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Anorexia: One Girl’s Story - Part 1
Anorexia is a disease, and it’s spreading. People today are under more pressure than ever before to look a certain way, and us girls often have some pretty tough ideals to live up to.
In a world where ‘skinny’ has become the new perfect size, and lots of people are trying to be even skinnier than that, it’s a little frightening to realise that all this skinniness isn’t really normal, and that it can actually do some pretty serious damage.
When it comes to anorexia, everyone’s story is different, but a lot of people struggle with similar things. This is my story. I hope it can help you in some way.
PART ONE: THE TRIGGER
My Story - by Sarah
I started worrying I was fat and ugly when I was about 10 years old. All I wanted was to be ‘normal’ like my other friends – most of whom were built like string beans and very athletic. I had one friend who was extremely disciplined when it came to exercise and eating. She became vegetarian young, and was very driven. I envied and admired her at the same time, but I couldn’t keep up.
Most of my other friends were happy, healthy kids, who came from big, outdoorsy families. In contrast, when my family did things together it always seemed to turn into a disaster. We didn’t often eat together, and had takeaways a lot. I started cooking my own ‘healthy’ meals when I was about 14 or 15, and became obsessed with exercise and weight loss.
Around the same time I changed schools – going from a really small one to a really big one where I felt out of place and lonely. We moved around a lot that year, and I became depressed. I remember I was exercising a lot at the time, and binge eating. There were times when I would just lie in my room and cry and not want to get out of bed. I hated myself, and I felt so unhappy at home.
My friends saw a different side of me, because I didn’t want to talk about what I was going through, and felt like I had to deal with it on my own. I’d always done well at school, and my grades completely dropped. I worried about letting my parents down, and I also started to worry about money. I became very anxious about a lot of things, and this continued over the next few years.
How it starts. There’s no single reason people become anorexic, but many people share similar personality traits, or have experienced some sort of upheaval in their lives.
Anorexia typically affects people who:
- Are 15-25 years old (although it affects people who are younger and older).
- Try to do things perfectly, but deep own feel inadequate and insecure.
- Are people pleasers, and try to avoid conflict.
- Come from an unstable family situation, or have been sexually abused.
- Find it hard to deal with change or are afraid of growing up.
- Have a family history of anorexia or other eating disorders.
- Are going through some sort of change or upheaval in their life.
How to help
Some signs a friend might be developing anorexia:
- They often skip meals, and avoid eating around other people.
- They eat small portions, but complain of feeling too full.
- They push food around their plate, but eat hardly anything.
- They are preoccupied with diet and exercise in a way that seems unhealthy.
If you think a friend has an eating problem it’s important not to hassle them and make a big deal about it! A person has to choose to recover from anorexia, so be as supportive as possible, and encourage them to get help when they’re ready.
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It’s so sad how many people go through this! I reckon it would impact alot of girls if the media started saying that size 0 is no longer ok! (because it’s not!) and started saying (in our sizes) that 8, 10, and 12 were way better! because they are! Seriously, how can anyone find a super skinny bony person attractive? They look gaunt and tired and fragile like they will break! Posted by Jess B "on" 03/22 "at"11:29 AM |
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I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, and kids can be mean (especially those catty girls lol) I remember struggling with it a bit at highschool and becuase I was thin I got labelled things like sl#t which just made it ten times worse so off I went to home and starved myself again purely for feeling so crap after a bad day - look out for your buddies cos you dont always know whats going on behind closed doors!!! Posted by Sarnabanana "on" 11/18 "at"06:15 PM |
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This is so scary. Part of me is a hypochondriac so I imagine a lot of symptoms when I hear them, especially about Anorexia Nervosa. One time I fainted and got concussion and it scared my friend so much when I was taken to hospital and I learned the importance of eating. No matter what. (: Posted by Anjuli9872 "on" 11/18 "at"04:01 PM |
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I descovered I was under under weight on the BMI when my parents forced me to go to the doctors because i had gone down two dress sizes, I had not notised I had a problem Till I was forced to put on 10kgs. Now I feel I must loose that again, can anyone tell me how to get over this feeling? Posted by Skinona "on" 09/27 "at"08:01 PM |
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Anorexia is never something to be made light of. I have had trouble with anorexia for 3 years now. I have been admitted into hospital (more like prison) 3 times. And Its a huge problem…i wish it never started Posted by facebookadict "on" 07/08 "at"04:46 PM |
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I love that this article is on here… especially as a recovering anorexic. It’s difficult stuff that has never been understood by my firends, though they’ve tried, and I hope they never go through any of the things this disease ahs put my through. For anyone that struggles, there’s a great support site that will give you people to talk to as well… http://www.webiteback.com Posted by brichick25 "on" 04/30 "at"05:37 AM |
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i don’t think I could ever become anorexic, but my weight certainly has been an issue since I was about 11. I piled on all this weight from puberty, then tried to lose it. I started losing weight, and then we moved to another school where I was outcast and bullied, and I put all the weight back on plus some from depression. I’m now thinner than I was at 13, which is a good thing! I still want to lose more weight, but I know my limits. Similarly, I have a friend who’s a little taller than me (I’m 1.56) and she dropped to 44kg. Thankfully, she’s put on weight and is 47, but I still think she’s too thin. Posted by chloeb37 "on" 04/28 "at"07:54 PM |
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Wow something similiar happened to me too. Nothing wrong with my family or anything I just became obsession with being thin. I weighed 44kg and dropped to 39kg in just a year. I was always exercising and felt angry even when I weighed myself and the scale said 38.9kg. But then I reliazed what danger I was in. I am now 43kg. Posted by Kooki "on" 04/24 "at"08:58 PM |
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I Have a friend who went down this same path and she ended up in hospital. its so sad how girls our age think that they have to be a size zero! I love my curves and my body and I try to help others do that too. don’t be taken by the anorexic muffin girls!!  Posted by 48270 "on" 03/08 "at"07:05 PM |
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Wow its amazing how many people this affects Posted by Danya "on" 02/13 "at"07:33 PM |
Best of the rest
