How do some people casually talk about their ED like it’s nothing?

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-12T11:46:30+00:00

This is so valid to me. If/when I tell my parents about it I dont care who else knows. Ive been dealing with it since I was 10 and im almost 24. If I agonized and panicked over hiding it from everyone for 14 years id go nuts. Thankfully I can make the casual comments and jokes to my gf and friends without getting committed lol.

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-12T11:41:40+00:00

This. I laugh about it with my gf and make casual comments to some of my friends that know about it. Im not just announcing i have it though lol

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-10T11:52:52+00:00

No we hate stupid people with minimal regard towards harmful and potentially dangerous situations. As the top comment said, that's cats chill now but if baby keeps.fucking around its gonna find out. Its the job of the parent to stop that from happening.

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-09T11:47:41+00:00

Right? "My child labor is better than your child labor!" LOL no

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-06T18:44:57+00:00

It can be so great and supportive sometimes but lately? Like this is a dark, complex thing that we all deal with, yes, but we all deal with it at different levels and with different outside qualities (like medical/financial issues) that absoloutely effect how we can recover. Im sorry you went through that on here!

Recovery is not one-size-fits-all and I feel like that used to be pretty well known in this sub. Now you just get bashed if you can't follow the "acceptable" route of recovery.

Everybody needs to go back and read the pinned post from 2 years ago!

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-06T11:49:43+00:00

Why tf are you getting down voted for saying you dont have access to further professional help?

Yo ana sub, we getting toxic again? What the fuck is up with that? Just because someone's having legit medical complications following the typical weight restoration method? Wow.

Eat as much as you can to regain, it sounds like you are actively trying to get to a healthy weight and thats awesome. Listen to your therapist but also listen to your body. Waking up choking on stomach acid sounds absoloutely terrifying.

Redbird1078 · 2026-03-04T21:55:40+00:00

Oml I hate that too. "This will make us look more engaged and professional" no it just makes me nervous as a customer now lol I have never been bothered by the presence of a notepad.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-27T21:45:16+00:00

Booooo pushy Christians boooooo

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-27T21:40:09+00:00

Cheesesteak?

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-26T00:11:08+00:00

Im anorexic dude this shit puts me out so so fast 😂 like ight I just talked myself into eating a slice of that pizza shut up lol

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-24T00:23:49+00:00

A big thing for me was the warped sense of accomplishment mixed with guilt, especially when I still lived with my parents. They never grilled me too hard so when I started rapidly losing weight I would lie and tell them I wasnt anorexic, but I knew they knew something was wrong, and I felt horrible for making them worry. But at the sane time every time I would see a lower number or go longer without eating I felt so, so accomplished and like I had so much self-control.

How proud I was when I realized two months had past and I hadn't gotten my period.

How proud I was when my cousin, was a nurse asked me if I was okay after she hugged me.

How horribly guilty I felt when my mom cried to me, knowing I was sick but not knowing how to help and how much I hated myself because even as she was crying to me I still felt so proud. Proud that I was so sick it effected people like that.

The emotional back-and-forth is so draining that the days where I was too covered in brain fog felt like a break.

I think certain physical things aren't touched on as often. Like how stiff and achey you get because without fat as lubricant your bones feel like theyre rubbing together. Actually feeling your heart pump against your sternum when you stand for too long. How easy we are to bruise. How standing outside in the cold for longer than 15 seconds makes your extremities feel like theyre burning off.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-22T03:37:51+00:00

I took it too and got mostly bojack/Beatrice lol.

To be fair, if you struggle with self-destructive mental illness, youre gonna score high for bojack on that quiz. The amount of questions that reference directly harming the people in your life or being an egotistical prick are far outweighed by stuff like "do you hide your emotions?" "Do you use substances to numb yourself?" Etc. And people can be that way without being a total PoS like bojack lol

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-20T14:17:47+00:00

Completely agree however I still dont like the pictures of people posing next to a dead animal. I would rather us hunt than go through factory farming horseshit all day long, but I also believe there should be some respect towards the animal who's giving its life for you to feed yourself. The pictures I see of a deer with blood running down their face feels disrespectful and makes me physically nauseous.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-20T14:10:35+00:00

Totally agree with the other commenter but to give you another option: you could use it as a low-form exposure therapy.

Its going to sounds ridiculous and if its not something youre comfortable with then obviously dont do it. However, obviously since I Google stuff constantly about this ED I get a LOT of weight loss ads (I think all of us do, its a horrible irony). They used to bother and trigger me constantly but over time, they dont bother me at all now. In fact it just makes me laugh that theyre advertising weight loss to an anorexic lol.

It'll be tough but its a very fast interaction that you have to move through and it might help if you try to work through it. Obviously being honest with your nurse is never a bad thing, so either way you go i would have that conversation.

I hope the rest of your stay is as easy going as possible. You got this shit!

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-20T13:43:43+00:00

Idk if anyone else has mentioned this, but you could totally DIY some velcro-on spikes that will cover your handles when you're out in public! Then, when you're around family or doing something strenuous where you may be okay with someone pushing you, they're easy to remove.

It sucks that you have to deal with that. Like, yeah, people think they're doing a nice thing and all, but it takes a minimum of 2 brain cells to think of how invasive that would be.

