Eating Disorders Support Group

Eating disorders are marked by an obsessive need to control the intake and/or purging of food. This community is dedicated to those struggling on the road to recovery. Join to discuss your experience with others and find support. Get advice, ask questions, and meet others who are going through similar struggles.

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MermaidSinger 09/08/2010

Hello all! Just had a story I needed to vent in order to get some frustration out...

Today in school I heard two sophomores talking about someone named "Ana." I have a friend named "Anna", so I thought they might be talking about her...nope. They were talking about starving themselves in the hope of getting an eating disorder and the fact that "Ana" forces them to do it...wtf?!

Sorry if this offends anyone, but the terms "Ana" and "Mia" REALLY bug me. They are far too cutesy little names for something so lethal. I understand that part of recovering from an eating disorder is giving a separate voice to the disorder, but it seems these terms are being thrown around like Anorexia and Bulimia are "friends" you can acquire if you try hard enough.

Maybe it's just the context I've heard them in that makes me so annoyed by these names, but it just seems to me to be under miming the gravity and deadliness of eating disorders to see all these "Pro Ana" people prancing around desperate to be slaves to "Ana."

It's anorexia, not Ana. It's Bulimia, not Mia. This isn't a game, princess, leave your tiara at the door. This will ruin your life.

deleted_user 09/08/2010

true that

TroJanThunder 09/08/2010

This makes me sad. These girld don't know what they are getting into and are likely to learn the hard way. SIGH! =(

terriann 09/08/2010

yea ! u tell em honey!bet it wont be Ana this and Ana when it starts eating them alive!

deleted_user 09/08/2010

totally agree w.both of u-- i have kept my ED from my niece since she was little-shes in highschool now-----but its really sad -that they dont know how devasting and destructive it is - yeah i did not try to get my ED...............
worried about the youngins..........LOL maybe you wont think this is funny--- but its like calling ED , Ed as a name----instead of just abreviating {sp>EEEEEEEEEDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI;m in a good mood and u all might not be so let me apologize if noone chuckles---
i worry about my niece peer pressure etc----

deleted_user 09/08/2010

nothing funny at all about subject but -- it did dawn on me-- and i wrote before i thought

peanutzz 09/08/2010

But what about ED? Can he still be a jerk?

deleted_user 09/08/2010

Ed is a mega jerk and not cute at all. Mermaid you are very right with what you say and I hope you filled those girls in on the hell they are about to enter.

MermaidSinger 09/09/2010

hahaha I am SO relieved to know I'm not the only person with an ED who gets so annoyed with this! It's so frustrating because it's impossible to reach these girls! They think they can turn it on and off!!!!

jasgall 09/10/2010

i understand your frustration. it is important to seperate yourself from the ED, but it sounds like these girls are using it in the wrong context. so sad. definitely will be praying for them.

deleted_user 09/11/2010

I call ED, Ed, it gives me yet another reason to hate the male species. Seriously though, if I can get mad at it for me that makes it a little easier to be mad at.
I agree though that the cutesy names are not cute at all. Another way for people to minimize how serious this illness is.

deleted_user 09/11/2010

i do call them ana and mia, but i've never thought of them as being cutesy. it's really interesting people feel that way. to me they're these domineering, controlling, mean-spirited girls who are out to get me, like the mean girls who spread rumors about people in high school. i do think it's really really stupid to want an ED. like, waaaaaaaaay terrible. ana and mia are not anybody's friends, they're control freaks, and they will boss you around day and night. i hate them both.

BeccBecc 09/11/2010

"Ana" and "Mia" are born from the pro-ED "movement". It's some horrific way to draw young girls(or guys) into an ED, convincing them it's some sort of diet or worst of all "lifestyle". I've been on forum where the terms "ana" and "mia" were banned because of the connection to being pro-ED. Which is a really good idea in my opinion.

MermaidSinger 09/11/2010

BeccBecc, you hit the nail on the head. It's designed to draw people into the "lifestyle" of an eating disorder, to convince them that it's just another thing they can incorporate into their routine if they want to. People don't understand the things they will MISS when they start trying to "catch" and eating disorder, the dinners and parties and get togethers, all RUINED, potentially good times STOLEN and wasted. It's absolutely baffling to me why you would want that for yourself.

deleted_user 09/11/2010

I have been watching this discussion----so true-- i can definitely relate to nothing ever being the same- again---friends, food, gatherings etc are all so hard to bear----- right now i am having a very difficult time-------and have many gatherings to attend------just wanted to agree w/u all-------my heart goes out to u all Have a nice day

deleted_user 09/11/2010

i agree totally and anorexia is certainly not cute, it is hell, example being tonight, invited to a friends house for dinner , and i wont go. :(

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