Pro Ana Pro Mia sites....

[captodometer]

Anxiety and depression often have a genetic component, and it's not unusual for someone with an eating disorder to suffer from one or both conditions. But the eating disorder itself is mostly a learned and reinforced behavior.

There is a definite socioeconomic and racial component to anorexia and bulimia in developed countries: 90% of the cases are female. And most of them are Caucasian upper middle class high achievers, majority under age 35. It's rare to find anyone poor or non-Caucasian with either of these disorders, but it is becoming more frequent. The distribution of cases probably has something to do with society's beauty standard: young, blonde, rich, and thin. Caucasians probably feel more pressure to try and live up to it, and ethnic minorities realize that they can't so they don't even try, at least on weight related issues. That's the current theory anyway, and I can see some truth in it. The researchers are still trying to figure out exactly why people develop eating disorders, but number of disease cases is increasing faster than the amount of money available for research and treatment

The poor have a greater tendency towards obesity, if anyone is wondering. So no matter who you are, you have the opportunity to develop an unhealthy relationship with food.

 

[NatalieMT]

I was diagnosed anorexic with purging tendencies, 5 years ago now. It's been hell, I wouldn't wish the existance on anyone. It's like my drug, I'm totally addicted to weightloss. I believe it is something I was born with - I don't think the habits I follow through I learnt or developed. It just seemed natural not to eat - I've been told I was the same during the early years of my childhood. I honestly think until you've been in the mind set of someone who is eating disordered you will never truly understand the reasoning behind these sites. They might be classed as 'pro ana' or 'pro mia' but really most of the people on them are just as mentally ill as every other disordered individual, do you not wonder what drives them to seek out a site where they will starve and ultimately cause themselves a lot of pain? They're just more in denial about it than that and see it as their way of life, not their illness. I think anorexics and bulimics alike realise the damage they are doing to their health, 'pro ana' activists etc do not. As for thinspiration well I don't believe looking at pictures of skinny models alone is really going to push someone into an eating disorder. But I do think it makes it harder for those with an eating disorder to recover when they're bombarded with images of the one thing they're trying to get away from.

I don't encourage joining these sites and saying 'I want to be thin, help me starve' because it shouldn't be like that, that's wrong in every sense of the word. The tips are ridiculous, but when you're anorexia or bulimic you'll do everything to cover it up no matter what it takes. I've considered eating paper and silica in the past to try and fill my stomach so I could take a break from the hunger. Seriously who goes on a 'pro ana' or 'pro mia' website and decides to drink ipecac to make themselves throw up. That's not someone who's 'poisonous' or 'a terrible person' that's someone who desperately needs help so much that they don't even see it. I lost two friends to anorexia, one died of heart failure and the other committed suicide. I don't take any of things I've done lightly anymore. It could easily have been me and that scares me more than anything. I used to not care if I'd die or not - I think somedays dying would have been easier than living with the eating disorder.

I'm not as bad as I was now though thankfully, I'm still not 100% but I can maintain a weight slightly lower than normal and not feel too guilty. I don't believe it will ever go away though, I don't think I will ever not hear the voices that tell me I'm fat and disgusting and ugly but I can hope for the best future possible and hope relapses are few and far between.

 

[Kuuipo]

Many of the Anna Mia/Ednos sites glamourize starvation as a "Lifestyle". There are a lot of young people looking for the feeling of belonging as well and being an anorexic wanna-be, as depraved as it seems, has become fashionable because it-to the ill individual-represents strength, self contol, etc over what little they do have control over in their lives. It is also a form of rebellion as food, in families is shared and represents love, food rejected is manipulation, rejection, control.