Eating Disorder ProAna Blogger Focused on Body Image and Self Esteem

This video response was posted to me from YouTube regarding the Internet Suicide post. I feel this individual articulates a point of view that is worth sharing because she speaks as an outsider coming into a pro ana community, and being caught off guard on what she finds.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=GFyjHGUE3bU]

Thoughts?

mamaV 

Cool anti ana avatars, read em’ & live em’ girls!

Next up, a fun little weekend project.

1) Go to office depot and get some bright orange post its.

2) Write a positive body message of inspiration for yourself and others.

3) Stick it in a public place, one frequented by women (bathrooms are perfect).

4) Be a part of the real body revolution started by WeBiteBack!

5) Believe what you wrote, repeat it, live it.

6) Report your posting to The Orange Revolution.

This thing is going international….check out this one in Australia!

chuck the scale : ditch the fashion rags : check out the library : buy some new music : learn something new: no fat chat : be kind : believe in you :

Love you, enjoy the warm air and do something different this weekend

mv

I was recently interviewed by the Toronto Star regarding my viewpoint the ProAnorexia movement and web community. 

When I stated I encourage and educate parents on how to check the history of their childrens computer activity, I was asked about privacy.

Privacy.

When it comes to Proanorexia, there is no privacy. I will stop at nothing to expose you and I don’t look back. We are dealing with life and death here.

Girls from all over the world reach out to me for help,  I am not an eating disorder expert or authority. No one else is listening. Why has this blog become a gathering place for those who are suffering?

It kills me to hear from 15 year old girls who think their lives are “over” because they hate their bodies, themselves, and have no where to turn.

It appalls me to hear stories from anorexics being told by doctors to ”go home and eat a bagel,” after landing themselves in the hospital for malnutrition.

I am stunned when I hear the desperate cries from girls who have already gone to their mom for help, revealed their disordered eating habits, only to be patted on the head and told “Honey, you’ll get over it.”

I will ring the neck of the next mother who blatantly wines about her own body image to her girlfriends, totally oblivious to the fact that their 8 year old daughter is clinging to her every word in the next room. 

Our girls post their skeletal frames on proana sites, yet they are outraged when their images are re-posted elsewhere for all to see. “You have no right!” they pout, and shout, and stomp. I pay no mind, intentions are good.

I am sick of death.

I am sick of my heart racing when I check my email for update on a blog friend who collapsed, yet again, while innocently playing softball, her organs destroyed by years of purging and starvation.

I am dumbfounded when parents sit and watch their 90 pound daughter read Teen Vogue and don’t put 2 & 2 together. 

I am sick of smart ass girls who make avatars featuring their beloved Nicole pasted with pathetic statements “bones are beautiful”

I am sick of arrogant fashion designers snubbing their noses at the anorexia epidemic while they obsessively stitch together their size zero collection for the next show.

I am sick of models who say “I was born this way” when they know damn well that nearly everyone of their model friends are starving or purging.

I can’t watch this kind of world go round, and stay silent.

So, to the question of privacy?

Here goes:

Ahhhh. Ok, got that out. I feel better.

Have a good one,

mamaV 

PS NEED MORE?

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We have had some healthy debates since the loss of Kristi and the Internet Suicide post. I wanted to thank you all for your heartfelt, pissed off, sometimes angry, sometimes sad comments – I can not thank you enough.

Here is what I have learned about the Pro-Anorexia community, thanks to you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZNSc0BAxZk]

With that said, I think we need to separate eating disorder sufferers into groups – they are vast and different. We all tend to relate back to our own experiences and this can really limit our perspective. I see the differentiation as follows:

1 Anorexia/Bulimia is a brain disease.

Food and control go hand in hand. The control gained by restricting food intake is done in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem over-whelming. For some, dieting, bingeing, and purging may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life, but ultimately, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem, and sense of competence and control.

(Images from documentary THIN by Lauren Greenfield)

Studies show that in some individuals with eating disorders, certain brain chemicals that control hunger, appetite, and digestion are imbalanced. The exact meaning and implications of these imbalances remains under investigation.

Eating disorders often run in families. Current research is indicates that there are significant genetic contributions to eating disorders.

