Comments on: Anti-ana

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:12:59 +0000

I really hope that this bill will pass. I am 14 and recovering from anorexia/bulimia. I went to these pro ana websites almost every day, it truely did become an obession for me to be thin. And while I understand people may feel uncomfortable shutting down the pro ana websites, because they let girls “feel safe and open their feelings.” The pro ana sites I went to religiously did nothing but crush my esteem. I was rewarded for starving myself, pushing myself until I couldn’t walk straight. Girl say they are your “support” which means they will NEVER tell you to get help, in that world support means they will fast with you and help you reach your goal weight. I am tempted to go back to the pro ana websites, and everyday it’s a struggle for me. But if I want to get better, I will not support the pro ana websites, because if I ever go back to one, it will only trigger my past eating disorder. Thank you to anyone who listened to my long story!! =D

By: Jackie

Jackie — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:22:48 +0000

Just for the record, I said lonnnggg ago that one day, faliure to thrive would be seen as healthy in small children. I just wanted to announce, I saw this coming.

By: Moonlight0806

Moonlight0806 — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:20:21 +0000

Madicated- I very much realize that our current legal system is less than capable of handling mental illness cases. I had the opportunity to tour the facilities in Venita Oklahoma that house our states prisoners not guilty by insanity and not capable of defending themselves during a court room trial. What I am saying is it would be counterproductive to directly write laws that make mental illness illegal especially one that is mostly directed at minors at this moment in history. I realize that there are pro-ana sites that contain adults but i think you could argue that the majority of pro-ana members are teenagers and young adults. Meaning a law based on fines is meaningless to most minors, their parents will be the ones paying the fines. So they would be writing a law that is infective and almost impossible to enforce seeing as you could just move the site to a server in a country where its not illegal.

By: drrobyn

drrobyn — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:40:26 +0000

Thanks, Fillyjonk- and point well taken. Newsweek did certainly make a big story of it and now, it’s out there in full force. It can be scary that a small-time book can get big-time publicity simply because the press spins it that way. I appreciate your take on the situation. Let’s hope it blows over and gets buried.

Dr. Robyn

By: fillyjonk

fillyjonk — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:19:42 +0000

Dr. Robyn, Big Tent Books is a vanity press; Newsweek is giving the book about a zillion times more undue recognition than it ever would have had normally (since vanity press sales usually consist of, like, the author’s mom and sister). Newsweek’s the one I’m pissed at here… they’re perpetuating a harmful zeitgeist by finding excuses to report on it. Seeking out an incredibly obscure vanity-published book in order to say “wow, there sure is a trend of moms getting plastic surgery, HOW AWFUL ahem ahem” seems irresponsible.

By: drrobyn

drrobyn — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:14:26 +0000

My stomach always tends to turn when I see pro-ana websites. Especially now that they have “warnings” on them which make them seem all the more enticing for teen girls to read. Of course, “thinspiration” in the form of every popular celebrity doesn’t make it any less enticing anyway.

Talk about turning stomachs, I wanted to know if anyone saw this children’s book about explaining how plastic surgery makes Mommy look prettier:

http://kissmyassets.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/plastic-surgery-book-for-kids-mommy-needs-a-surgeon-to-get-pretty/

Very scary. Starting young…

Dr. Robyn

By: madicated

madicated — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:22:44 +0000

In regards to the legal liability to the mentally ill. Sad to say, but even the most severely mentally ill are often held liable for their actions and are more often than not given harsh sentences. Because in the court’s mindset, “the whole thing could’ve been avoided if only they’d taken their medication, gone to treatment, etc.” and therefore it’s their own fault.

Many times the mentally ill are not taken to hospitals but to jail initially. Most often though, they are injured first, if not killed. When you lose touch with reality it’s very difficult to follow orders especially when they are being barked at you.

Most people don’t know that you can’t just drop off a person at a mental health facility. Even if they are under the care of a psychiatrist, unless that psychiatrist makes plans to admit that patient to that particular hospital. Most times the patient will have to go to an emergency room to be evaluated by a regular doctor to see if they are a threat to themselves or others and THEN they will be escorted by police (even if it’s voluntary) to the mental health ward or mental health facility. At that point they call it voluntary but it’s not. If you refuse treatment at any point beyond that time, they will consider putting you into non-voluntary treatment (AKA the infamous 5150) and you’ll have to go to mental health court and let a judge and “jury” decide your fate. Basically you go and promise to be good, take your meds, do your treatment plan and in turn the sheriff won’t come and pick you up and throw you back in the nut hut.

Just wanted to clarify a few things, since I know quite a bit about the mental health side of things. Been crazy for well over half my 33 years.

By: lapidary

lapidary — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:28:17 +0000

Derailing serious stuff to butt in that apparently FreeRice goes above 50–I just saw 51 for the first time ever. Am very worried that if there is no top level, I will singlehandedly cure world hunger, lose my own job, need FreeRice. Well, I guess the poison is also the cure…

By: Moonlight0806

Moonlight0806 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:30:55 +0000

I pose a question to everyone that supports fines and censorship for pro-ana websites.

How many other mental illnesses do we make illegal or propose fines for their symptoms?

We shouldn’t forget that an eating disorder is classified as a mental illness. It is not just a hobby. If a depressed person tries to commit suicide (which is illegal) they are not served with a fine at the hospital. We have provisions in our legal system that takes mental illness into consideration when determining legal liability. If a schizophrenic person commits a crime (ideally) they are sent to a treatment facility instead of a normal prison facility. So why are people so ready to jump on the bandwagon to fine those that are only behaving as a result of their mental illness? I know that some will say that they are liable because it affects other people, but if a schizophrenic murders someone in a delusional state they are not legally liable so why should an anorexic telling others what they do make them liable? Which is what a tip is; they are telling other people what has worked for them. I’m not at all supporting pro-ana, but I recognize that people who suffer from mental illness need certain protections.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:33:54 +0000

Thanks, Cindy :)