Expert: Joanne - 1/29/2008

Question
Hi. I'm a 25 year old male. I've had allot of prior issues (suicide attempts, obsessive compulsive, and depression). My parents & family keep calling me fat starting about 2 months ago. I weighed 176lbs and I'm 6'1. I now weigh 139. I sometimes vomit after eating, but usually I starve myself. I usually only eat a potato for lunch and thats it for the day. I pass out allot in middle of stores, etc. I KNOW i'm not fat but I cant stop starving myself and cant keep from FEELING fat. I know its not healthy, but would you classify it as a eating disorder? Could this be related to my severe distress & depression lately? And do you think my eating problem will go away if just regular stress is reduced?

Answer
Hi Jason

Sadly, it is quite common for an eating disorder to co-exist with another mental health problem, especially depression and OCD.

Why does your family call you fat?  At your height, 176lbs is in the middle of the normal range for your height.  At 139lbs, you are just underweight!

There is a chance that this could disappear once stress has reduced as eating disorders tend to be used as a coping mechanism, but there is a high chance that you will need professional help for this.  Do you receive any help for any of your other problems?  If so, do you feel that you could bring this up there?  If not, would you consider visiting your Dr and talking about all of this to see if you could be referred anywhere?

There must be underlying issues that need to be dealth with here, and these are best done with a professional who can help you work through them and put them into perspective!

Please think about getting help, and getting it soon.  Eating disorders can be deadly!

Joanne