2 Anorexia/Bulimia is a media disease.

Women of today look to models and hollywood for their standard of beauty, thinspiration images fill their heads, and send these individuals on a quest to “be anorexic.”

One does not need to try to be anorexic if they fall into category #1 above. When your eating disorder stems from brain chemicals or genetics, your goal is to try NOT to be anorexic.

In the case of the anorexic wanna-be’s it seems the desire to be thin starts innocently enough but overtime evolves into something more complicated-something I equate to brainwashing.

You know what really scares me? This group seems to dominate the Pro-Anorexia sites and YouTube. Their influence can not be underestimated. Day after day I receive messages from women stating they are drawn to their Thinspiration videos and images even though they know how detrimental they are to their recovery.

3 Anorexia/Bulimia is a family disease.

Not don’t freak out here, I am not pulling the ole’ Giselle theory on you.

By saying “family” I mean to say that many girls can point back to a specific incident or one comment made by a family member and/or friend that seemed to immediately trigger their dieting, which evolved to restricting, purging, exercising and ultimately anorexia.

A grandpa that called you fat.

A sister that compared her thighs to yours.

A mom that dieted incessantly.

A father that spoke of women being fat.

Sound familiar? All too familiar, I hear these stories daily.

It is these types of comments that take us from here:

True Colors by Dove

To here:

THIN documentary

4 Anorexia/Bulimia is a combination of all of the above.

To confuse things more, many of us likely see parts of our disorder in 1, 2, and 3. So how to make sense of it all? I am not sure we need to. Instead focus on indentifying where your disorder stems from, and seek help. Professional help, perhaps supplemented by online forms of support. I do understand the insurance related issues many of you face, but please reach out to NEDA to see if there are free or discounted forms of treatment available.

—

Which brings me to my final thought for the day.

Pro-Anorexia groups are receiving a bad rap…time for a name change. You need to re-invent yourselves into something that is not an immediate RED FLAG to every parent out there, not to mention the media who loves to jump all over you.

Those of you who a receiving support from the Pro-Anorexia sites, namely the Live Journal friends who have posted here, what to you think of differentiating yourself from the pack? I really think this is essential. There is a site called WeBiteBack which may interest you. They call their group post-pro-anorexia.

Check it out and let me know your thoughts,

mamaVISION

(a.k.a. mamaV as I have come to be known by some. So hip.).

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Anorexia has killed yet another, but this time the death of a young girl is documented, minute by minute, for the world to see.

Kristi, the ring leader of the Live Journal Pro-Anorexia site documents her last moments of life on the post below, proving yet again the adapting pro-ana lifestyle is messing with fire.

No fear pro-anas, your journals will not miss a beat. Your new leader immediately took over for Kristi, reiterated the PRO-ANA MISSION, and dedicated to convincing us all you are an eating disorder “support” site.

Hold your comments Pro-Anas: I have no intention of interfering with your beloved sites, since I am a believer in free speech and removing the pro-ana sites from the web serves no purpose. I refuse to put my head in the sand.

My purpose is to educate. Educate parents, friends, and family on the rampant nature of the Pro-Anorexia community online.

My message is getting through, I receive comments from girls from all over the world that admit they visit your sick community, and have realized you are leading them down a path towards destruction.

PARENTS, HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.

These are the bracelets they where, proud of their starvation lifestyle. The bracelets readily available online:

This is their status symbol. A feeding tube, afterall, proves you are a hard core anorexic:

This is what they stress about, a day over 200 calories is a total crisis:

These are their proud snapshots, showing off their accomplishments for all to see:

Why do I care? This was me, a model at 16, 5’9, 125 pounds and miserable as hell. My self confidence stripped from me by my Modeling agent and the Fashion Industry.

No one is going to tell me that the Media does not play a role in anorexia- not in every case, but in many.

The worst part of this story? The pro-anorexic girls I “featured” here would be proud to have their skeletons highlighted for the world to see. Their starvation success achieved, the attention they crave fulfilled.

If you want to join my cause, please leave your comments on the Official Public Petition to the Council of American Fashion Designers.

Together we can end this absolute madness.

-mamaVISION

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=IiTkekeTuBE&v2]

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