Health Reminder: At 40 Pounds, 37 Year-old OC Woman Battles Anorexia
Psychgrrl
Posts: 3,177 Member
This is on the local news (I live in SoCal). Shocked me and made me so sad, this extreme behavior and where it has led her.
May our desire for health never go to this extreme. At some point, she crossed the line from losing weight for health to unhealthy obsession. Please everyone, be good to yourselves!
http://ktla.com/2015/05/23/at-40-pounds-o-c-woman-battling-anorexia-receives-help-after-desperate-plea-on-social-media/
May our desire for health never go to this extreme. At some point, she crossed the line from losing weight for health to unhealthy obsession. Please everyone, be good to yourselves!
http://ktla.com/2015/05/23/at-40-pounds-o-c-woman-battling-anorexia-receives-help-after-desperate-plea-on-social-media/
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That was very difficult to watch. It was really strange to even see her talking. The scenes where someone was holding her up and her body was just kind of flailing around actually made more sense to me
The article or video didn't make any mention of her starting out just trying to lose weight and get healthy, though. Was that the case? It is my understanding that eating disorders are mental issues and do not necessarily develop from a healthy desire to lose weight0 -
Anorexia often starts off with a good goal, like health, in mind. But can evolve into the person's desire to control something because they feel out of control with something else (or many things) in their life. They can control what they eat and how much they exercise. It can be scary to watch something good turn into something excessively bad.
With the students I work with, I usually come in, mid-way into the issue. The behavior is already in place and developed when they come to college. The few times I've seen the disease develop has been truly scary. It was a perfect storm, the desire to lose weight, the realization they could control something in their lives and the lack of control in another area.
And the treatment is so expensive. Most insurance plans don't come close to covering the amount on in-patient treatment required to help someone teach their body how to accept nutrition, relearn their eating and exercise patterns and the reasons behind them, and accept themselves as "bigger."0 -
Coming from a country with universal healthcare, I find it very distressing to see someone have to turn to social media and the like to beg for the money they need to not die.0
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Alatariel75 wrote: »Coming from a country with universal healthcare, I find it very distressing to see someone have to turn to social media and the like to beg for the money they need to not die.
It's basically the opposite extreme of "My 600 lb life". Her situation is so severe that many medical facilities won't even take her, and the only one that will has chosen to treat her in her home for now because she's too fragile for transport. Even then, there were a couple mentions of due to the severity of her situation, the treatment may not work but is her only chance...
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I've read that as well, that successful dieting can trigger eating disorders in previously unaffected people.
I know for myself, I spent much of my time during the first year of weight loss preoccupied with food - weighing it, planning meals, etc. A good bit of that time was accompanied by anxiety, about going over, making it up with exercise, all the stuff you see on MFP forums. I think it's all part of the learning curve for many.
I can see those with dysmorphic tendencies* seeing those tendencies exaggerated with weight loss (which is obviously reinforcing). Especially when there are a number of disconcerting body image shifts along the way (for everyone!), and when some find the end result isn't what they imagined when they started out, because they see "stubborn" fat and loose skin, stretch marks, etc. It can be a head trip even for those who aren't vulnerable. And they might think, "all I have to do is lose a bit more", because they saw that it kind of worked. (instead of weight training, which would be more effective in changing their body comp / shape)
I have sometimes worried that the way MFP is set up might contribute to eating disorders (and to the effects some people see).
Why:
- Many people jump to the 2lb/week goal, or get a 1200 max.
- More people get confused about the NEAT method, eating back etc, and don't eat back calories.
- The NEAT method used by MFP favours cardio specifically. Ie "burn 300 calories" and eat back some. Cardio is the only way to get that kind of burn. And cardio bodies, let's face it, tend to "skinny fat". Strength training doesn't burn many cals, but it's a surer way to get to the kind of goals people usually have in mind.
- I really wish MFP advocated the TDEE method. Although it does assume a burn based on activity level descriptors, many people tend to fold strength training in anyway, and then tweak. Which is much saner, imo. TDEEers seem to take the whole approach a bit more easily.
And I was recently sad to see in the Success Stories forum that the 1200 target did in fact contribute to someone's ED (thankfully, they recovered).
