Hey Everyone,

Well i just watched Oprah today, which i usually do if im at home around that time and its worth my while. So like most recovering(ed) ED sufferers, i am fascinated with the concept of weight loss/gain and the mind and how it affects us. I guess thats because i am alwyas trying to understnad what made me start restricting in the first place, and why it is STILL a big part of my life today.

Anyways, Oprah is usually great, and pretty inspirational, no matter what the subject, but today i was sort of ticked off. I realized that everything on TV and magazines etc is about WEIGHT LOSS and the problems of obesity. I do realize that it is a growing epidemic, but being underweight and throwing up your food is just as potentially dangerous and could also become an epidemic. Oprah had guests on that were the 'fat ones' in their family and all the pain that it has caused them. I felt for these people, but theni realize....when was the last time i saw anything about the people out there who have the pressure on them to be perfect and are consistantly restricting and self defeating becasue they want to hold up that image? or are looking for a sense of control in their crazy but 'perfect' lives? Where are those stories? i read them here everyday, but thast it.

I guess im just frusterated becasue i feel like anorexia/bulimia, binge/purge, restricting/purge whatever we do is no recognized in our society as being a problem or even having a place. We realize that drinking. drug use and now over-eating is a disease, but where is that realization and acceptance that self deprivation or throwing up are also diseases?

I hope i havent offended anyone b/c i am not tryinig to discredit obesity in any way, i do understand that it is a constant battle both physically and mentally, just like ana/mia, but i just wish more people would wake up and smell the coffee about the latter.

Anne

Thankyou for making this topic. I have been thinking about this kind of stuff for a couple months. See, we have this teen news program called "Channel 1" that plays nation wide on school T.V.'s. They're constantly talking about drug addiction, foreign problems, or school. Just like you said, I'm definitly not trying to belittle ANY of these situations. I just feel that not enough attention is brought to the dangers and statistics of eating disorders. When the Terri Schaivo (sp?) thing was going on, they talked a little bit about Bulimia but I'm talking........a tiny tiny little bit. Then the Pope died and Channel 1 didn't ever mention anything again about her story. Again, it's really sad that the Pope died and all, but I felt deprived and that the issue was just dismissed as nothing. I figured they would lead into interviews with sufferers and families of people who suffer from an E.D. Then maybe talk about how once you get sucked into the horrible world of an eating disorder, it's hard to live a normal life like anyone else. But nothing.

Hey Everyone,

Well i just watched Oprah today, which i usually do if im at home around that time and its worth my while. So like most recovering(ed) ED sufferers, i am fascinated with the concept of weight loss/gain and the mind and how it affects us. I guess thats because i am alwyas trying to understnad what made me start restricting in the first place, and why it is STILL a big part of my life today.

Anyways, Oprah is usually great, and pretty inspirational, no matter what the subject, but today i was sort of ticked off. I realized that everything on TV and magazines etc is about WEIGHT LOSS and the problems of obesity. I do realize that it is a growing epidemic, but being underweight and throwing up your food is just as potentially dangerous and could also become an epidemic. Oprah had guests on that were the 'fat ones' in their family and all the pain that it has caused them. I felt for these people, but theni realize....when was the last time i saw anything about the people out there who have the pressure on them to be perfect and are consistantly restricting and self defeating becasue they want to hold up that image? or are looking for a sense of control in their crazy but 'perfect' lives? Where are those stories? i read them here everyday, but thast it.

I guess im just frusterated becasue i feel like anorexia/bulimia, binge/purge, restricting/purge whatever we do is no recognized in our society as being a problem or even having a place. We realize that drinking. drug use and now over-eating is a disease, but where is that realization and acceptance that self deprivation or throwing up are also diseases?

I hope i havent offended anyone b/c i am not tryinig to discredit obesity in any way, i do understand that it is a constant battle both physically and mentally, just like ana/mia, but i just wish more people would wake up and smell the coffee about the latter.

Anne

I couldn't agree with you more. I think society, the media, or whatever, just thinks they're (anorexia and bulimia) just a phase someone goes through that will go away. Either that, or they just think it's about weight obsession and wanting to be thin. Of course, we all know eating disorders have nothing to do with food/eating and that it's just a symptom of a bigger problem. It's more about a way of taking control of your life when it seems out of control, even if it isn't healthy for you. By the way, I'm recovering from and struggling with (but aren't we all?) anorexia, bulimia, and overeating. I've been dealing with these EDs all my life. This is my first time posting on this board.

the media sucks, and sends out mixed messages and i can't be doing with it. on one page you get a horror story of the obesity crisis, then you get another page saying oh lok at such and such a celeb she is too thin. next page, another thin celebrity and comments saying she is too fat. we are constantly being told to diet, and the next minute being warned of the dangers of getting dragged in.