I know somewhere on here I have written about this before, but I am doing so again.
I really freaking hate all the holiday hoopla food crap. EVERY. SINGLE. BLOODY. YEAR.
Want some apple pie, Michele Christine? Umm... no thank you, Auntie, Mommy, Daddy, & brothers. Leave me alone please, and I have eaten what my nutritionsit has said, thank you much.
For those of you reading this who have an eating disorder and understand, you get my drift. BACK OFF ABOUT WHAT I PUT IN MY MOUTH.
For those of you reading this who don't get it...let me explain. We know you care, but you just don't understand. Nothing you say while however well intentioned will make this time of year easiar for us- or easy for us anytime of year. We are going to eat what we want, and what we feel safe and comfortable with. You don't need to tell us, but... it's only 300 calories and no one will notice if you gain 2lbs. We know all of this intellectually, but it doesn't click the same way in our brains as it does yours.
Put some apple pie in front of a bulimic and they can't stop at one slice. Put it in front of an anorexic, and enjoy the freak show after you tell them... just one bite. Would you tell an alcoholic to have just one sip of wine after years of sobriety? Somehow, I doubt it.
For anyone out there who knows someone with an eating disorder, the best thing you can do is be supporitive without the commentary of what the ED afflicted puts in their mouths. Those of us in recovery do our best to nourish ourselves, and it aint easy. So please.... let us eat in peace. The comments make it worse.
4 comments:
In the last week, I've gotten:
"Hey, I noticed you didn't eat."
"Is that all you're eating?"
"Don't you want more?"
"You eat like a bird."
"Are you on a diet?"
"Are you anorexic?"
"What is wrong with you?"
GOOD GOD!!!! So, I get it. You get it. Quit bashing folks w/ ED like we wanna be Kate Moss. 'Cause "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" according to her. Yeah, well...trying to eat is a freaking struggle.
Oh- that comment so incensed me- I refused to write about it. "It was taken out of context."
PLUEZ... I went to artsy fartsy Marymount Manhattan College on the UES and saw her CK bill boards in the early nineties freaking everywhere... on buses, in subways, you name it, that chicka was plastered EVERYWHERE. And this after moving on and trying to pursue an education and make a better life for myself after three hospitalizations. It was maddening.
What I a fine example she sets for her child. ARGH! But, I sure am glad to know someone who "GETS IT!"
michele,
your post clarified for me the difference between a bulimic, on the one hand, and an anorexic, on the other hand! i always got them confused with each other!
MARIO
Mario,
It's a very complex issue. Many people with bulimia and anorexia grapple with both. It's not uncommon. I never had full fledge bulima where I would binge endlessly- but, I did go through as a teen, throwing up anything I ate, even while not a binge eater.
Mom and Dad are taking you out to dinner...Ok. Don't eat all day then smile through the appetizers and just eat like the rest of the family, then go puke.
These days, it's more just eating whatever I can, as much as I can. I can not throw up with my fragile teethe after all my surgery from my seizures- bulimics often suffer from dental damage due to vomitting.
This was not the case with me, but tooth decay is is a major side affect of self-induced vomitting.
Anorexic- Bulimic- Binge Eater- an eating disorder is just AWFUL.
Insurance companies don't do enough to cover the issue. I fought mine like bat shit crazy and I won. They now pay for my nutritionist.
This is why I post so many resources on eating disorders on my blog. Their advice and guidance is what helped me win.
I know you love movies- if you ever want to have a better understanding of eating disorders, I'd highly reccomend Lauren Greenfield's award winning HBO Documentary "THIN"
It isn't pretty... but it sure captures the mindset of people who suffer from this wretched illness.
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