Pro-Eating Disorder Sites - Curses to Recovery?
Disordered Eating Communities on the Web - Solutions or Problems?
May 16, 2009
Are the pro-eating disorder websites dangerous? According to statements by Doug Bunnell, PhD. "They promote a myth that eating disorders are choices, rather than a physical and mental illness...Patients are supported in their illnesses and encouraged to stay ill by these web sites."
These sites evidently attract younger audiences. Though they appear to offer support to disordered eating sufferers, they can do the opposite by providing ideas on how to cover up purging or other symptoms of disordered eating.
An Anorexic Named, Lizzy
Lizzy, an anorexic in her 20s, began losing weight seriously after the death of her grandfather. She created her own anorexia website to help herself cope with the loss of her grandfather and other negative emotions. Before she finished high school, her caloric intake had dropped to about "500 calories a day."
She began surfing the web to research information about disordered eating when she happened across some pro-anorexia sites and began discovering red flags about her own eating habits.
As she lost weight, her internal emotions were not improving. Fortunately, Lizzy realized she needed help. In March of 2004, she was hospitalized. She weighed 88 pounds with a heart rate of 45 beats a minute. The normal maximum heart rate is 220 beats a minute minus a person's age.
Lizzy decided to create her own website that would not only meet her needs, but the needs of others.
Cerulean Butterfly
There are, "no fat chicks allowed" - and body mass index must be under 20 to enter at Lizzy's Cerulian Butterfly website (Mefeedia.com). This information alone provides two alerts:
- First, "no fat chicks allowed" obviously implies questionable body image issues, and though the disclaimer on the "Intent Page" offers support, this statement flatly contradicts the intention; and,
- If the BMI must be under 20, this implies that one must be anorexic or close to it. Take that one logical step further and the site evidently rejects anyone in recovery, since a recovering person, depending upon height, weight, and age, would probably have a higher body mass index.
However, in all fairness to the "Intent Page", statements are made that declare the misery of eating disorders, and urges those who wish to develop an eating disorder to leave.
Is developing an eating disorder a choice? Does one choose to be an alcoholic or a drug addict?
Warning to Parents
Pro-eating disorder websites allow disordered eating sufferers to candidly speak about their disordered eating problems. Know that teenagers entering these sites will probably be exposed to highly questionable material that could place a teenager, seeking acceptance or help, at risk for harm by:
- Allowing the teenager to listen to the eating disorder voices of sufferers who are not in recovery, thus obtaining support that could negatively influence the eating disorder to run rampant;
- Creating a "them against us" perspective by the teenager whose eating disorder voice will be looking to commiserate with other eating disorder voices; and,
- Teaching a vulnerable teenager more sophisticated ways of covering up eating disorder symptoms.
MySpace and Facebook
Additionally, some of these sites promote pictures of skinny models and celebrities to provide inspiration or "thinspiration". One can enter the Pro Ana Nation through MySpace. Here's a catch phrase, "no people trying to recover, it ruins our motivation" (Jacqueline Head, "Seeking 'Thinspiration'", BBC News, Newsvote.bbc.co.uk, no date).
Facebook touts its own pro-eating disorder groups. The phrases are just as debilitating to recovery as the one in MySpace, aforementioned (Jacqueline Head, "Seeking 'Thinspiration'", BBC News, Newsvote.bbc.co.uk, no date).
Reminder: Eating disorders can be fatal! Seek help!
Sources
Bbc.co.uk
Song Sora, "Starvation on the Web", TIME, on-line magazine, June 11, 2005.
