seem to anymore.

 

Anyone's experiences with these matters would be quite insightful I think. Thanks for your time and experience eNotalone members

[Cid]

Well the worst long term is death. Most of the time it is found out before that happens, and if that happens they will have to go to rehab. The headaches and dizzy are form lack of food, her body is probley eating it self. Just take small steps with helping her.

[miserableme]

Not eating any solids means you are probably not getting enough fiber. This is obviously a bad thing and can no doubt cause problems with disease/cancers/constipation. It doesn't sound like she's getting enough vitamins & nutrients either. That can lead to a whole other set of problems, unless she just doesn't like eating in front of people (I'm a bit like that).

 

Unfortunately there are quite a few women out there with these serious eating problems and there is nothing you can do about it. Just hope that it's a phase and she gets over it.

[shes2smart]

If it walks like an eating disorder, talks like an eating disorder and acts like an eating disorder, guess what it is.

 

While she may not be anorexic, your friend clearly has a dysfunctional and unhealthy relationship with food, eating, body weight & body image.

 

We hear (all too often and too often incorrectly) about the dangers of being overweight...but when was the last time you heard that it's equally unhealthy to be underweight? There is, in fact, such a thing as "too thin" when it comes to being healthy.

 

I've been dealing with disordered eating and body image issues on and off since my late teens. Just when I think I'm done and over it, it has a way of showing up in a slightly different form. If your friend refuses to eat solid food (and has no physical reason for it -- like, f'rinstance severe dental problems) there's something out of whack with her. Eating, in addition to be being necessary to taking proper care of yourself, is meant to be a pleasurable experience.

 

The dangers of her behavior? Well, it's a long, long list. Check out this link: link removed

 

While you're at it, if you want to find out more about EDs in general, the Something Fishy website is a good information and recovery resource. link removed

[Slagar]

Thankyou for your thoughts guys, it's much appreciated as usual

I know it's dangerous, but I wasn't clear on more than that.

 

Shes2smart, that website is an excellent resource! Thankyou for the link. I'm doing more reading, and I will try to approach the situation from there somehow. I'd definitely say she has an eating disorder, but getting through to her in an unnoffensive way is difficult, and the last thing I want to do is come off as nagging and annoying, because it will just push her away.

I might slip the questionnaire to her when she's finished her exams (soon), and in the holidays when I can actually be there for her. But that's not far away.

 

 

Thanks for your time, as always