Things pro-ana bloggers don’t tell you:
Because so many people have latched onto this post and used it as a way of justifying the promotion of anorexia over bulimia, I thought I’d point out how full of crap pro anorexia is. People who have had anorexia, feel free to add anything I’ve missed. Oh, and if you reblog this to your pro ana blog… well, there’s the flag button, because yet again, it’s against Tumblr community guidelines.Â
Most of them use the terms “ana” (short for anorexia) and “mia” (short for bulimia) interchangeably. It is actually impossible to be diagnosed with both at the same time; they are different eating disorders.
It makes your hair fall out.Â
You won’t look like a model. Malnutrition makes your hair fall out.
Malnutrition will do horrible things to your mouth. Everyone says “purging is so bad for your teeth never do it!” Well, it is bad, for a lot of reasons, but even if you never purge, you could be risking that beautiful smile.
It doesn’t stop at “X pounds”.
That’s the thing about actually having anorexia: it’s not a fucking diet. It’s not. A fucking. Diet. You don’t get to just say “Well I’m done when I reach 100 pounds!” because you won’t be satisfied.
Speaking of the last one, anorexia has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric illness.
With a mortality rate of 4.0%, that’s pretty high. That’s thousands of people every year. Bet that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” mantra feels pretty stupid now, doesn’t it?
Your family and friends will notice, and it won’t be good.
They’ll notice when they’re taking you to the E.R. for another heart episode. They’ll notice when you pass out. They’ll be horrified and angry, not sympathetic, that you want to starve yourself.Â
All the time, because you need body fat to stay warm. It is normal to have some body fat. It is not normal to starve yourself into not having any body fat.
Anorexia eats your organs.
Yes, after anorexia eats your fat, then your muscle, it causes organ failure. Organ. Failure. Do you want to be 25 and in need of a new liver because you thought pro ana was cute? I sure don’t.
It is not uncommon for anorexics to intentionally make themselves vomit. There are subsets to the anorexia diagnosis. Â
Atypical anorexia is still a valid eating disorder.
I see all the time “I’m too fat to have an eating disorder”. No. That isn’t possible. That literally is not possible. OSFED, or Otherwise Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder, is a valid, real, eating disorder. It kills; mortality rate is 5.2%. Pro ana bloggers perpetuate that the only eating disorders worth attention are anorexia and bulimia; this is simply not true. There is a whole world of eating disorders outside of them, and one of them is a subset of OSFED known as Atypical Anorexia. This means that someone meets most of the diagnostic criteria for anorexia, but may be missing a component, such as not being underweight. The eating disorder is just as serious as any other eating disorder.
Anorexia causes fainting.
Because it causes low blood pressure.
Anorexia can cause permanent heart damage.
Anorexia causes muscle loss, making you look sallow and dead, not pretty.
Anorexia makes you incredibly tired.
Anorexia causes osteoporosis, meaning your bones will shrink and break easily. Nothing sexy like a young woman with a broken hip.
Anorexia causes the growth of lanugo.
What’s that? Oh, it’s fur. All over your body. Fur. Yeah.Â
It has a mortality rate of 4.0% as a direct result of the disorder. Many anorexics will take their own life because they don’t want to live in their bodies any more.
Pro ana doesn’t tell you this. It tells you that you will be pretty, and boys will want you. When you’re dying, you won’t care if boys want you. You’ll care about losing one. More. Pound.
Anorexia is a disease. It is not a diet. It is not “better than bulimia”. Additionally, people with eating disorders don’t get to just magically choose which one they have. A chemical imbalance has to already be in place, because eating disorders and mental illnesses are not choices. Stop promoting self harm and eating disorders.Â