I find it interesting that 28 people have voted "Yes and i suffer from an other end of spectrum ED" and only a handful have spoken up on the main thread. I think this proves that quite a number of people are either feeling very ashamed/upset or just don't feel they can speak up.
well.what they think is needed is a subforum....maybe people dont want to speak up because of the conflict there has been.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
So, what is being said, I gather, is that many EDs, either end of the spectrum/ any type are potentially for similar reasons and have similar emotions behind them; something I always thought. Though from this it has been said that because they evolve from the same things in a lot of people then they should be in the same board and not put into different ones. OK, I get that but the problem is triggering for each group if one is trying their best to recover from anorexia and comes across a post saying that they have to lose loads of weight and reduce the amount they are eating when someone else has been told the opposite and it would be difficult for support to be given. Now this is something which can be totally independent of weight really, just mentioned and their main part of the post could be regarding emotions and why they need to do this HOWEVER, there still have bits which people from the other perspective may have difficulty answering because what they are going through, though with similar roots may be totally different. For instance, if my sister wanted support from me about my diet I can help her but then I want support to gain weight (lost due to non-ED reasons) she hasn't got much to say about it apart from saying gaining weight is easy and that I should stop complaining because it's not hard and so it does end up upsetting both of us as she doesn't have a clue what it's like for me and she will openly say that in amongst her getting annoyed because I am seemingly eating what I like and not putting on weight.
For me, I both gained and lost control of self harm. One of the major reasons I self harmed is to do with body image problems, pretty severe ones which have nearly lead me down the road of EDs on hundreds of occasions since I was 10 but I have always resisted it. So the emotions behind my SH in some (though not all) cases are the same as the ones I've had that have nearly lead me down an ED path. A lot of the time I actually wanted to go down that path and chose cutting as a 'better' option for me. So, what I'm trying to say is that yeh, the emotions for EDs may be similar/ the same but this is equal for a lot of people's SH. They have the same emotions in a lot of cases so why not just merge ED with SH? At the end of the day they both end up taking control, something you don't realise it has until you're in recovery. They both can lead to lies. They both can and often do evolve from the same type of situation. They both lead to frustrations and self-hatred. They are both dangerous behaviours and they are both, in a fashion, 'addictive' so, if the 2 ends of the spectrum should not be separated because the reasons behind them are similar then why not clump SH in with them? I think the focus should be placed more on what makes others comfortable and if those with COE/ BED don't feel comfortable posting in the ED forum then something should be done to alter it whether the emotions behind it for some may be similar or not It's not about making weight the main focus; just about people feeling more comfortable to be able to talk and the lack of threads in the ED forum regarding COE/ BED compared to the number of replies they get from other people in the same position is disproportionate because many feel they can't mention their problems becuase their weight is in the obese catergory rather than the anorexic one
I do not think that it is as simple as eating, or not eating, and I would never, ever say that to someone. Never, ever. I know that won't count for anything, as the worry of what people will say still stands, but I can say that totally honestly, I would never in a million years give an answer like that - because I KNOW it's not that easy. Gosh, if it were that simple, there wouldn't even be a discussion because none of us would have a problem!!
The triggering element is going to be there whatever really. If people want to be triggered, they are going to be triggered. If they don't want to be triggered, they could still be triggered by accident, that's kinda just one of the not so great things about RYL, but with the issues this board supports, there is always going to be those issues. x
-“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.” Anais Nin-
Allie, Mutt, Great Grandma, Hope and Humbug. I love you and miss you all. xx
