if you dont have an eating disorder, dont try and diagnose people with eating disorders

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Replies

  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    mae_bud wrote: »
    Sometimes you just need to accept that there are mean, wrong or ill informed people out there and move along.

    ...so...don't speak up for what you strongly believe is wrong? Or try to educate someone who is misinformed?

    I guess I am getting tired of people of using sticks and rocks to express what they strongly believe. Not that the OP is doing that but I feel the "tone" was a bit strong. I just prefer a world that we all could agree to disagree in a civil manner but in my heart I realize that is not likely to happen.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    Actually, it's probably best that ONLY people who don't have eating disorders diagnose those with eating disorders, otherwise they would have disordered thinking themselves, which could comprimise their ability to make a diagnosis, and treat it properly.

    OP is referring to MFPers 'diagnosing' eating disorders.

    I don't know that he is. I think it's for people in general. With this being his first ever post I don't think he's commenting on the community here but more generally.

    He doesn't have to post to read through the forums and see how often "you have an eating disorder" is posted as a response on MFP.

    Shrug. Profile says today is the first visit. I don't see too much of "you have an eating disorder" but I do see "you possibly have disordered eating/may be heading down a dangerous path/should maybe talk to your doctor". I don't see diagnosing and frankly I'd rather people err on the side of caution (without saying someone flat out has and ED) when responding to threads.

    We get a lot of people in recovery as well looking for advice. This isn't the place for it. And again, not wrong to say that they should be talking to their treatment team and not us.

    I agree with the bolded...what I see and bugs me is the recommendation to go to a doctor all the time because they are eating 1k calories and people are like wow you should get help for that...go see a doctor.

    I think I may have said that once and it was in response to views on food not how much they were eating...

    aka food was bad evil etc. to an extreme degree...

    as for the OP who knows who it was directed at except them.....maybe they will come back and clarify.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    Actually, it's probably best that ONLY people who don't have eating disorders diagnose those with eating disorders, otherwise they would have disordered thinking themselves, which could comprimise their ability to make a diagnosis, and treat it properly.

    OP is referring to MFPers 'diagnosing' eating disorders.

    I don't know that he is. I think it's for people in general. With this being his first ever post I don't think he's commenting on the community here but more generally.

    He doesn't have to post to read through the forums and see how often "you have an eating disorder" is posted as a response on MFP.

    Not everyone mentions that they have/don't have an ED, either, so it is difficult to say where the advice comes from unless specified.
  • timtam163
    timtam163 Posts: 500 Member
    MFP in general doesn't have a good framework for dealing with disordered eating. It might help to chime in and call out problematic comments on ED-type posts; for the most part I've seen people implore the poster to seek counseling, but for the occasional problematic post, it would help to have someone with experience like you step in if you feel comfortable.

    That being said do you have any good guidelines on what to say if we suspect someone has an eating disorder? Is there something constructive to be done?
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    GORESPELLS wrote: »
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    The pro ana types bother me way more like EDs are a game and glamourus. Oh yes spending 3 months in an inpatient treatment program and messing up your body for years afterwards is oh so fun

    ikr!! pro ana butterflies make me so angry. they openly promote anorexia/other eating disorders and act like it will make you perfect. it. will. not. theyre mostly people who just want attention, anyways, as they dont understand what an ed is actually like until they develop it. they glorify inpatient treatment and tubing to no end

    I'm sure you realize and don't care, but you do know that you sound no better than some of the MPA types who call people wannarexics, right?
  • bingo_007
    bingo_007 Posts: 101 Member
    I think better to mention to see a doc than not saying something but I would do that to people with a worrying eating habit as well as other medical issues or self diagnosed medical problems. I am not a medical professional hence best to recommend to be checked up and be'certain. If there is a problem good a medical professional can look into this. If it is still within normal parameter good because now this is clarified too. Better save than sorry especially for medical issues.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    edited September 2017
    Here's my most recent post on the subject:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/40423816#Comment_40423816
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Your thinking around food certainly sounds disordered, but only a professional can diagnose you properly. Do seek help.

    All but one post on the thread also encouraged the OP to seek help. I think we handle this issue responsibly on MFP.
  • Good_Morning_Glory
    Good_Morning_Glory Posts: 226 Member
    <3
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    So here's the deal. I sat next to my daughter for 5 months while she ate every meal. Every bite. Every meal. Every day. I did this while she recovered from an eating disorder. I slept next to her every night so when she woke up in the middle of the night to compulsively exercise, I could stop her. My spidey senses have become quite fine tuned in detecting disordered eating behaviors. If I see it, I have no problem calling it out. Not having an ED does not make one unqualified to call BS on disordered eating.

