After being told about this site, I went on it I suffice to say I was disgusted. Not only is this girl 14 years old, not only is she anorexic, but she can make a site saying how good it is to be anorexic and not have it taken down. She doesn't know what punctuation is for but she feels she can tell other people how great it is to be a stick figure.
I will be the first to admit that I don't know much about anorexia and bulimia, but I do know that very few men find this sexy.

You may have noticed that I have a strong viewpoint on this matter (and many other matters). This is due to personal reasons that I don't want to discuss just now.


Okay, my rant is finished (for now).

What else can be said, Americans are just totally screwed up when it comes to food. Some of us cram excessive amounts of food with low nutritional value down our gullet, and simply become fat. Others cannot bear with the thought of eating healthy, don't want to be fat, so eat said garbage to excess, but vomit it back up so that they cannot digest it. Then there are those who have otherwise normal metabolisms, eat fairly healthily, but have a feeling of being fat, so they starve themselves with an occasional cycle of the above which only further distorts their self perception.

Then you have every expert and so called expert on diet voicing their own opinions of what they feel people should eat, without any real proof that that plan is really healthy, or agreeing on some basic rules which all people can follow. Then you have people who refuse to adopt anything told to them by health experts, who adopt their own beliefs about diet without any rhyme or reason. Then you have people who are seeking to shut down things like GE crops and the whole meat industry, ruining most of what little dietitians can agree on, either due to misinformation about said processes, or citing some extension of morality.

You can't eat a damn thing in public without someone making judgments about the kind of person you are (and occasionally they end up voicing these judgments). You have a clothes industry which has geared itself around making clothes look best on the hanger (since that's what people see when they buy it). You have people who are being fed a ridiculous amount of manufactured dyes, preservatives, hormones, additives, flavorings, just for the sake of a consistent product.

And you wonder how these things happen?

As for making a blog about it... What part of her being a 14 year old American girl did you miss?

Anorexia...

I remember a conversation very well with a VERY dear friend of mine back in October.


It is not a choice or obssession of when that person chooses to starve themselves to become thin. But many cases of it, is an illness. From the thing you shown us here - Looks like this 14 year old girl is being anorexic out of choice.

Please becareful in what you say as most cases of Anorexia are not by choice.
---

As for the part of "Very few men find it sexy"

You'd be right there.


I personally like women to be somewhere around Size 8 and 14.

Any thinner and then the persons body actually starts to look older than they are.

After visiting the site...

That was genuinely sad, she doesn't understand what she'll put her friends & family through if she doesn't stop starving herself.

Are you sure she's completely mentally fine? I mean seriously, the fact that she completely thinks she's doing something right!

Its not right.

lol. that's an awesome script.

I don't think she is fine. She's not anorexic, she's doing it by choice. But she certainly isn't right in the head.

P.S. Jaysus, that's quite a script...

I am thin always have been. I looked like a stick for many years. I eat well and definately don't purge. yuck. I feel sorry for her. She's fallen prey to the corporate American idea of what a woman should look like. Many young women think the things they see on tv or magazine adds are for their betterment, forgetting that these things are designed to make a company a profit. It indeed sad to see a young girl destroy herself and to think she actually looks good like that.

She is indeed sick. Mentally and in a while physically. Her kidneys and liver will become damaged and begin to shut down. She teters on death but doesn't realize it and all for the sake of low self esteem brought on by the people that set themselves up as what a woman need look like.

Thank God theres help for people like her and hopefully her parents will get her the help she needs or her blog may be short lived!

hey nothing gainst slim girls but there is slim and there is invisible...
i myself am such a person who just needs to do his daily routine like going to the toilet or *censored*ing and ill never gain a gramm... sorry ounce... but as long as i can run a mile without falling over dead i guess all is fine, well actually now that i think of it i should stop smoking probably lol
but i bet shes one of those girls who dont participate in sports class anyway...

im quite sure that there are lots of people who dont do that by choice, some really have some health issues which make em grow wiiide or slim (even tho with most its just a mental thing) and this lil brat really makes a joke out of them and their lives... i dunno but a lil bit of censorship would be ok in that case i guess... and a 14yr old encouraging others to suicide should be silenced imo...

this is true. I'm happy with the way I look. I excercise regularly too. She doesn't understand or comprehend that what shes doing is killing her and for what. To fit a mold, a stereo type!!!. Its a pity that anyone treats their body and their families to such a self destructive way.

i'm all for thin females as long as it's not dragging off the bones. no reason to have a relationship with a skeleton in my opinion.
I wish i could help the ones who are doing it by disease but there are a few tards out there who do it by choice. insecure of their weight to the point they are willing to put their physical health at extreme risk just to fit a better mental image of what they think they should look like.

