Expert: Joanne - 8/3/2006

Question
I'm 16 years old. I have been suffering with anorexia since age 10. I grew up with a mom that had an ED and who was obsessive of weight and beauty. I have been through a small recovery period, but have fallen back into my old ways. I won't eat above 400 calories and I work for about 2 hours everyday. I want to stop, but I don't really know how. My parents are in denial about the whole thing. They figure if they just tell me to eat then I will eat. I want to know, what can I do to recover again?

Answer
In order to be able to recover, you need support.  I recommend sitting your parents down and telling them how hard this is for you, or speak to your Dr.

If this doesn't at all seem possible, you may need to find someone that can help you yourself.  Either that, or try your best to fight the ED for the time being and talk to someone you trust when you get back to school.  It was my guidance teacher that made all the arrangements for me.  He found and phoned the therapist I saw, and was also there for me to talk to when she wasn't available, or with things that I didn't feel comfortable talking to the therapist about.

I suggest going to www.something-fishy.org and joining the message boards for sufferers there.  Many people have and/or are going through this and all have advice to share.

It is too hard to do this alone, you need the support of someone that you can trust, but at the same time can take some control of the situation and be hard with you when you need it!

I hope this has helped, if not, or you have any other questions, please feel free to come back and ask!

Holly