Hi, I'm Hunter
Hi, my name's Hunter. I'm 18. I think I'm struggling with an eating disorder, even though I don't have an official diagnosis.
I sonetimes an well aware of the fact that the way I think about food is not normal, but some other times I feel like there's nothing wrong with me, but I think that maybe that's part of the problem.
I am a vegetarian, I have been for 5 years now. But recently I've been considering to get closer to a vegan diet, but that's not really ed related I think, but it's just my ethics.
So yea, that's it. Just a brief introduction.
Hello to everyone
@Hunterwantshelp
Hi Hunter, welcome to the community!
Eating disorders are very tricky and competitive and like to tell us that we aren't really sick. I can't diagnose you, but I think if you are recognizing that something isn't right and you may need some more support, it could be an indication that you may have an eating disorder or at the least some disordered eating habits and patterns of thinking about food. I'm proud of you for reaching out and opening the door for a discussion.
In my experience, not everyone who is vegetarian or vegan has an eating disorder, but many people with eating disorders are vegetarian or vegan as it's a socially acceptable way to restrict the types of food or amounts of food you're consuming--it's an easy way to say "oh I can't eat that, I'm vegan" or "oh there's nothing here I can eat I guess I'll eat later" etc. It's tough to parse out what behaviors are ED related when you're deep in the illness or disordered thinking--I would just encourage you to think very carefully and honestly about what your intentions are in following these specialized diets.
Lastly, this screening tool can be a helpful guide on whether or not what your experiencing could benefit from some professional help. And please feel free to browse the forums, connect with a verified listener, and utilize our weekly check-in threads.
If you use the screening tool and anything comes up for you that is surprising or difficult to wrap your head around--feel free to keep me updated.
Wishing you all the best.
@Shanna
hi hunter.
I have been struggling with the ‘do I have an eating disorder? Question too
When I was 13 I starved myself for the first time. I never knew why, was is cuz I didnt like how I looked? Was it cuz I wanted control over something? Maybe.
When I was 14 I moved to a different school and thats when I truly started being hit with a serious depression and extreme anxiety. I would go to sleep early to avoid dinner in front of my parents, I would skip lunch and breakfast and after I would workout for 2 hours non stop and then I would binge and the. I would throw up. I would do this repeatedly for a while and then I would stop. months later I would start again and again.
When I was 16 I was dianosed with bipolar disorder and thats when I was prescribed over 18 different types of medication over a period of 1 year of trial and error until I eventually gained 20Kgs. That is when everything came to an end. I came from being the skinniest fittest girl in school to being overweight! It was so hard. That is when I continued starving myself.
i now am17 i count my calories every day. I dont throw up I dont starve.i eat low calorie foods and think about food like crazy.... I work out every single day. It has ruined my relationships because I avoid getting dinner out with my friends because of the calories
but still I wonder
do I have an eating disorder
@Caffeineaddict1234 this situation is so sad yet so common... i'm sorry to hear about your struggles, and really hope you'll be able to ocercome then compleatly. To me the "do i really have an ed?" Question is kinda a thing of when i'm really relapsing. I feel like whenever i start to doubt it it gets worse, so my answer so far has been "you probably do, you would not think about it as much as you do if you didn't" it's a bit like the "am i gay" quizzez on google... if you searched it you probably are not straight (best ecample i could think of, ahah)
I feel like accepting it is a huge step, and it took me years to have tue thought "maybe there's really something wrong" but when i did things got esier, most of the time. Then again, sometimes i doubt it, but that's okay. One step st a time