*and another "let's face it": the average non pathological woman, lives with some minimum amount of negativity about her body, thanks to our culture. some amount of body hate is typical.0 -
Anorexia often starts off with a good goal, like health, in mind. But can evolve into the person's desire to control something because they feel out of control with something else (or many things) in their life. They can control what they eat and how much they exercise. It can be scary to watch something good turn into something excessively bad.
With the students I work with, I usually come in, mid-way into the issue. The behavior is already in place and developed when they come to college. The few times I've seen the disease develop has been truly scary. It was a perfect storm, the desire to lose weight, the realization they could control something in their lives and the lack of control in another area.
And the treatment is so expensive. Most insurance plans don't come close to covering the amount on in-patient treatment required to help someone teach their body how to accept nutrition, relearn their eating and exercise patterns and the reasons behind them, and accept themselves as "bigger."
Yup, that was me. And it's the reason I didn't do anything about my weight creeping up over a couple of years until I packed on a heap in the second half of last year and shot out of my healthy weight range like a rocket. Truth be told, I was *kitten* scared when I started out on MFP, because even though I was (and am) at a good place emotionally, I know how quickly that can turn. My major stress reaction is loss of appetite, combine that with already aiming to lose weight and it's a recipe for disaster for me. Even now, four and a bit years out from my last restrictive episode, I watch myself like a hawk and constantly question if anything I'm doing is a sign of slipping back into that behaviour.0 -
I saw this on the news the other day, ironically at the same time that the large thread on that plus-sized woman on the cover of People magazine was going on.
At the time I thought it was much more news-worthy to be honesty, something that shows clearly the dangers of extremes of weight (in either direction). I was tempted to point it out in that thread, but by that point it had degenerated into bickering so I left it.
I'm sure it must have taken her a lot of courage to do this and I hope she manages to pull through. Her desperation to get well is fairly clear. I hope that if she pulls through she manages to get the support will inevitably need to stay well.0 -
I have absolutely no idea about anorexia. But I just wanted to shake her and tell her TO EAT SOMETHING!!!
She seems to be desperate to get well, but refuses to help herself.... Why??0 -
christinev297 wrote: »I have absolutely no idea about anorexia. But I just wanted to shake her and tell her TO EAT SOMETHING!!!
She seems to be desperate to get well, but refuses to help herself.... Why??
People aren't logical in general and are even less so when in the grip of a mental illness
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christinev297 wrote: »I have absolutely no idea about anorexia. But I just wanted to shake her and tell her TO EAT SOMETHING!!!
She seems to be desperate to get well, but refuses to help herself.... Why??
She is helping herself, or she wouldn't have put this out there. It's not as simple as saying 'oh, okay, I'll start eating again now'. Quite aside from the psychological aspects, once you reach a certain point re-feed pretty much has to be done under medical supervision due to electrolyte imbalances. She could actually die if she were to try just eating more on her own.0 -
I know there's obviously a huge degree of mental illness involved in this, of which i will never understand.
I just hope she gets help soon, she must be at deaths door right about now
And if she does get help, I pray she doesn't relapse back to this point.....0 -
christinev297 wrote: »I know there's obviously a huge degree of mental illness involved in this, of which i will never understand.
I just hope she gets help soon, she must be at deaths door right about now
And if she does get help, I pray she doesn't relapse back to this point.....
It is hard to understand, even for someone who's had an ED. I too hope she can make a full recovery.0 -
christinev297 wrote: »I know there's obviously a huge degree of mental illness involved in this, of which i will never understand.
I just hope she gets help soon, she must be at deaths door right about now
And if she does get help, I pray she doesn't relapse back to this point.....
Some of your questions were already answered in the fairly short article and 2 minute YouTube video... I forget which one exactly explained how just eating a cheeseburger could kill her, and that the refeed would have to be done very carefully - almost something as little as 25 calories per day. She's also raised enough money that she could probably commence treatment - that does seem like helping herself, to me
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christinev297 wrote: »I have absolutely no idea about anorexia. But I just wanted to shake her and tell her TO EAT SOMETHING!!!
She seems to be desperate to get well, but refuses to help herself.... Why??
She can't simply eat things at this stage. It could trigger a heart attack.
It's no longer as simple as helping herself, she really needs medical help as her organs are failing. She has been trying to get help for quite some time apparently, but various doctors are refusing to help her because her weight is too low.