Before i joined the military, i was kind of a jellyroll myself. my little brother and i ate junk food more than an etheopian child would at a thanksgiving dinner. Problem was my little brothers metabolism was kickass..while mine was just ass..
I didn't really have a drive back then either. go to school,come home,throw my homework next to the pile of other stuff i'd always forget about,jump(ever so slightly(damn you gravity!) onto my bed and watch some dragonball z while chompin on snicker bars and twizzlers.I didn't notice how bad it had become until i woke up one day and tried to get up and it felt like someone had put a brick on my stomach.. it was one of those "wtf! when this this happen!?..i'm a fat guy!" things...so i started carrying my lard ass across the yard every day.doing sprints followed eventually by short jogs and once my metabolism kicked in i started droppin weight. i noticed my metabolism wasn't as bad as i thought, i just had to apply it.

Couple months later my mom says "wow.. you look like you just left the marines" and this light pops up in my head..next thing you know my parents are crying,wishing they had said something else as they watch me leave for the nearest marine corps recruit depot.

Summary of the story is...if it's by disease and you literally cannot help it. i feel sorry for you and wish you the best.. if it's by choice and your sticking your arm halfway down your intestine so you don't gain weight...BUY A TREADMILL YOU LAZY BASTARDS!... starving yourself will NOT make you any healthier than gaining weight!

There are fat and anorexic people in every industrialized nation. Throwing out this American crap needs to stop.

Off Topic: Scotland is the second most obese country behind America. Out national dish is Irn Bru and a deep-fried Mars Bar (just forget about whisky and haggis). And yet you never hear about fat Scotish people. It's always fat Americans.
On Topic: Dezi, I agree with you totaly.

I never have and never will condone self-induced anorexia. Mind you, I speak as someone who suffered from it in my younger years, albeit I didn't actively force myself not to eat. Family issues got in the way and I lost the will to eat and pretty much threw away my sense of self-preservation.
Then I got a boyfriend and now I'm called 'fat' by models (and I'm only 67kg! Bah, I say!).

Unfortunately, anorexia isn't just about girls wanting to be thin (although that does speak for the vast majority of those suffering the disease). Some people go through very traumatic experiences, like child abuse, rape, and hell, even watching their parents getting divorced can trigger horrid mental states, and people just... don't eat. They're the opposite of those who eat to seek comfort. I feel a deep sense of sympathy for these people, having been where they are. But it's the stupid teenyboppers I see shoving fingers down their throats because they're not super thin that sicken me. I cannot for the life of me understand why people would put themselves through it.

Yeah, that's just my two cents.

Hmmm....I think maybe some are missing a point.

Despite our focus on the physical manifestations of anorexia we must remember that first and foremost this is a psycological illness. True anorexia is more than a teenage drama queen sticking a tooth brush down her gullet in the bathroom with her friends.

In the US diagnosis medical and psychological are defined in the DSMIV. It defines anorexia nervosa as this:

There are four basic criteria for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa that are characteristic:

The refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height. Body weight less than 85% of the expected weight is considered minimal.


An intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though the person is underweight.


Self-perception that is grossly distorted and weight loss that is not acknowledged.


In women who have already begun their menstrual cycle, at least three consecutive periods are missed (amenorrhea), or menstrual periods occur only after a hormone is administered.
The DSM-IV further identifies two subtypes of anorexia nervosa. In the binge-eating/purging type, the individual regularly engages in binge eating or purging behavior which involves self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas during the current episode of anorexia. In the restricting type, the individual severely restricts food intake but does not engage in the behaviors seen in the binge eating type
________________________________________________________________________________
_____

So see in the line "self-perception that is grossly disorted..." people with true anorexia look in the mirror and DO NOT SEE the same thing as everyone else. It isn't just a minor unrealistic body type image issue. It is a psychological disease. And to me....I do not care how it manifested. If it is from trama or a dumb pre-teen that wanted to look like freaking Barbie...I feel for these people just as I feel for addicts, cutters or anyone else with medical or psychological issues. And all those dumb teenyboppers...yeah I feel for them also because what kind of F-ed up world is it that even makes a young person think this is a good idea? Yes it is a choice and ultimately all need to be accountable for their decisions, but my heart goes to them and hopes that one day we will not judge by the color of our skin, or the size of our waist but by the content of our characters. My two cents is there is far too much uncaring in the world. A little empathy and attempts at understanding never hurt anything.

