Pro Ana – New Anorexic Cult (Explicit!)
79
First, I would like to apologise for the explicitness of the photo’s in this article, but I really want people to see the seriousness of the impact Pro Ana websites are having on young people. If you do not want to be disturbed, please close this page now.
Pro Ana websties promote Anorexia Nervosa - They urge children/teenagers to celebrate anorexia as a lifestyle rather than a disorder and they are growing fast. A lot of petitions for them to be banned or closed down are now being made and I personally think the government should intervene. The Royal College of Psychiatrists have urged action to tackle Pro ana Websites Danger - Press Release 18/09/09
(Anorexia is an eating disorder. it is also a psychological disorder. It goes beyond out-of-control dieting. The individual continues the endless cycle of dieting/losing weight often to a point close to starvation in order to feel a sense of control over the body).
I searched for one of these Websites, which are hard to find but after nearly half an hour, I finally found one. It was shocking. This website gave all the motivation you could ever need to look thin - backed up with hundreds of diets (food diets, different types of fasting, medicines to buy on-line to be thin and lots of photo’s of thin people which they called “thinspiration”. I have not posted the link here, incase this article is read by teens who are searching for such websites.
I do not want to write much on this but would like to bring the latest Anorexia issue to people’s attention. If you hear about it or see someone who is interested in it, please discourage them. Also, please note it affects both boys and girls.
Anorexia kills.
What really sent shivers through me was the prayer below (which is why I put cult in my title). Please read and notice how youngsters are being lured psychologically into being thin. It seems like a Death Prayer to me.
Dear Ana:
I offer you my soul, my heart and my bodily functions. I give you all my earthly possessions.
I seek your wisdom, your faith and your feather weight. I pledge to obtain the ability to float, to lower my weight to the single digits, I pledge to stare into space, to fear food, and to see obese images in the mirror. I will worship you and pledge to be a faithful servant until death does us part.
If I cheat on you and procreate with Ronald McDonald, Dave Thomas, the colonel or that cute little dog. I will kneel over my toilet and thrust my fingers deep in my throat and pray for your forgiveness.
Please Ana, don't give up on me. I'm so weak, I know, but only you with your strength inside me will I become a woman worthy of love and respect. I'm begging for you not to give up, I'm pleading with my shallow breathes and my pale skin. I bleed for you, suffer leg pains, headaches and fainting spells.
Today, I renew our friendship and resolve to be faithful to you year long, life long. I begin each year with a 3 day fast in honor of you. If you give me the strength to fade away I will love you and worship you forever.
Love Always, Amanda. (insert your own name in place of mine)
Anorexic People want to look like skinny Celebrities
Being Anorexic - Signs to look out for.
- They have a rapid, drastic weight loss in such a short period of time.
- The person only likes to eat low fat food or food with low calories. They tend to have an obsession of calories and are always counting their calorie in-take. They might even keep a food diary.
- They play with their food or hide it. They avoid eating and sometimes excuse themselves from eating. They also tend to throw up after eating. If the person lives with family, they might hide their food under the pretence that they are going to eat in their bedroom.
- Always criticizes the body when standing infront of a mirror. They are never thin enough and refuse to believe they have problems with their body weight.
- They may use diet pills or laxatives etc.
- Too much exercise that can be gruelling or punishing.
- Reading a lot on weight loss or visiting websites that promote unhealthy ways to lose weight.
- Often feeling cold, feeling dizzy and having headaches.
- Low self esteem. It’s a pity that in the West, being slim is considered being beautiful and slim celebrities also contribute as youngsters want to look like them.
Useful Books
|
Eating with Your Anorexic: How My Child Recovered Through Family-Based Treatment and Yours Can Too
Price: $11.03
List Price: $21.95 |
|
Feeding Your Anorexic Adolescent
Price: $10.25
List Price: $16.00 |
|
From Fasting Saints to Anorexic Girls (Eating Disorders)
Price: $39.63
List Price: $44.95 |
|
The Anorexic Self: A Personal, Political Analysis of a Diagnostic Discourse
Price: $15.96
List Price: $19.95 |
|
Anorexic
Price: $7.38
List Price: $11.52 |
|
The "Perfect" Size: An Eating Disordered Tale of Winning the Anorexic War One Battle at a Time
Price: $16.94
List Price: $16.95 |
PS. You have to be very observant, as they are good at hiding symptoms. Example, a person who throws up in the toilet after a meal, could leave the tap running in the bathroom, so you don’t hear them while they stick their fingers in their throat and throw up.
