Pro-Anorexia websites -- really worrying

[Socci]

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[NomDePlume]

I saw the tail-end of that show too. Very, very frightening.

[NomDePlume]

That's the bad thing about the web, anyone can put anything on here.

Was a bit 'wtf?!' at that young girl who was trying to get to 7 stone. How did her parents/family not notice that their daughter was living off coffee and caffeine pills ?

[Socci]

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[starlover]

mmm yes i used to frequent one such site!
i think it's a double edged sword though because although, as you say, it is encouraging them to not eat etc it is also giving them invaluable support and advice when perhaps they have no-one to talk to in real life.
many also give you tips on how to be as healthy as poss (strange as that may sound) and what vitamins and supplements to take

i am not saying that they are right...but in some cases girls using the sites may be better off than if they didn' have them

[NomDePlume]

Pro ana

[NomDePlume]

"This is a place for the elite who, through personal success in their ongoing quest for perfection, demonstrate daily the power and results of applying will, imagination, creativity and effort toward meeting their goals."

The 'elite' very, very

[Socci]

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[NomDePlume]

"This is a pro-ana website. That means this is a place where anorexia is regarded as a lifestyle and a choice, not an illness or disorder. There are no victims here."

Anorexia as a lifestyle choice. Hmmm. These sites make me really angry actually

[starlover]

my computer broke.
i went back when it was fixed but a lot of people had changed and i nebver really got back into the swing of it,.

i do believe that people have a choice though. and if they want to go to sites like that it is up to them.
if people don't want help you can't force them to get it!

[NomDePlume]

Of course you can't force people to stay off the sites, but that doesn't mean that they aren't damaging potentially vulnerable children and glamourising a very real health risk.

[Rhubarb]

I think everyone should contact them to tell them how disgusting this is. Inundate them in fact - this site is awful!

[starlover]

yeah i know... but there are plenty of people out there who know exactly what they're doing and don't want to stop.

[Socci]

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[NomDePlume]

Well that's as may be, but the people on the tv programme/documentary were KIDS, not informed adults, making informed decisions. I'd bet that 80%+ of the traffic this and other pro-anorexia sites get is from girls under the age of 18.

[Socci]

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[starlover]

rhubarb that won't help! people have a right to do and say what they want!

they won't care if a load of people complain... they will just ban you from the site

[starlover]

i do agree to a certain extent but as i say, it's a 2-edged sword

the very sites that can cause harm are also providing invaluable support for a lot of people.
i know, i've been there!

[Blandmum]

Very worrying. Anorexia has the higest death rate of any mental illness IIRC

[NomDePlume]

But it isn't support in the true sense, the support that people living with anorexia need, it is encouragement to continue their life in a very damaging way. We will never agree on this one, I feel

[starlover]

i beg to differ!
i can say almost 100% certain i would be dead if it weren't for online self-harm/suicide sites

[Hulababy]

Horrible. It is such a scary thing to think that one of our daughters may go through this and sites like this should not be encouraging them. They should not be allowed.

[starlover]

yes, they told me the best way to kill myself. yes they told me it was ok to do everything i was doing

but they also told me how to keep myself safe when i was harming, they gave me people to talk to who knew what i was going through, they gave me the knowledge that if i wanted to do it i could (and that's all i really wanted i think)

[Socci]

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[NomDePlume]

Absolutely. The one who was sat in the bay window giving the girl tips on how to fade her scars ?