That's why I was making the point, 'People are too harsh on people with it, and don't understand that it's a mental illness as well as a massive physical impact on the body.' I've talked to several people on the issue, and sadly, I'd estimate that 97% of those people are dead set on believing that anorexia is caused by teenage drama queens. Those who don't really put any thought into it are often mistaken.

It's not just their self-perception of weight. As I said before, there are outside influences that can cause it (like in my own case). I had no desire to be thin, but nor did I have a desire to eat. I became anorexic because of it.

We over eat because we're England's "female dog" and it's depressing.

:sigh: We need independence...



On topic:

Gah, I seriously hope that girl's parents find out about her problem so she can get help, and if they already know and don't care, I hope social services find out.

DesuChan:

To begin I am not sure that the condition you speak of having when younger would be defined by the current DSM IV as anorexia-at least not from the little you have shared (and unfortunately the guide is filled with eating disorders of many kinds). But your personal experience of which I am happy that you seem to have gotten under control was not relevant to my posting...and that is beside the point. My reference to the diagnosis stipulation regarding "self perception" is not in reference to how once BECOMES anorexic....I believe I acknowledge trama and other things as a trigger. However, just as an addict does not have their trigger be the main causality of the disease itself...but possibly a chemical reason for addiction that is underlying and is made more active and prevelent by thier actions. My point..which really had nothing to do with your post per se...is that even those who choose to for lack of better terms, engage in "recreational vomiting"
deserve some understanding also. I believe people that go through such things have true underlying issues that is more than they think they are too fat. It is not natural to engage in food deprivation and I feel badly for these people. Their self-perception starts becoming disordered. And in your own post you say you do not condone self-induced anorexia (which binging and purging is self-induced but not the anorexic condition itself...I believe these actions are an underlying symptom of a psychological issue or some other problem) and you also state that you are "sickened" by the stupid teenyboppers who make themselves purge because they are not super thin. I am sickend that someone feels so helpless and sees themselves as so little that the most important thing is to be thin and nothing else matters. What sickens me is the things that push a person to this...whatever they may be.

I agree whole-heartedly. I'm just hoping to dispel some of the misconceptions.
And for what it's worth, I was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. Just saying.

Just something interesting I discovered while writing an essay recently, is that some cultures often manage their bodies as the opposite to what sort of food supply the area has. For most (if not all of Western culture), since there is a lot of food, the ideal body is a thin one as it shows that the person has self control, regulation etc. while some other cultures value larger bodies because it shows of their wealth and ability to access food and resources e.g. some areas of Africa. While I couldn't confirm this is true myself, I found it quite interesting anyway.

back on topic a little more, anorexia is definitely a psychological thing. People might have different reasons for becoming anorexic, but it all comes down to one thing - what your brain is telling you.

I like my girls thick, chubby, or athletic. but I think anorexia is more based on deep psycological issues than what they think is sexy.

I honestly do not think it is very common. Here in the US we have the thickest girls and I've only seen a few girls in public who I would guess are anorexic. I think the disorder just gets a lot of attention. For every anorexic girl out there, there has to 20-25 morbidly obese, or more.

i agree, my griflied is short, and slightly chubby... more like bog bones n short. either way, shes hot, i love her, and anorexia is just wrong. after all it is an eating DISORDER as in it shouldnt happen

That site is SO wrong, I mean, she's 14! There was a girl, here in the UK, who was 6 and was anorexic, but she DIDNT post a website/blog about it!

My girlfriend isnt fat, but shes no where near anorexic, and she is THE HOTNESS!

Yeah, I personally think authorities or the Piczo admin should take it down, at least, if there WERE any Piczo Admin...

I feel sorry for her, her mind seem so twisted. I hope for her sake she starts to thinking smart rather than thinking thin.

Makes me wish harder for to pulling on some more weight, which I don't quite
manage with, though I'm happy that I'm not all sticky like.

Anorexia is the result of a perceived flaw that one is too "fat" - it's a serious mental disorder which requires medication in the most serious cases. Like other mental disorders, it comes from a series of mental abuses and ideologies from ones surroundings, which in turn alters the perception of the individual. In this case, the individual's perceived weight as being too much. And modern Western society has played a major role in fostering this perception...

To make my point, MODERN SOCIETY is broken, with broken values and ideologies. It's the very few people who see through society's thin veil of shattered dreams and broken lives that are made out to be the bad ones, the ones who are wrong in their values and ideologies. I don't aim to change the world, or North America rather, nobody listens ANYWAY - however, there's nothing better than to at least try. But I digress.