Thanks for reading and I hope we can all help to support.
Help for Anorexia
** Submit your Hubs and other URL’s to shetoldme.com and earn with Adsense.
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Ask a Question
Comments
I had not heard about these sites. Thanks for opening my eyes. This phenomenon is akin to sites celebrating chemical dependency, gambling addiction or cutting. Sick.
Thanks for the great and very sensitively handled hub.
I was afraid to read this hub because of my experience with it after my breakup. It is very sad. There are still things I deal with in regards to my eating habits, but you get better. Thank you for posting, it is very hard to hide anorexia, more need to be done for awareness of this horrible disease. Fantastic information.
These are frightening images, equally frightening is the prayer. This looks more like a suicide cult than a be thin cult. The prayer seems demonic. Thanks for the research that you did on it. I am glad that you did not give the website. Great hub.
The images are scary, yet very real. These sites are scary and real and I wish they could be shut down. Great information.
OMG!!! This is horrible and I’m glad you did this piece on Anorexia…I did not realize it was still such a big problem. Informative article with pictures that prove just how far someone will go to be pencil thing…You know what they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Thanks for your comments everyone. It is saddening to know that this is going on. I wish the Government could pass a Law to ban these sites. Thanks again. E.
this is very good info. being someone who has battled eating disorders in the past. eating disorders are like addictions,once an alcoholic always an alcoholic.you have to stay mindful of it.i can only hope that these people see what they are doing for what it is and find the trigger that started it in order to turn it off.
Lady_E I am simply dumbfounded. I guess I have always assumed the people at large would want to help and not harm
This is just awful and I had heard about this on a TV show. We really must be aware and help these poor girls. The sites are linking celebs who have no idea about it. Thankyou for bringing this very important subject up in a hub.
Thanks Loveofnight, I'm glad you overcame it. :)
Cheers Coffeesnob, sadly, people are just finding ways to make money from it.
Thanks Helen - Yes, it was aired on TV about 2 weeks ago. Actually, you are right about celebrities not knowing. Some of them are naturally slim, but Pro Ana Websites still use them as a source of "thinspiration".
very sad when man loses even simplest logic about life & happiness
Anorexia nervousa is quite distinct from Anorexia. Whereas, the former-in its extreme-could be very dangerous, the latter is a medical situation that is beyond the range of control of the victim. The negative impact of the former is well extablished in your article, so that am surprise to see that bony entity that questions the reason behind it. Very nice topic to engage in.
Seems like anorexia is a real concern for us.I don't understand why Gov't does not take any action against the sites promoting anorexia.Images are really horrifying and remind me of famine pictures.Thanks lady_E for this important information.
Lady E
You did an excellent job here! It is quite sad as well as disturbing that someone could be so hurt and want control so bad that they would literally starve themselves to death. The self deception is they think that helps them to be beautiful. LOrd help them!
I wrote a hub on this as well. I wanted to bring Anorexia to the forefront. Everytime I see any of those pictures it is like walking death. It is unbearable an makes me nauseated!
You have done a wonderful job of exposing a horrific disease! Thank you. I pray that many are helped by this. Again very difficult subject but very well presented!
Blessings
Thanks Turguman, James (I really wish I knew where you are from :), Andromida and Deborrah. Appreciate your comments and hope when you find such people you can help them.
Cheers DeBorrah, I will look for your Hub and insert it in my page.
Regards, E.
I couldn't help but laugh. You mean in this modern age, people could be deceived to become walking corps. Too bad. It is not funny. No wonder the Bible says that my people perish for lack of knowledge. Ignorance is a sickness on its own.
Lady E, Sorry you missed the HubMob. I just wanted to drop by with my support of your great hub.
it is a malady that has to be stopped. it's okay to be thin but not anorexic thin. it churns my stomach to see such pictures and i heard that these women (and men?) see themselves as fat when they are not. more a mental issue to me.
Thanks Philipo, hopefully knowledge will eventually get round to them and set them free.
Cheers Rmcrayne - That is so very sweet of you. Much appreciated. I'm gonna look in my Crystal ball in preparation for the next Hub to make sure it fits into the next HubMob. lol :)
Hi Bingskee - you are right. It is a mental issue but thankfully, one that can be treated.
Cheers everyone. :)
The crazy things some young people do in this world is just shocking,and that prayer is insane,I think they actually believe they have some good reward to gain by doing that to them selves,which so sad,really!
Thanks for an informative and noteworthy hub Lady_E!
