I think it's real. There are certainly a number of Pro-Ana sites available on the web (AOL and Yahoo shut down all on it's servers 2 years ago) and theres nothing about the site to suggest that it is anything other than part of this social phenomena...
Spinelli
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 | 04:45 PM
It's real, and it's just one of thousands of pro-ana/pro-mia/pro-ed websites out there designed to act as a sounding board for practitioners and supporters of anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. Most of them claim that such behaviors are not indicative of a disease or disorder, but are simply a way of life that should not be judged. To a certain degree, this makes sense: people with eating disorders, which are most common in adolescent girls and in young women who have just left home, deserve a place to communicate with others and to share their experiences.
However, if you delve a little deeper into the sites, they go from slightly disturbing (advocating dangerous levels of nutritional limitation in order to obtain and maintain society's ideal of thinness) to incredibly sad (nonchalant reports of suicide attempts, body mutilation and tips on hiding extreme weight loss from family and friends). The sites are covered in "thinspirational" images of emaciated female figures and sometimes even galleries of massively obese people meant to encourage the fear of being fat. Lists of "safe foods" and tips on convincing others that you have eaten when you have not are commonplace.
Really, it's quite disturbing. As a person struggling with an eating disorder, this sites can be a form of painful comfort: it's good to know that others are going through the same thing, but it's more detrimental than helpful to the overall process of recovery to see these people destroying their own lives and presenting their techniques to others as a legitimately healthy lifestyle.
B
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2004 | 12:31 AM
The thing is, these sites can make the illness alot less scary and despairing for people. They will do it anyway, except that having these sites helps them to ward off depression and other self damaging behaviours. Anorexia is all about control - and its a hell of a journey to get it. These sites kind of help gain that without all the hardship - who knows, a quicker trip to the path of perfection might mean a quicker recovery.
JanieTyler
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 | 09:44 AM
I don't think there's anything wrong with pro-ana sites. I mean, they're not gonna turn someone healthy into an anorexic. They do keep girls with ED's from cutting or even suicide because they no longer feel alone.
CT
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 | 10:17 AM
There is something wrong in that they perpetuate the cycle of the disorder and make people believe it is ok rather than helping them out of it.
As for the "quicker path to perfection" being a quicker path to recovery -- how does that work? Their image of perfection is bone thin which generally leads to death rather than the feeling that they should recover.
Addie
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 | 02:44 PM
im anorexic and there is nothing wrong with those sites or eating disorders and i think it is ery wrong for people like yall to judge us with out knowing about it
Spinelli
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 | 04:22 PM
I'd like to point out that I never once attacked anorexics or said that pro-ed sites are inherently bad; I said that, while they are often a good place for those with eating disorders to share and receive support, they can be detrimental to the overall process of recovery. True, these sites are very unlikely to convince a healthy person to develop an eating disorder (as most healthy people would find these sites frightening and at best sociologically interesting), but they are *very* likely to push someone at the cusp of an eating disorder over the edge into a full-fledged problem. Many of the people who post on these sites may simply be attempting to obtain a thin ideal through food control, but many more are honestly ill. Attempting to hide this fact is damaging in more ways than one, to both the pro-ana and anti-ana communities.
Addie
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 | 09:12 PM
personally i dont think it is an illness more like a lifestyle what is the problem with the way we choose to lose weight is no different then taking diet pills or ne other way to lose weight
CT
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 | 10:44 PM
I also never attacked anorexics, it is just not necessarily healthy.
There is nothing wrong with trying to lose weight, everybody does it. But the definition of anorexia is the refusal to maintain a HEALTHY body weight to the point of having a nervous fear of eating. When it becomes that is when I feel it is unhealthy and a problem....
Promoting anorexia isn't good for people who are "at the cusp", but there is nothing wrong with promoting body weight maintenance in healthy ways.
Addie
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 | 11:15 AM
and may i ask who says its an unhealthy way? wat you people seem to think is that we NEVER eat and your WRONG we go through fasting and then eat small amounts of food no more than 700 calories. im not seeing the harm in wat we do.
CT
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 | 12:54 AM
The APA and CPA say it's unhealthy.
Like I said, fine if you want to reduce calories or do whatever, but when your body starts to shut itself down and become damaged is then it's unhealthy....hence I feel it's unhealthy to promote anorexia, though I don't feel it's unhealthy to support/promote weight loss.
Crystal
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 | 08:01 PM
Im anerexic and i fully support those sites. What i say u probably think is wrong.. But when your anerexic, u dont want to give up... but sometymes you do.. and when that happens..(well for me any ways .. ) i throw up. So which is worse?? But with the support of those sites.. u feel like theres other people that know what ur going through.. and i for one go to those sites and have met many other anerexics there. Ana and mia sites are fyne. What i want to know.. is why are people without eating disorders looking this up? Thats kindof stupid.. If you seriously think that u can get an eating disorder from the sites.. ur a dumass .. because eating disorders come from the inside to the out.. they dont come from a site..
Melody
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 | 08:04 PM
Thats true...
Im anerexic too and i support those sites. Theres no reason for people without eating disorders to go there.. so if they "suposably" develope an eating disorder from a site.. they obviously were looking forward to..
Addie
Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 | 08:40 PM
i completly agree with you girls if they are out there searching for pro ana or mia sites they abviously have been looking into a lil more seriously then yall seem to think. pro ana sites promote the lifestyle we choose to live and web site has made that decision for us they just help us find people who have the same veiws and ideas as we do!! whats wrong with that??
Laila
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 | 07:25 PM
It's anorexic, not anerexic. I have an ED, and it does give comfort to me to see these sites, but I also feel that the younger generation doesn't see that these are EDs, and think that ana is just another diet. I don't think that people get eating disorders from pro-ana sites, but I do think that it is seen as just another fad diet for the easily manipulated. I don't want to see people making EDs trivial, because they think it's a good way to loose weight. It really isn't a trivial matter. I am pro-ana, but at the same time, i don't want ana to become just another "diet".
Loo
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 | 07:57 PM
I love these websites and would actually like to find more. I have only found two with any valuable information. If you have any good websites with tips please tell me!
B when you said that it makes the illness a lot less scary its really not. People who are pro-ana believe that there anorexia is a lifestyle that they choose to live wereas ed-ana's think that their anorexia is a disease that they did not choose to have but can't seem to break away.
haden
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 | 02:44 PM
I agree with spinelli...
as a non-ED afflicted person, i feel that these sights do give some support to those affected by the disorder, but in my research (for university...) i have come across two very different types of sites. i must also point out that i have only done research on female sights...
1- the sites of anorexic girls who are crying for help in battling this disorder that they cannot stop.
2- the sites of 'pro-ana' girls who give out tips on how to avoid eating for days, their 'thinspiration' pictures and so on.
It is true that an unaffected person (like myself..) will not be enticed to starve ourselves by visiting these sights, but for a girl who is 'borderline' i find that some of them can potentially dangerous in fuelling their desires for being extremely thin. i have personally found many of these sights to be extremely disturbing. I will not judge those who choose not to eat, but please, do not put yourself in a harmful situation where in worst cases, you might die.
shyt
Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 | 02:44 PM
i weigh 225 pounds!!! How do I become anarexic. Im addicted to food , better than sex.