Unfortunately, M.W. has faced many setbacks in our Fight the Pro-Ana research due to circumstances beyond her control. We wish her the best, of course, and she will not be abandoning us. However, we are experiencing further delays with Phase II as a result. Thank you for your patience.
I wanted to share a couple of articles with you all that debunk a lot of misconceptions about both eating disorders and suicide – an issue which occasionally factors into the equation. In the interest of full disclosure, I actually know the individual who wrote them and asked permission to share. I have also double-checked the research against sources such as the National Institute of Mental Health to make sure that everything these articles have to offer comes from the most reliable information available – any skeptics are more than welcome to do the same. At no point has PR Unfriendly received any money to share these, either, and if someone has I will personally bop them on the head and send them on their way.
The Physical Therapy Blog at Physical Therapy Assistant Schools writes about 10 Common Myths about Eating Disorders. #8 – “The Eating Disordered Only Care about Looking Pretty” is a particularly disheartening falsehood that many family, friends, and contemporaries of the victims still stick with as fact.
The X-Ray Vision-aries Blog at X-Ray Technician Schools featured an article on 10 Common Myths about Suicide that is both heartwrenching and informative. Even if it doesn’t seem like it fully correlates with anorexia, bulimia, EDNOS, and binge eating disorder, at their core is a feeling of helplessness – not to mention the massive role that depression frequently plays in both. At the end of the write-up is a listing of extremely useful resources on preventing and reaching out to those considering suicide, so I would encourage anyone who loves someone who frequently struggles against these sorts of emotions to give it a read.
Feel free to discuss any other myths you can think of – or if you disagree with any of them, you are more than welcome to bring up your qualms as well! Just remember to be respectful of others, of course.
-Meredith
Both were great articles. I especially agreed with this myth:
“The eating disordered are easy to spot because they are so thin.”
As I often point out, there are plenty of fat people with eating disorders. I’m pretty sure a lot of obesity is caused by disordered eating. I know mine was. But society puts so much emphasis on not being fat that people will congratulate you for losing weight if you are heavy, not matter how you do it.
Great blog, I will be sure to check back
Comment by K8 — February 16, 2010 @ 11:31 am
K8, my sincerest apologies for not responding to your comment quickly. It has been a particularly madcap month, and I have not been keeping up with my blogs as I should. Rest assured, though, that your input is highly valued. I’m really glad that you’re opening up and discussing your experiences with everyone – the more people understand exactly how eating disorders work and the falsehoods surrounding them, the better it will be for the victims. I hope that you will return and see this comment, and I hope that we can pick up the pace on our research and help spread awareness of this tragic issue.
Thank you again!
Comment by Riot — March 14, 2010 @ 6:02 pm