Starting today, February 22nd, NEDA is celebrating National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
This made me start thinking about things that we could all do this week to raise awareness of EDs as well as to help put a dent in their stronghold.
Some of my ideas include:
1.  Pledging not to weigh ourselves this week.
2.  Pledging to compliment the women in our lives on something other than their figures this week.
3.  Pledging to not binge, binge and purge or starve ourselves this week.
4.  Pledging to throw (or give) away the “skinny” clothes we use to torment ourselves.
5.  Pledging to make others understand that eating …read more

At what point does the non-disordered eater whose life is affected by a disordered eater finally have to say “Enough is Enough”?
I have been fortunate enough that no ever gave me the ultimatum “It’s the eating disorder or me… your choice.”  However, I know this happens within many friendships, relationships, marriages and even families.
When does the person who cannot understand the desire behind withholding nourishment, ingesting massive quantities of food (only to purge it or starve it out later) or taking laxatives night and day simply shut down?  When does he or she say farewell?
Have you ever lost a friend, …read more

As you may have noticed, we have a new poll here at Breaking the Mirror. I’m using it to gauge the age of this audience. Please participate!The last poll, as you may recall, asked visitors why they wanted to get rid of their eating disorders. And the breakdown of their answers was surprising:
Out of 225 respondents:
- 22 said they were tired of giving 100% to their EDs;
- 11 said they were trying to get better because of their friends/family;
- 19 said they were afraid of getting sick(er) or of dying;
- 29 said that most of the above answers applied;
- 87 …read more

(First, let me just say that it’s darn cold where I live.  Dang.  I mean, I usually don’t worry too much about the weather, but this is bitter.)
Anyway, I just wanted to ask for some help with a little project I’m working on here at Breaking the Mirror.  See, I’d like to get some stories of people without eating disorders who have in some way been affected by the eating disorders of others.  Moms, dads, friends, sisters, brothers, co-workers, et cetera are all invited to contribute their experiences.
I think that sometimes we forget the impact of our eating disorders.  We …read more

One of the most interesting aspects of surfing the Internet scanning for general eating disorder, pro-recovery and pro-ana/mia sites is the realization that there are plenty of people who don’t want to get well. Truly, many individuals cling passionately to their EDs, strongly avowing to never let go of them.
Obviously, we’re living in a world of free choice, which includes the choice to stick with an eating disorder rather than try to move past it. I understand that and would never force someone to seek out help. Still, it bothers me tremendously when I read statements along the lines of: …read more

Yesterday, I asked readers to send me questions they would ask of someone with an eating disorder. 
The first question I received is:

Do anorexics secretly (or not so secretly) really think less of bulimics? Or binge eaters?

I think it’s a fair inquiry and I encourage you to reply in the comments section. 
Honestly, when I was actively restricting, I didn’t even think of bulimia or binge eating.  It wasn’t “my thing” and I was too self-absorbed to worry about what someone else was doing.  But I’ve heard that there is indeed some “class warfare” among different ED sufferers.  (Want to read some …read more

One of the “themes” running through most eating disorders is a general dislike of and disdain for one’s body. Certainly, this stems from psychological issues; eating disorders are not the fault of the body. However, the body ultimately pays the price.
Therefore, I suppose it shouldn’t be too surprising that plenty of women and men with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating turn to self-mutilation.
Don’t believe me? Just head to any pro-ana or pro-mia discussion board. (Or don’t – I wouldn’t want them to trigger any latent EDs.) The subject of “cutting” appears far more frequently than you …read more

This is the last installment of our series on how the Twelve Steps of Recovery for Alcoholics Anonymous can be used by those suffering from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and/or EDNOS.
We’ve already examined Steps 1 and 8. Now, we’ll be looking at Step 12:
• Step 12 – Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Again, we’ll replace the word “alcoholics” with the phrase “persons with eating disorders”.
Personally, I feel that I’m doing this Step almost daily by:
1. Writing this …read more

This is the second installment of how the Twelve Steps of Recovery used by Alcoholics Anonymous can relate to those with eating disorders. We already looked at Step 1; now, we’ll be considering Step 8:
• Step 8 – Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
I have to admit that I’ve never written out all the persons who were harmed by my eating disorder. If I did, I’m sure I’d be shocked.
I suppose I should start with myself, to be perfectly honest. Then, I’d move on to my immediate …read more

Alcoholics Anonymous offers men and women Twelve Steps of Recovery.
Today, some of my fellow b5 bloggers and I will be talking about how the twelve steps can be relevant to our particular readers.
As far as eating disorders go, it’s not difficult to substitute “alcohol” with “an eating disorder” in the steps. The first I’d like to tackle is Step 1:
• Step 1 – We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable
If we say “powerless over our EDs”, the sentence still makes perfect sense. After all, an anorexic, bulimic or binge eater does tend …read more