What can we do to help anorexic people?

Answer 1

It's so kind of you to even think of this and I am sure that either you know someone with this problem (common in young people) or (not accusing you) you have suffered from this. Anorexia is a form of self control. The person with Anorexia has deep rooted problems with others controlling their life (eg: parents (although they may be loving about it) teachers, mates, etc. The one thing a person can do is control their eating habits. It is not scientifically proven what comes first #1 The person sees themselves as fat (others don't) or, #2 the person eats so little and become so skeletal in appearance they see themselves as still fat in the mirror. Their mind is distorted so it leaves one to believe that since Anorexics starve themselves and their brain is lacking protein their brain does not compute how thin they are. Only counseling can help and it takes years. The Anorexic, if fortunate to beat their problem and take over their own life and get their control back, still has to treat themselves like an alcoholic with that first drink. If even slightly depressed or stressed a recovering Anorexic can be trapped back into the darkened shadows of Anorexia. To help someone here is all you can do: * Accept them as who they are no matter how hard it is. * Don't urge them to constantly eat. Don't nag! * Don't watch them eat. Anorexics are foxy at how they eat. They seldom eat anything with protein in it and stick mainly to fruits, vegetables, salads and will spread it around on the plate so it looks like more. * Many Anorexics love the look of food (but have so much self control as to what they eat) that they are great cooks and love to cook for others. So, if your friend does this just enjoy and try to ignore the fact she is not eating much or nothing at all. * If she should mention someone in her family or even her doctor has mentioned she is Anorexic and she doesn't think she is then it's up to you to be very honest about this and tell her straight out she is and needs help. * Assure your friend you are there for the long haul. Your friend will look like she's doing fine for a few weeks and may slip back into old habits. It's draining trying to get an Anorexic to eat and certainly not their fault. Some Anorexics will actually gag when they know they are forced (by a hospital) to eat food. It can get so bad they may need to be fed intravenously. * There are more females with Anorexia than males (but there are a low percentage of males.) Young women who have Anorexia will cease having their periods for years and this is not a good thing. They can suffer from Osteoporosis, heart failure, strokes, renal failure, etc.