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

A few weeks ago, I asked the Breaking the Mirror community if they knew any stories of anorexics throughout history.  Lo and behold, awesome reader Jenna came through in a fabulous way!
Jenna told me about Elizabeth Siddal, a pre-Raphaelite model who lived (and died) in the early-to-mid 1800s.  As her Wikipedia page notes:
“Some have suggested that she might have been an anorexic, while others attribute her poor health to an addiction to laudanum or to a combination of ailments…”
You can read the whole Wiki page on Elizabeth Siddal here.
Thanks again to Jenna, our ED history super sleuth!