What are we to do when we are bombarded with ads and ideas and values everyday by influential people - celebrities. The real pushers of the drug-like values that drive people to have screwed up morals. Forgive my language, but what the f*** happened to common sense!?! Where did the value of life go!? Are we so vain that most people think that looking like a damn toothpick is HOT!? It makes me burn with fiery rage to see this almost everyday.

I can understand the need to lose weight - obesity does entail higher risks for heart disease, diabetes, and other weight-related health issues. But we've gone too far to say the least. Vanity is the norm - there won't be a way to curtail society's obsession with looking "perfect" until WE as HUMAN BEINGS begin to see our own mistakes and DO SOMETHING TO RECTIFY THOSE MISTAKES. START by teaching acceptance at home and in school. STOP instilling the need to be "perfect" - PERFECTIONISM IS WRONG!!!

In our society, largely by the media, we are shown and told what is beautiful and what is not. I often look in the full-length mirror and wish I was thinner, and conversely I often will admit that I have some self-esteem issues. I think that disorders like anorexia stem in part from the way society tells us we should look (though other things can cause them as well, I know). Fortunately I have never suffered from such serious disorders, but I empathize with those who do because I know all too well that as a child crying in the girl's bathroom because someone called you a cow is not a pleasant memory. I am thankful for my mental health, though I still have some issues (as do we all, I believe), and I hope that advancements in the treatments of these disorders will continue.

People, I can speak on this from first hand experience. Eating disorders are a mental illness and an addiction. You can blame the media or society, and maybe they are contributing factors, but if fashion all of a sudden said big girls are in (which I would personally enjoy, yowza) I don't believe it would make a dent in anorexia numbers. It is very easy to judge these people and tell them to "eat a damn sammich" or snap out of it, but the fact that they are mentally ill means they do not see things the same way you do, and the fact that they are addicted to something that they literally cannot live without makes quitting cold turkey unrealistic to say the least. Try to put yourself in the head of someone who would do that to themselves, if you can. I still can't do it and I've been trying for years.

Off Topic:
Back in the old days before North America was found by Columbus being fat was a sign of wealth as one of the posters stated before hand.

More prevalent in England when most kings and queens were on the heavy side due to the access of food was high.

In modern days you can find food around the corner for the Industrialized nations. That turned the opinion of fat being a sign of wealth to a sign of no self control.

On Topic:
Anorexia is a mental illness, they do not just stick their finger down their throat all willy nilly. Th brain is a powerhouse that's hard to rewire after the age of 25. Women below the age of 25 will have a higher chance of overcoming it and returning to "normal" as the brain hasn't cemented its routes. Those that are over the age of 25 can STILL beat it but more determination is required. This ALL depends on how bad the mental state is as well

IceD

I understand that anorexia is a mental illness, which makes it entirely different from simply having one's little feelings hurt. And I admit that I don't understand it. But I can't help but believe that something other than the fickle finger of fate causes it. I believe it isn't a random thing. But, not being a researcher myself, having no schooling in psychology and having done no studies on the matter, I can only state my opinion. Not much of an argument for a debate topic, I know. I never joined the debate team in school, either.

But I can't help but comment on what I have experienced myself and what I see going on around me every day. What happens when a chubby adolescent girl hears all the cute boys saying: "Damn, that Paris Hilton is a fox! I'd f*** her brains out!" ? This is what happens in her heart and mind: she resents the boys for liking the slender girl instead of her, she resents the slender girl for being the slender girl and she resents herself for not being a slender girl. She asks herself: "How can I be like that girl, so boys will like me too?" These are thoughts that take a deep root in the mind, where mental disorders reside.

I can see where you're coming from, but I'm going to say that it's a big step from resentment to active self-destruction in the guise of self-improvement.

An observation on your Paris Hilton example: I'd say that the frat-boy types who want to bang Paris Hilton are attracted to her because she's a girlfriend and they therefore think they have a shot at it rather than because she's thin or especially pretty. It might say more about you than it does the guys, that the skinniness is what you focus on immediately. Just my $.02, I may be way off there.
-Q

We all have suffered from self-esteem issues at one point or another - I know I do even today. But if you want my two bits, you're perfect the way you are.

Isn't that the case with all those who are ragged on just because they're different? Being pushed around because of that fact is mental and emotional abuse, and becomes a major source of resentment and mental/emotional instability, depending on the severity of the abuse and the individual of course. It doesn't necessarily have to be at school either - my friend Lexi in Wisconsin probably suffers more emotional and mental abuse at home because her mother is a perfectionist beyond all compare, and fails to see how wrong she is. It hurts seeing her have to suffer, but what can I do?

I'm a psychotic anti-social freak of nature, I think I'm perfectly fine the way I am But everyone is a little insane right?

