Is it possible to be a reverse anorexic?
2essie
Posts: 2,861 Member
Anorexic people see themselves as fat. I see myself as smaller than I am. When I catch sight of myself by accident I cannot believe I am the big fat person I am looking at. When I look at myself in a mirror at home I see a smaller person. What is going on here?
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Replies
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I'm sure there is a name for it, its like when you look in the mirror and still see that 20 something smoking hot person, not the 50+ grey haired grandma looking back at you and you do a double take cause you think its YOUR mother looking at you0
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Yes I know that feeling too except it is my grandmother I keep seeing in the mirror. I suppose it could be worse I could be seeing my grandfather :-)
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That's not the opposite of anorexic... you're talking about a symptom of it... body dysmorphia... you can have it either way, more often than not it's you think you're bigger than you are. Both can be damaging to the individual in different ways.
In terms of eating, the opposite would be binge eating, or just greedy.0 -
It's called Body Dysmorphic Disorder.0
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It has been described as Fatorexia - seeing yourself as slimmer than you are. There has been a book about it, and a website.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1267883/Fatorexia-In-mirror-Sara-saw-slim-woman-Just-problem-17st-So-deluded.html0 -
Ooooo I'm glad it has a name but now I know I have it I can do something about it. Thank you all0
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Haha I'm the same! I pick up large sizes of clothes and I think, HOW do these fit me?? I see a svelte little person in the mirror!0
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I used to be the same. I didn't think I looked that fat when I looked in the mirror (though I knew I wasn't small) I used to get such a shock though when I saw a photo of myself. I used to think oh that's how everyone else must see me.0
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I sometimes look in the mirror, or just down at my body, and wonder where exactly 120 lbs are supposed to come from. 30-40 lbs, sure, but 120? I just don't see it. I think it's because, even fat, I'm proportionate.0
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In my opinion it's the frog in hilt water story. Put a frog in hot water and hell jump immediately. Put him in warm water and hell stay there while it gradually heats to boiling and cooks him. This is how I've let my body gain 50 lbs and think , well I'm still in pretty good shape, better than others.. Well this week I decided its time to find another pond
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You know I feel what your talking about on this one. I have spent most of my younger life (and I am not that old folks) being what I would consider fit. So now that I am not and I see a pic someone takes or catch a reflection in the glass I'm walking by and I'm taken back. Grrr. :grumble: The only way I have decided to fix this is to get fit again. I in no way think I am thin, just not as big as I am I guess. lol. I am a lot happier having lost the lbs I have since being here though. I just can't wait until I can double that number. Oh yeah0
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2essie,
I know what you are talking about. And glad to know too that it has a name. I try to avoid really looking in the mirror but of course it's not an option at times. Then, it's a sad reality. It's funny though, one of the mirrors in my house makes me look a lot thinner than all the others. So, I have to wonder which mirror is right.
Wouldn't it be great if all department stores had my mirror! I think it would be a gold mine for them. If they just ripped out the size tags and just put Cute, Cuter, Cutest on the tags instead!
Wish it could make me look younger but I don't think that mirror has been invented yet.0 -
I am so glad I am not on my own with this. I am also not under the impression I am slim just not like I look on photographs Ah well I will soon look like I think I do now with everyones help. Thank you all0
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Call it what you want, it is still a shock to see the size clothes I have in my closet and think, "Someone big owns these". You could say my head knows what's happened to the healthy and active me, but my heart is still wondering who is in the mirror!0
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I used to work at a retail clothing store as the fitting room assistant. Most people would gather clothes to try on that were about the right size, but I would regularly see (mostly women) people bring clothing that was obviously too big or too small for them to try on. Every shift I would encounter a few customers with drastically wrong sized clothes. I kept my tape measure handy and spent a lot of time gathering correct sizes for customers to try.
The people trying on the too big clothes was usually someone who lost a lot of weight and couldn't believe they were down to this new smaller size. It took a lot of tact on my part to inform the people with too small clothes that they were actually a size much larger than they had anticipated. I would mumble something about Chinese manufacturing processes or mislabeled sizing on certain brands, blah, blah, blah.
Most customers were nice and were happy I could help them find the right size, but some (again, usually women) would leave the store since "all" of our merchandise was sized/ labeled "too small."0 -
I experience this, to some extent. For me, it's because I was very underweight as a child and teenager, and everyone always commented on how skinny I was, so being skinny simply became part of my self-understanding. I know several people who experience similar things - for instance, I have a friend who is incredibly pretty but she sees herself as ugly because as a teenager she was overweight and had acne, and her self-understanding became that she was ugly.