Once her body is back to a place where she is no longer at risk of dying, then she will need to begin serious counselling to address the mental issues. I believe that is part of the plan, once she is well enough to travel, then she will be checking in to a residential facility.0 -
Anorexia often starts off with a good goal, like health, in mind. But can evolve into the person's desire to control something because they feel out of control with something else (or many things) in their life. They can control what they eat and how much they exercise. It can be scary to watch something good turn into something excessively bad.
With the students I work with, I usually come in, mid-way into the issue. The behavior is already in place and developed when they come to college. The few times I've seen the disease develop has been truly scary. It was a perfect storm, the desire to lose weight, the realization they could control something in their lives and the lack of control in another area.
And the treatment is so expensive. Most insurance plans don't come close to covering the amount on in-patient treatment required to help someone teach their body how to accept nutrition, relearn their eating and exercise patterns and the reasons behind them, and accept themselves as "bigger."
I'm gonna disagree. I've had EDNOS for 17 years and it didn't start out with health in mind. There are many different reasons why someone has an eating disorder and the reasons for using it. Mine was for punishment. If something stressed me out, I'd stop eating. If I did something wrong, no food.
An eating disorder, a TRUE eating disorder is very secretive. The cause is usually something that happens way before the first symptoms arise.
Mine was from something traumatic from 4-10 years old. My eating disorder started at 10 when it stopped.
Nowadays, teens are flaunting eating disorders like its a 'hip' way to diet.0 -
Anorexia often starts off with a good goal, like health, in mind. But can evolve into the person's desire to control something because they feel out of control with something else (or many things) in their life. They can control what they eat and how much they exercise. It can be scary to watch something good turn into something excessively bad.
With the students I work with, I usually come in, mid-way into the issue. The behavior is already in place and developed when they come to college. The few times I've seen the disease develop has been truly scary. It was a perfect storm, the desire to lose weight, the realization they could control something in their lives and the lack of control in another area.
And the treatment is so expensive. Most insurance plans don't come close to covering the amount on in-patient treatment required to help someone teach their body how to accept nutrition, relearn their eating and exercise patterns and the reasons behind them, and accept themselves as "bigger."
I'm gonna disagree. I've had EDNOS for 17 years and it didn't start out with health in mind. There are many different reasons why someone has an eating disorder and the reasons for using it. Mine was for punishment. If something stressed me out, I'd stop eating. If I did something wrong, no food.
An eating disorder, a TRUE eating disorder is very secretive. The cause is usually something that happens way before the first symptoms arise.
Mine was from something traumatic from 4-10 years old. My eating disorder started at 10 when it stopped.
Nowadays, teens are flaunting eating disorders like its a 'hip' way to diet.
I can't agree enough. I am currently in treatment with what is considered 'atypical anorexia'. I too used the 'punishment' approach to controlling my eating habits. I am a grown adult, with a successful career, and was still doing such. If I felt I bombed a presentation or lost a big account - those were among reasons I could justify cutting my calories/increasing my exercise. I am getting 'better' day by day, there are good and bad, and being on here while I could see it being triggering for some has the opposite result for me. I am able to use this forum and the amazing people I have met on it to encourage me to take the steps I need to work towards a healthier routine, and through the friends whose diaries I can see I am starting to work towards accepting a 'normal' idea of meals and snacks, and what the average person does.
Further more to the previous comments, once you cross a certain line the only way to help yourself is to do exactly what she's doing - admit you personally can't help yourself and ask for help. I give her credit, it takes so much strength to do just what she has now done!0 -
Anorexia often starts off with a good goal, like health, in mind. But can evolve into the person's desire to control something because they feel out of control with something else (or many things) in their life. They can control what they eat and how much they exercise. It can be scary to watch something good turn into something excessively bad.
With the students I work with, I usually come in, mid-way into the issue. The behavior is already in place and developed when they come to college. The few times I've seen the disease develop has been truly scary. It was a perfect storm, the desire to lose weight, the realization they could control something in their lives and the lack of control in another area.
And the treatment is so expensive. Most insurance plans don't come close to covering the amount on in-patient treatment required to help someone teach their body how to accept nutrition, relearn their eating and exercise patterns and the reasons behind them, and accept themselves as "bigger."
