Topic : 03/15 Starving for Perfection

Didn't Darlene say she was on disability?  If she had stated she was on disability due to her anorexia disease, that would be believable - but didn't she claim she was on disability because of a knee injury?

 

Tell me - who can be on disability for a knee problem and walk 20 miles a day, and do 500 crunches and 1200 leg lifts, as well?  Anyone who can do that should be able to go to work! 

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a psychological disease characterized with an obsession of perceived flaws in the sufferer's appearance. In reality these flaws are minimal or nonexistent, yet to the sufferer they are very real and can create extreme anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and compulsive behaviors.  Some of my favorite reads that provide a great introduction and insight into the subject are: 

 

 

The Broken Mirror:  Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder by Katharine Phillips

 

Eating Disorders by Pamela Keel

 

A Bright Red Scream:  Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain by Marilee Strong

 

 

Because the perceived physical defect in BDD isn't apparent to others, BDD can be a difficult disease to understand, accept, seek help and treat.  The late Princess Diana, also suffered from the eating disorders that characterize between 35 to 80 percent of all cutters. 

 

Hope it helps!

 

I wonder how these ladies are doing now.

I don't buy the idea that you can just start eating and get well. Years ago before we knew the term "anorexia" I had a friend who had a negative body image. She was stick thin and always talked about being fat. We just couldn't figure out what was going on. I never saw her eat anything. Later on she became bulimic. Her mother told me that they would go out to eat and my friend would eat a ton of stuff and then excuse herself and go to the bathroom and throw up. Then she would return to the table eat some more. We didn't know it had a name back then. Later on she became an alchoholic and died.

My friend I spoke of in my previous post DID get help for her eating disorders. She spent time off and on in a local mental facility. As I said later in life she became an alchoholic. I don't know if she still had eating disorders because we kind of lost touch through the years. Her mother told me about the alchoholism.

I saw this program when it first aired.  I was shocked then and am fearful now.  I can only hope that the woman featured in this program, being rail thin and never wanting to eat, has received some type of help.  Seeing her on screen simply made me think that she was on the verge of death.  I cannot recall exactly what help she agreed to receive and will be watching the program when it airs again this week.

 

I have the opposite problem.  After losing almost 100 pounds (only a portion of what I needed to lose) it was determined that I had a tumor which required immediate surgery.  Since the surgery (a hysterectomy) my body has developed an Incisional Hernia which has brought me to regain the 100 lbs, plus some.  I have no intention of attempting to go it alone to lose this weight.

 

I truly hope that those who cannot accept their figure as it is, will use a healthy means to lose/gain the weight needed and not just go at it on their own.  Maintaining a healthy weight is not easy for anyone who has lived for years being either overweight or underweight.  Ask any of us, we know!

What's up with all the repeats, have the number of people wanting to be guests dwindled to nothing ?

If these were updates, that would be great, I hope these two women got the help they needed to get well.

I still don't understand how at 60lbs and no eating she would have the energy to walk 20 miles a day, much less do 500 crunches and 1200 leg lifts but then again this is what consumed (?) her life, and being on disability, hmmm, if you can exercise like that well you can work.

That 22 year old, I really hope her parents decided to take control, and decide THEMSELVES what they will and won't buy or bring into the house, but at her age she has so much life ahead of her, her poor parents having to watch her kill herself, but only she can control her recovery and only if she chose (?) to.

But at the risk of sounding mean here, does anyone else wonder whay these eating disorders aren't a problem for the third world ?  Is it maybe because they might APPRECIATE having one meal, much less having food always availiable to them ?

I have a girlfriend I've known since the fifth grade.  She has a daughter that is around 40 years old.  Since she has been in her teens she has been anorexic, bypolar, and an alcoholic.  She has been on the wagon for over 25 years now as far as the alcohol goes.  However, she is still bypolar and anorexic.  For quite a while she was maintaining a weight of around 100 lbs at 5' 6". She is married, no children, but her husband loves her very much.  Lately, (the last year or so) she has been getting progressively thinner and more gaunt looking.  Her mother holds her breath every time she sees her.  She is currently seeing a doctor at McClain Hospital in MA but no improvement.  We don't know how much longer she will last or who to talk to any more.  My girlfriend and her family are at their wits' end.  I told her she should contact you but I think she is beginning to give up on getting any help at all.  I don't know if there is anything you can do or say to her daughter to make a difference but I figured it was worth a shot.  I hope for my girlfriend's sake there is still some ray of hope left.  I pray you will respond positively and she will be OK eventually.  Thank you for your patience in reading this long disertation but we're desperate!

This is a repeat of the show.  I would like to know these women's progress.  How are they today?  Did they take Dr. Phil's advice and gotten the help they desperately need?  Please let us know in the near future of their progress.  God Bless them and I hope they did get the help and gotten better.

 

Thank you.

 If you are treating some one with this disease, you have to find out what pushed them to this point.  It could be in their childhood or their adulthood.  At age 10, I w3as 200lbs.  At age 11, I contracted Rheumatic fever and lost 100lbs because of not being able to eat.  When I gained some of it back, my parent continued to tell me that I was getting chunky again and I was determined to never be fat again because of the abusive words and actions of my parents and children that I went to school with.  I started taking laxatives, making myself throw up excessively, and exercising all the time.  From 11-15 I maintained a weight of 75lbs.  I was then diagnosed with TMJ and had to have surgery on it.  I was diagnosed with Wolfe Parkinson White syndrome of the heart.  I kept doing this to my self even though I was thin.  At  18, I graduated high school weighing 70lbs.  I had many health problems from this.  I met my husband and he knew right away that I was going to die if I didn't stop.  I stopped for a couple of yrs. I had a bad miscarriage our first yr of marriage and the got pregnant with my son.  I weighed 95 when I got pregnant and gained to 150.  After I had him I lost back down to 100 again because of comments from my parents.  My son was very premature and we are both very lucky to be alive.  I'm happy to say that now he is 15,  healthy and big for his age and is extremely smart and has already received a scholarship.  At age 22, I almost killed my self by taking an extreme amount of laxative just to keep weight off, and my son and husband found me passed out in the bathroom.  He them took me to the hospital and told me that he was gong to take my son and leave if I didn't stop killing myself and that he did not want our son to see this kind of thing from me ever again.  I finally realized that I was sick and needed help.  I had a son to take care of, and I deserved to live.   And that my son deserved to have both his parents to make sure he had a better life than what my husband and I had.  Tell your patients to examine their lives and find that starting point.  Tell them to deal with whatever has pushed them this far that they would want to die.  That is what will happen.  I am happy to say that since my husband and I have moved away from our families and stayed away from their hurtful ways and words that our life has greatly improved.  I am now attending college to be a nurse and I will be here when my son graduates from college with honors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  PLEASE TO ALL ANOREXICS AND BULIMICS STOP HURTING YOURSELF.  YOU ARE WORTH IT.