Shocking pictures Lady_E. It just puzzles me why women (and men) can do this. And in the end, some of them pays the ultimate prize with their lives. Maybe you can also write a hub on people who died because of this. Great hub and thanks for publishing it. =)
Thanks for your comments Waren. They are sort of blinded by reality, but hopefully will snap out of it. Thanks for dropping by.
Cheers Emievil - It puzzles me too. I guess we really need to know what's going on inside their heads. As for the Hub you suggested, I wish I could but it would be very depressing - so I'll pass. Good Idea, though.
Ps. that must be your niece. She's cute. :)
Shocking pictures, I agree that those sites should be banned.
Anorexia is not a fashion, it is not cool, it is a disease, it kills; it should be taken seriously. It is scary to find things like that prayer because our daughters could be praying that and if we are not prepare for it we will not be able to help them.
That's true Princessa. Thanks for your comments, lovely to read from you. :)
Really interesting article and warning pictures. Great!
Unfortunately the problem is the cultural pattern which is hard to put down.
I agree with you, that sounded like a death prayer.
Thanks for your comments Chiara. You are right, its a Cultural Pattern.
Cheers Eternal Evolution. Yes! A Death Prayer, that will hopefully not be answered. Thanks/
Well you know, these girls do have the freedom of speech and press. It isn't following the constitution to close down their sites, and if they are closed down, it could cause a huge disruption.
Good Hub. Did one similar a while back ( http://hubpages.com/hub/Pro--Ana--Pro--Mia--Thinsp ) and you should see now some of the commentators have simply weighed in with their defence of these extremely pernicious sites! It IS scary.
Thanks Olivia, so I take it this means you do not support that these websites be banned....
Cheers Reena, I'm glad you have written a similar article. The more awareness, the better. :)
A very informative Hub. It's not only the websites you meantion which need to be shut down, I think there should be certain reglations on diet programs and the marketing of them. They are promoted in every single Women's Magazine. If you have a problem with your weight and can't solve it yourself, you should be encouraged to seek medical advice instead.
This hub is amazing LadyE. I am appalled well no I guess I am not that teens are 'thininspired inspired. OMG. I pray for the ones affected by this illness. You workded very hard on this hub and it is very well written. I applaud you for shaing the information as you have. God works through you to reach others. Blessings my friend. I have some news I will email you. My Love and Best to you. your friend.
Thanks Strickly - I agree, some regulations need to be put in place to save lives. Nice to hear from you. :)
Hello Sky2day, nice to read from you again. Thanks for your comments. I like your new Avatar. Will be in touch again soon. Best Wishes. :)
This is so sad, it is not only about food, these people really need help. to extort anorexia is sickening. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attenti0n.
dori
Thanks for sharing this, the pictures are disturbing but, the film, magazine and fashion industry actively encourages this kind of behaviour. I am one who knows of this disturbing situation and have spoken out in many forums against the exploitation of our young ladies in the name of fashion among other things. We then labeled the bony, skinny, under weight girls, super models, link it to the desire of men, what young women should aspire to, and as the ideal state of womanhood. How many more young people will die before someone take active steps to end this exploitation?
* Thanks for your comments Fortunerep. You are right they do need help, but don't realise it. Thanx for stopping.
* Cheers Kenny MG, I'm glad to read about the good stuff you do in discouraging this sort of behaviour and I'm positive it's having a positive impact on the people you are talking to.
Thanks for your comments.
I really hope that those who read this take it seriously. You have highlighted a very serious illness that is soooo dangerous and devastating for everyone touched by this disorder. Bravo for writing this!
Wow that's terrible. However I disagree with you comment about banning these sites. That would be a violation of free speech. Freedom of speech protect ALL speech, not just the ones you agree with.
thank you for sharing this absolutely disturbing article. As a youngster I went through this myself, though not to the extent of what is suggested here. I realize how stupid I was then and now, when I look at pictures of myself then, I was horrible looking, I want to shove a burger down the throat of that stupid 16 year I was! I hope there is a way to get these websites closed down. Teens go through enough worrying about their looks, life and other "life altering" problems. They don't need this.
Lady_E this hub is a great example of the type of quality content I love seeing posted. I am sending links out to my friends. They need to see and hear this. Thanks!
deepestwisdom says:
2 months ago
Wow, this is such an eye-opening hub. I can understand why you don't want to write too much about it, but it's great that you are helping to warn people. Those pictures are very shocking. I had heard about these sites before, but never seen what's actually on them before.