I'm gonna disagree. I've had EDNOS for 17 years and it didn't start out with health in mind. There are many different reasons why someone has an eating disorder and the reasons for using it. Mine was for punishment. If something stressed me out, I'd stop eating. If I did something wrong, no food.
An eating disorder, a TRUE eating disorder is very secretive. The cause is usually something that happens way before the first symptoms arise.
Mine was from something traumatic from 4-10 years old. My eating disorder started at 10 when it stopped.
Nowadays, teens are flaunting eating disorders like its a 'hip' way to diet.
I can't agree enough. I am currently in treatment with what is considered 'atypical anorexia'. I too used the 'punishment' approach to controlling my eating habits. I am a grown adult, with a successful career, and was still doing such. If I felt I bombed a presentation or lost a big account - those were among reasons I could justify cutting my calories/increasing my exercise. I am getting 'better' day by day, there are good and bad, and being on here while I could see it being triggering for some has the opposite result for me. I am able to use this forum and the amazing people I have met on it to encourage me to take the steps I need to work towards a healthier routine, and through the friends whose diaries I can see I am starting to work towards accepting a 'normal' idea of meals and snacks, and what the average person does.
Further more to the previous comments, once you cross a certain line the only way to help yourself is to do exactly what she's doing - admit you personally can't help yourself and ask for help. I give her credit, it takes so much strength to do just what she has now done!
Even after being 'recovered' (lets face it, the thoughts will never fully leave), those stressful times will still happen, and I'll think 'fine. I'm not eating anymore.' It's the 'recovered' part that has to hurry up and intervene and make sure you continue to stay healthy.
For people that don't have an eating disorder, imagine having two brains. The one makes logical decisions: food is fuel, stress happens, a bite won't kill you. While the other brain makes all the illogical decisions: one bite of cake will make me gain 10lbs, everyone is thin but me, I'll stop eating so they'll know how much I hurt, if I eat anything something bad will happen.
Someone with an eating disorder constantly has dueling thoughts. But humans are programmed to not do the stuff they fear, so the illogical side wins easily.0 -
Anorexia often starts off with a good goal, like health, in mind. But can evolve into the person's desire to control something because they feel out of control with something else (or many things) in their life. They can control what they eat and how much they exercise. It can be scary to watch something good turn into something excessively bad.
With the students I work with, I usually come in, mid-way into the issue. The behavior is already in place and developed when they come to college. The few times I've seen the disease develop has been truly scary. It was a perfect storm, the desire to lose weight, the realization they could control something in their lives and the lack of control in another area.
And the treatment is so expensive. Most insurance plans don't come close to covering the amount on in-patient treatment required to help someone teach their body how to accept nutrition, relearn their eating and exercise patterns and the reasons behind them, and accept themselves as "bigger."
I'm gonna disagree. I've had EDNOS for 17 years and it didn't start out with health in mind. There are many different reasons why someone has an eating disorder and the reasons for using it. Mine was for punishment. If something stressed me out, I'd stop eating. If I did something wrong, no food.
An eating disorder, a TRUE eating disorder is very secretive. The cause is usually something that happens way before the first symptoms arise.
Mine was from something traumatic from 4-10 years old. My eating disorder started at 10 when it stopped.
Nowadays, teens are flaunting eating disorders like its a 'hip' way to diet.
Okay, so maybe 'often' should have been 'sometimes', but just because that wasn't applicable to you doesn't negate it. My ED was no less real just because I started out with healthy weight loss.
But yeah, wtf is with the whole pro-ana/mia thing?? I honestly don't get it. It's like a completely different beast.
For people that don't have an eating disorder, imagine having two brains. The one makes logical decisions: food is fuel, stress happens, a bite won't kill you. While the other brain makes all the illogical decisions: one bite of cake will make me gain 10lbs, everyone is thin but me, I'll stop eating so they'll know how much I hurt, if I eat anything something bad will happen.
Someone with an eating disorder constantly has dueling thoughts. But humans are programmed to not do the stuff they fear, so the illogical side wins easily.
Yup. My 'ED voice' is still there, I'm just able to tell it to STFU when I'm healthy (ie not engaging in ED behaviour). It doesn't take much to flip the switch though. One super stressful event that kills my appetite and I could easily be off again.0 -
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »But yeah, wtf is with the whole pro-ana/mia thing?? I honestly don't get it. It's like a completely different beast.
I don't even know where to begin with that one...
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