Do I have an eating disorder?

@xshortiex If you think there’s a problem, then the problem most likely exists. Tell your doctor what you are thinking. If you can, tell your school counselor right away so he/she can help you get the help you need.

I had three HS friends that needed serious help to overcome eating disorders. It sounds like you need that help as well.

I can’t talk to anyone about how i’m feeling even though I really want to. I found a pro-ana sight on the internet that makes a lot of sense and I can’t talk to any of my friends about it because they won’t understand me and anyone else I tell will tell my parents and I don’t want that.

@xshortiex The simple fact that you found a pro-ana site and thinks it makes sense is a clear indicator that you need help.
It is totally normal for teenagers to be concerned about their bodies. It is not, however, normal or healthy for anyone to look at a pro-ana site and think anything other than “wow, there people are crazy.”
I don’t think this necessarily means you have an eating disorder (but I’m not a trained professional) but it means that your thinking is unhealthy, and you owe it to yourself to talk to a trusted adult or counselor about your thoughts.

@xshortiex Why can’t you talk to anyone? The school counselor is there specifically for this purpose and is free of use to you.

I guess you might be right about the unhealthy thinking but I can’t do anything about it. I wish I could make it all go away without having to get help, but I know I can’t. And I can’t talk to anyone because they’ll think i’m just looking for attention and the fact of the matter is I don’t really want the help. I want to be thin and beautiful and for guys to actually be attracted to me. If anyone finds out they’ll all think I’m just some pathetic teenage girl with issues.

@xshortiex No that is far from what a counselor would think. They are trained to assist you in redirecting your thoughts into a more productive manner.

Please, seek professional guidance before you spend years making unhealthy decisions regarding your food and body.

@xshortiex Being thin =/= beautiful. Trust me, a man worth his flesh would be much happier to be with a healthy girl who has a few extra pounds than with a mentally ill and weight-obsessed girl who is skinny. An eating disorder will not make you attractive to anyone, not even yourself.

You’re partially right- you’re a teenage girl with issues. The only thing that could be considered “pathetic” is that you don’t want to seek help. Getting help is not pathetic- it will make you stronger, more secure, healthier, and more of an adult.

You’re therapist isn’t 16. They don’t think like sixteen year-olds. They’re professionals. Find an anti-anorexia site and spend your time there.

You said- “I guess you’re right about the unhealthy thinking but I can’t do anything about it”. That is not true. You can control your thoughts- therapy will teach you how.

Take it from a happily married fat chick- being thin by itsself doesn’t get you anything except guys who will want to have sex with you and leave you. Finding a good partner, and love, has nothing to do with your weight. Real mean will love the real you inside.

you only have an eating disorder if you think you do

Eating disorders are not about being thin and beautiful. Eating disorders are about hating yourself.

People who genuinely want to be thin and beautiful eat delicious, healthy food and they do things they enjoy for exercise. They believe that their bodies deserve to be nourished and cared for.

Eating disorders are about depriving, denying, and forcing suffering onto yourself. None of that is beautiful.

You already know everything that I’m saying. You know that “thin and beautiful” is an excuse and this is really about something much deeper.

I know that you feel like you don’t deserve help. You aren’t even sure if you are really sick. But that is part of this illness. You are depriving yourself of physical nourishment (food) and you are depriving yourself of emotional nourishment (counseling).

Eating disorders are very dangerous. You do not need to get physically sick enough to prove that to someone. The sooner you stop this, the easier it will be. It’s like smoking: do you think it’s easier to quit after smoking for a month, or for ten years?

If you don’t want your friends and family to know about this, go to your school counselor. Make something up if you have to. But please talk to your counselor, and be honest. That’s what s/he is there for.

@Jman That seems like a very dangerous thing to say. There are plenty of people in hospitals who think that they just need to lose 2 more pounds then they will be just fine… What’s your background for saying that?

@Likeradar @Jman is a troll.

Get help before your health suffers.
It is up to you to take charge of your health.

The technical answer is that you have anorexia if you have:
A: Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height, with body weight less than 85% of that expected.
B: Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.
C: Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.
D: In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.

However, if you do not have all of these, that doesn’t mean that you are in the clear. If you are worried enough about this to ask, then you most likely need to at least talk to somebody like a doctor or school counselor.