IMO, one of the main causes of anorexia is that people think they need to be as "thin" as the models they see on television (which are often bony-thin) in order to be considered "hot". If they are not as thin as that, then according to them they are "fat". And they will do anything, including starving themselves to get that "thin". It's just influences from the television and the magazine, and in the long run, the Media controlling people again.

Thank you.

I'm not trying to say that peers or the media are the only causes of eating disorders, merely that they can't be completely dismissed as contributing factors. Surely there are other mental and emotional proclivities already existing in some people beforehand that make them more vulnerable to them than the rest of us.

Case in point:

There was a guy we've all heard about who used to play Doom. One day he and his buddy went to school, shot many of their fellow students and then shot themselves. Soon thereafter, id software suffered due to the media discovering the shooter's fondness for one of their games. But did Doom tell those boys to go on a ballistic rampage through their school? Of course not.

So I'm deliberately contradicting myself here to make a point: as humans we are mentally and emotionally complex, self-aware creatures (which is largely what makes us different from animals who act only on instinct), and being so complex each and every one of us is subject to slightly different reactions to given situations. In mental disorders such as anorexia, the cause is not likely any single thing but rather a combination of many different triggers. Having said earlier that I'm by no means a psychologist, I merely elaborated on the possible causes that I know about well enough to discuss in detail.

Thanks, rob_b. I guess at times I just feel obligated to champion the cause of the underdogs because I've been in their shoes.

You're welcome Herc - being an outcast myself, I know how it feels. I always stick it out for those who are picked on by those who think they're better than everyone else. And I happen to find great pleasure in belittling those individuals who think they're better than me

You raised a good point about pre-existing tendencies to be influenced by external forces though - the reason I bring this up is because unlike the majority of people today, I've never given into peer pressure, or what the media refers to as "popular trends". I always think of "trends" as fads, and 99% of the time they are. It's just another way people disguise what they truly are - empty bone bags.

All in all, the media is perhaps the biggest reason why young women wish to have the "perfect" body - the pursuit of perfection is a pointless venture. No one is perfect, and until people begin to think for themselves and what THEY want for themselves, then we will continue to see toothpicks on our streets.

Bravo! Well said!

"Blame the media" is the path of least resistance here, and as usual, it's not the answer. It's like saying "the devil made me do it", which may sound nice and tidy and get people to all agree and shut up about it, but it completely misses the point, and it does a real disservice to people who suffer from the disease.

So what we really need to do is say: "You're sick in the head and it's nobody's fault but your own that you hate yourself so just stop it already!"?

If we said that, would it actually SOLVE the problem? I highly doubt it... This is complex issue which simply cannot be tackled with a single solution. And even at that, it won't ever be eradicated completely, as there will always be someone else down the line who falls victim to the cruelties of this world.

The media isn't the only entity - bullies, perfectionists, influential persons/celebrities - these all affect the morale of a person who has a predisposition toward external influences. But it is the media that is the biggest contributer to the ideological engine of modern society.

Actually this is what I've been getting at all along. Maybe I just wasn't saying it clearly enough?

You said it clearly enough to me O.o Maybe it's the Dr Pepper or Coke or whatever that's really to blame here, teehee

Diet Mountain Dew. (Yes, Diet. LOL)

Herculine, the picture in your signature freaks me out. I don't know why!

Anyway, I've seen what bullies/celebrities/high power people can do to affect someones moral disposition. A personal friend of mind started cutting because she was stressed out about looks because some guy wouldn't pay attention to her. Thankfully I was able to resolve it with her but its just one of those moments where you realize how messed up someone can become over something so silly.

Yup, but minus the bully, where are the majority of those people promoted or talked about in? Through the media. The stars are doing it, yeah, but it's the magazines that let us know about it.



And, as these contain aspartame, it's pretty much like adding insult (aspartame) to injury (anorexia).

Now i feel that its ok to have Anorexia nervosa(the medical term) Untill you start getting problems such as Extreme weight loss, Fatigue, Dry skin(Dry lips), Fragile appearance and The Refeeding syndrome. Now aslong as you are able to controll it ( i am able to starve for five to seven days if i need to lose weight or dont have anything at hand)
BUT since its a psychiatric illness that describes eating disorder causing extreme low weight and a body image disorder which leads to massive fear of gaining weight.

So if you're not able to help your self get someone to help you, starting with a shrink.
It helps to talk about problems you've had or are having at this time.
trust me they help ALOT! i've gone to one before when i needed to get the acutal diagnosis for my... "Disorder" ADHD.

Edit: i forgot to tell that there is over 20 side-effects that happens when you get Anorexia nervosa