With me, I know logically that I weigh considerably more now than I did at, say, age 18, but somehow it doesn't register emotionally as me not being skinny any more. It's also why I never focus on losing weight - my focus is always on feeling healthy and having energy. I don't think it's a bad thing - I see so many people get obsessed with weight and get miserable about any weight that they gain, and I don't think feeling fat would enhance my life in any way.0 -
I know exactly how you feel. For the longest time I knew I wasn't skinny but really didn't see myself as obese. It took a couple of pictures that were less than flattering for me to go "HOLY CRAP THAT'S ME?!?!?!?" I really didn't see myself as being as large as I am, I do carry weight well at 5'8" but the last couple of years I've carried far too much of it. I really am thin at 150lbs (size 8/10) and was actually hospitalized for anorexia (as a teenager) at 122 lbs, which is larger for most girls. It has taken me a long time to realize I had as big a weight issue as I do and I keep taking progress photos so I can have an honest, realistic view of myself on a monthly basis!0
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I am the same way and I have heard the same from others. It doesn't show as much in the mirror, but is OBVIOUS in photos. I hate getting my picture taken, even though I know the camera is not "adding" pounds. It is just showing what is there.0
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I was just talking to my husband about this. I think I look great in the mirror, but when I see a picture of myself, I'm mortified! Nice to know it has a name!0
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There are times I see the real me.... dressing room mirrors at department stores, windows on the street, photos! Looking straight on I don't look as fat as my profile so a lot of times I don't see it. clothes start hanging on you so in your mind you are skinnier than you really are and that's what you see.
It depends on what I am wearing, what angle I'm looking, etc. I've even heard celebrities that are heavy set say the same thing. The weight gain can be so gradual that you just don't see it.0 -
In my opinion it's the frog in hilt water story. Put a frog in hot water and hell jump immediately. Put him in warm water and hell stay there while it gradually heats to boiling and cooks him. This is how I've let my body gain 50 lbs and think , well I'm still in pretty good shape, better than others.. Well this week I decided its time to find another pond
^this!!! I can relate, it happened so gradually that I didn't really notice!0 -
I was ironing some jeans today, and I thought whose are these the are tiny? then I realised they were mine! It takes time to believe when you see smaller cltohes that they could be yours :-)0
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In my opinion it's the frog in hilt water story. Put a frog in hot water and hell jump immediately. Put him in warm water and hell stay there while it gradually heats to boiling and cooks him. This is how I've let my body gain 50 lbs and think , well I'm still in pretty good shape, better than others.. Well this week I decided its time to find another pond
That is exactly what happened to me. I was so used to being skinny and fit, but it was all in my head when in reality over the years I replaced much of my muscles with fat.0 -
I was reading over the thread now, i suppose the thread itself isn't really an issue. I just hate how she phrased "reverse anorexic" perhaps it shouldn't have pissed me off. I'll be leaving now.
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And there I was thinking it was just me.
I am sure I look thinner in the mirror than the camera. But if I take a photo of my reflection I look larger. So I have to believe it is my perception of myself being distorted by my brain when the image from the mirror passes through my eyes. <phew my brain hurts now>
Strange that ones own perspective of oneself can be so different. But I am down two dress sizes no matter what the mirror or the camera show. So that is good.0 -
That's body dysmorphia. Just the same as the woman who needs to look like Barbie or the man who want's his legs cut off because he feels they don't fit on his idea of what his body should look like.
Your advantage is you have started to see past it, and that's good.0 -
Ha, you people don't have body dysmorphic disorder. You don't want to have it.
You just haven't accepted that you've gained weight lol. :huh:0 -
Ha, you people don't have body dysmorphic disorder. You don't want to have it.
You just haven't accepted that you've gained weight lol. :huh:
lol yeaaaaaaaah.0 -
I considered myself anorexic, but I was probably actually EDNOS--and I have overcome it. That doesn't mean that it isn't possible for it to come back, but this is the first time I've EVER lost weight and not felt the need to starve myself. I believe that we are stronger than we believe we are and that we CAN overcome eating disorders.0
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to actually answer this post, when I was at my heaviest, I never actually thought I was overweight. I actually really liked my figure. It was when I'd see pictures of myself that I was like "oh god. i look like that?" But I'm still that way. I feel horrid and fat, but then I see pictures of myself and I think "are my arms really that small?" It can work both ways. The important thing is that you are happy with yourself. Don't let yourself be defined by your appearance. x0
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