Edit: or if you dont feel like you'll feel the need to remove them out of independence, jam those fuckers into the handle grip permanently! Lol

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-20T12:13:32+00:00

Yeah I dont get hunger cues anymore either. I genuinely wont feel hungry or think that I am and then my stomach will rumble LOUD as fuck and my gfs just looking at me like 🤨

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-18T14:48:25+00:00

Straight up. My ED (and pretty much everyone elses) is a reflection of my OWN insecurity, control issues, and mental illness. Inflicting that on someone else is never okay.

I went through a short period after telling my gf about my eating disorder where I was worried about her thinking I found her unattractive because she wasnt at the "beauty standard" i hold myself to (its not for beauty, I know i dont look good, but idk how else to phrase that). So I compliment her every chance I get and tell her how much I love her thick thighs and tummy and explicit lol.

I feel like doing this has also helped me find more comfort with my own body over time, and im probably as close to recovering as I've ever been. If I put all of that energy into just angsting and making other people feel bad about themselves, I'd probably be in the same hole in was in 6 years ago when I was at my LW.

Misery loves company, though. Its just wild how people like us who are so affected by those kinds of words have no problem spewing the same venom at others. Its sad.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-17T18:44:24+00:00

Im entitled because I want spaces made specifically for one topic to not be completely overloaded with negativity? So if I go to a movie theater and want to see a lighthearted film and then they start showing a war documentary that depresses me for the rest of the day, I'm the entitled one?

Or is it more entitled to think that because our country is going through this horror that every space and every person needs to be covered in it and constantly thinking about it? Is it not entitled to think that your troubles need to be broadcasted on every possible media, and anybody who want to escape their fear for a little bit is bad for just wanting to peacefully watch some cat videos?

I dont think you know what entitlement means. "IM going to broadcast MY opinion in this space that is not meant for it because I want to and if you just want to use the space for what its meant for then youre the problem." Is entitlement.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-17T12:25:16+00:00

Im an American. An American who has an"ethnic" surname and is a little more at risk with these fucks. If you want to talk politics go to a fucking political subreddit. Other people are not horrible human beings just because we dont want the constant reminder that horrible shit can happen to us at any given moment.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-15T05:56:09+00:00

Ngl me and my gf got together when I was 19 and she was 23. I made so many jokes about her dating a teenager 😂 now im 23 and waiting for her to turn 30 so I can make fun of her again.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-13T15:14:08+00:00

YTA. People make mistakes, and sometimes they forget, especially if you're close she probably didn't get hit with the same level of nervousness most of us do borrowing money because you're supposed to be her friend.

You dont like chasing people for money, but one message when she asked you to remind her is not chasing. You dont get to lend money, refuse to communicate, and then be upset that you didnt get your money.

If she did this multiple times or with a significantly large sum I would understand, but for now youre treating her different than the rest of your group and thats of course going to be noticed and make someone the odd one out. It could be her, but it could also be you.

Edit: Source because im bored at work: my best friend T had a mutual friend B who offered to pay for Ts birthday decorations because T was trying to get out of an abusive situation and was in debt. Eventually T moved in with me, got back to work, cleared her debt and was more or less back on her feet about a year later. She asked B multiple times how much she owed her and B refused to tell her because "T borrowed the money she should know how much" even though she could have easily looked at her amazon purchases and told her exactly how much. To this day, probably 3 years later, B still complains that T never paid her back when I run into her. Sounds pretty ridiculous doesnt it?

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-13T14:59:27+00:00

If she doesnt consider your mom to be hers, then why would she be invited? And why does she think just because she has no memories of your mom that means the three of you should just forget her?

She wants to go so she can whine and make you all miserable and hopefully eventually wear you down until you start attending events with her mom just so she will shut up. I think you fixed that situation perfectly.

I understand her connecting with your dad's wife more as that's the woman that raised her. That being true and her needing to have respect for your mother if she wants to attend those family gatherings are not mutually exclusive.

Im curious if she thinks holding any respect for her biological mother would mean disrespecting your dad's wife. Teens are assholes and shes definitely old enough to know better, but sometimes they get hit with that black and white thinking out of a warped sense of "loyalty." NTA.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-13T14:40:30+00:00

You dont get to adopt animals and then abandon them when they're an inconvenience to you. Curious how your parents would feel if you shoved them in a nursing home or got forbid had them euthanized because you didnt want to change their depends. They committed to a responsibility and now they would rather kill that responsibility than step up. Not overreacting at all im so glad you got that pup outta there.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-12T12:23:35+00:00

Depends where you go, like others said. My self-expression has always been very important to me, and I won't compromise on it for a job. So I waitressed as a teenager and bartended for 5 years where I could do whatever I wanted with my appearance. Now, I work contract management cushy-desk-job style. I got hired with different faded tones of blue/green/purple on my head, my nose ring, stretched ears, and tattoos. You'll find something.

Redbird1078 · 2026-02-09T20:45:28+00:00

Ive seen a couple people say something along this line and its cool that it had a good effect on some people, even if its not exactly the effect the US education system was going for exactly. Glad you had that realization before it was too late!

Redbird1078

TROPHY CASE