    My kid is alive and reasonably well adjusted today (and we are super, super close) because of the time and effort I put in re-feeding her and getting to her the best therapist I could find. Seeing the person you love the most in the world loathe themselves to the point of self harm and starvation is the most devastating thing I have seen in my life.

    Having an ED (real or imagined) is not a badge of honor. Recovering from one is.

  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    I wonder if part of the issue is that, at least in my mind, the words "eating disorder" tend to translate to mental health issue. But in fact, I believe that some EDs might be best solved by a mental health specialist, some might be more lack of proper information and belong to a nutritionist. But that distinction is rarely made or inferred.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,110 Member
    GORESPELLS wrote: »
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    The only advice someone who hasn't struggled with it should ever give is suggesting someone find a professional to talk to if they are genuinely concerned in my opinion.

    i agree, but mostly therapists are biased and dont know about eds and think of them lowly and give the same basic advice

    - why dont u just eat more? its not hard
    - have u tried xx medication?
    - just meditate

    and it gets repeated over and over which is why a lot of people with eds dont recover, since we dont have very good recovery tools. basically all inpatient does is force feed you and send you home when youre at bmi 20-21, which makes your ed worse. i think there needs to be a lot of reform and better recovery options.

    I luckily had very different experiences than that. I'm in recovery for bulimia and did out patient twice. The therapists I worked with specialized in ED and PTSD (a lot of ED sufferers are also trauma survivors). The facility I went to was group therapy based with some individual sessions and introduced me to EDA. The EDA workbook really helped me quite a bit.

    This is why I try to encourage people to seek professional help if I am concerned or they come to me with questions. I also always offer to send them a copy of the EDA workbook pdf if they want it for whatever reason.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,110 Member
    rsclause wrote: »
    I don't have an eating disorder but I can look at someone with a severe one and tell that they have one.

    You can't always tell by looking at someone though. I got very good at hiding it but my accounts were overdrawn from spending money to binge and purge and I had developed a very dangerous bone infection in my jaw from purging. I was normal-slightly overweight when at my sickest and on the outside looked fine. No one knew I had relapsed into my behaviors until I had to seek help again after waking up from an episode where I purged to the point of passing out. I was home alone with my son who was small at the time and that was my bottom that motivated me into getting well, the realization that he could have woken up first to find me that way.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    richardgavel wrote: »
    I wonder if part of the issue is that, at least in my mind, the words "eating disorder" tend to translate to mental health issue. But in fact, I believe that some EDs might be best solved by a mental health specialist, some might be more lack of proper information and belong to a nutritionist. But that distinction is rarely made or inferred.

    The lack of proper information ones aren't eating disorders, they're simply lack of knowledge. The vast majority of people we see here on 1000 cal diets plain don't realise that their calorie intake is damaging and they need to eat more. Most often, once they get to grips with that, they will increase. Even if they don't, still not an eating disorder, just a very, very silly thing to do health-wise. And I have occasionally seen posters cry 'eating disorder!' in those cases, though less often than I used to, I think. Which is not to say that initial undereating such as that can't then lead to an actual, full blown eating disorder, it absolutely can, but I'd say generally there needs to be other underlying factors at play to flip that switch. The difference is, those people get to goal and switch to maintenance, which is probably considerably lower than it would have been if they'd eaten properly due to excessive loss of LBM and adaptive thermogenesis.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If this is about MFP (and I can't tell from the OP), I wonder if OP is interpreting people suggesting that someone see a doctor or nutritionist as "you have an ED," however.

    I don't think I've ever (on MFP or off) told someone they have an ED. I have at times suggested that people who ask about eating under 1000 calories that if they really CANNOT manage to eat more -- not just they aren't really feeling like they need to, or are full on a particular day or two, but for a lengthy period of time cannot imagine eating more without feeling sick (which is sometimes the claim), that they should see a doctor. Part of that is because it could be something medical, it could be the start of an ED, or -- more likely, IMO -- they could see that as a good thing, and it's important to point out that no, not being able to eat more than 1000 without feeling sick is NOT a good thing or normal (again, for a lengthy period of time, not a day or two), and even if you are overweight it's something that should be a concern, or not encouraged as a good way to feel.

    Probably this has nothing to do with this post, but since posters here were later accused of assuming everyone has an ED, I want to make the distinction.

    (I really haven't seen the claim much either, as opposed to "this sounds concerning," except after the poster acknowledges having one or, I suppose, as in the thread that kshama linked where the poster expressed concern and the posters commenting that way seemed to have history with ED themselves.)

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