Eating Disorders (ie., Anorexia and Bulimia): Write an Email Volunteer

 Disclaimer

Self-help is useful, but it is not a substitute for professional assistance. Emotional and behavioral problems can be debilitating and dangerous. Please seek professional help: 

if you have thoughts of killing yourself or harming others;
if you feel depressed, anxious, guilty or down on yourself frequently; if you are abusing substances; if your performance or interpersonal relationships are impaired.

"Our purpose is to give information.. We can not, and are not, assuming the role of your physician or therapist in any of our replies. 

We also do not know your other medical problems and psychiatric diagnoses, which usually have a dramatic effect on medication (and other treatment) recommendations. You must make a medical and treatment plan with your physician and therapist(s).

Feel free to write any of the volunteers below.

Eating Disorders Email Volunteers

1) My name is Katy and I'm 21 year old Christian living in South Dakota with my husband and two cats Dax and C.J. (They are my children, lol). I am a recovering addict and have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder ,DID, bipolar 2, PTSD due to several types of abuse growing up, anorexia and bulimia, chronic depression, agoraphobia, and panic disorder.

I was abused by family from a very early age until around fourteen. I began self harming to seek attention and to call for help, and was hospitalized numerous times. I felt safe nowhere because no one in my family protected me. By the age of sixteen I was heavy into drugs, become a prostitute, and ran away from home several times only to end up coming back. I soon hated myself, and felt there was no way out. Thankfully I decided to get help. 

I love my family dearly in spite of their many problems, but I had to step away and find my own sanity and sense of safety. I'm active in therapy and a twice a month depression group at my hospital where I often lead/ moderate discussion. I also help run NA, AA, and SA groups in my local town. I've gone through DBT and found it to be quite helpful, as well as other therapy classes (Courage to Heal, etc.). 

Anyone who needs or wants to talk can contact me at [email protected] 

2) I am here to answer the questions i can, and if i don't know i will try and find them for you, or if you just want to chat about an mental health issue also.

We all need to become knowledgeable of mental health issues so society will hopefully someday remove the stigma that still exists. With that have a good day.   
[email protected]

3) My name is Rachael and I am a 34 year old married woman. We don't have children, but we have a cat named Isaac. I work as a grant writer/fund developer at a substance abuse agency. 

I am diagnosed with PTSD, Bi-polar II, EDNOS, and Personality Disorder NOS. I have been hospitalized five times, and have been on a host of medications to try and stabilize me. I have tried DBT (bad experience) and a Women's Trauma group (good experience), in addition to twice weekly talk therapy. 

On PTSD: About 9 years ago, my husband and I were attacked in our bedroom by an intruder. We were both stabbed multiple times and hospitalized for several days. After the hospitalization, we spent a month recovering in my parents house. We then returned to NYC to try and live and work again. It didn't work. Although we moved to a different apartment (one with a door man), my husband slept with a baseball bat and I had to tour the entire apartment when I would come in to make certain no one was there. Eventually, I got fired from my job because I just couldn't concentrate on it anymore. We next moved to Vermont and took whatever jobs came along to try and forget. 

A few years later, we moved to New Haven, CT as my husband was accepted at Yale Divinity School. My PTSD symptoms had mostly disappeared. Then they came back with a vengeance. I wanted to die. I wanted to kill someone. I spent a lot of time drinking. A friend recommended a therapist who specialized in PTSD and I made an appointment. I have been working with her ever since. In our last session, we talked about the stabbing, how I locked my self out of the apartment as I went to get help from the neighbors, as my husband struggled with the intruder, alone. It is the one thing I will never be able to forgive myself for doing. It's the one thing that probably prevents me from moving on.

Bi-polar: As my PTSD symptoms raged, I was referred to a psychiatrist for meds. We started with all the usual. An anti-depressant (Paxil) which I hated, then Trazodone, which was okay except for the thirst. Then, I went on a spending spree, became hypomanic. Was diagnosed BP II, given depakote. In between, I got addicted to Klonopin, smashed my car up because I fell asleep on the highway on the way to Law School. I also fell asleep in therapy, was taken to the hospital, and then institutionalized for a few days as I slept off the Klonopin. 

I am a rapid cycler, and my moods are mostly down. I had a psychotic episode and was "papered" and put on zyprexa. I gained lots of weight. I have been hospitalized five times. Twice by my own doing with my therapist for suicidal ideations and three times -- Klonopin, Psychotic episode, Suicide attempt (lithium overdose) against my will.

Now, I take Effexor, Lithium, Klonopin, Sonata, and Synthroid for my under active thyroid.

Eating Disorder: Two years ago, I was diagnosed with EDNOS when I stopped eating and got down to 110 pounds. That incident may have precipitated the psychotic episode (my therapist would say yes, I don't think so). The Zyprexa made me gain back the weight I lost and then some. I was seen by a counselor at the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, and later a nutritionist.

Today, I eat less than 1000 calories a day. I am back at the Eating Disorder Clinic. Because my metabolism is all screwed up, I have lost much weight. I am in starvation mode, and my excessive exercise doesn't seem to be helping me lose weight, either.

I am fortunate to have a supportive and loving husband and family. I have a supportive work environment. I have a fabulous psychologist, a great psychiatrist, an interesting eating disorder therapist, a great nutritionist. Somehow, I have managed to put together a great treatment team. 

I struggle with my illness everyday, but with self education, therapy, medications, and the support of a loving husband and family, I manage to get up everyday and go to work. Write me and I'll respond as fast as I can. 
EMAIL me at: [email protected]  Thanks 

4) Bernadette 

As a former active duty military member and a single mom, I have first hand experience in matters of stress in the day-to-day life of family but also the joys. I've lost close friends and family but in that I've found the appreciation of close relationships. They are powerful. Presently, I am a graduate student in a professional counseling program but honestly like many others, I think I've been counseling all my life. Counselors are people too. We hurt, we suffer, most importantly we feel and we understand. I can offer a great amount of support but only if you reach out, it's actually easier done than said.

Presently, I am a graduate student in a professional counseling program in the Washington dc area.
[email protected]

5) Christine

I had been dancing for 14 years and was captain of the cheerleading squad when I was suddenly overtaken by anorexia. I had never been overweight, but the summer before my jr. year of high school I took it too far. I was shocked to find myself in a hospital bed the day after I arrived home from Cheering Camp.

I lost over two years of my life to anorexia, bouncing in and out of medical hospitalizations, the psych ward at Children's hospital, numerous day programs, doctors, therapists, psychiatrists, nutritionists...you name it. During that time, I was exellent at convincing other sufferers to get well and regain their lives, all while I continued to worsen (coming close to death twice).

I finally stabilized my weight to a whopping 100 pounds and was kept out the hospital just long enough to graduate High School and advance to college in the adjacent city. I stopped going to Dr.'s appointments, as they clearly were useless, and my friends and family were worried as to what might happen. Finally, during 2nd semester of my freshman year at BU, I had enough and decided to get well. I progressively gained weight and normalized my behaviors over the next few years with the help of my own desire. While remnants of past behaviors still echo in my thoughts from time to time, it is no longer an issue that controls of effects my quality of life.

Currently, I am graduating college in 80 days (hehe) with a bachelors degree in television productions. Between classes I work as a real estate paralegal in a downtown law firm and will attend law school for entertainment law next year. I am also a member of a nationally competing dance team as well as being president of another dance team on campus. I have lectured at many support groups and given speeches in various school systems and treatment centers.

I assure you I am extremely well versed in all aspects of eating disorders, including physical and mental symptoms, hospital procedure, treatment and nutrition.
[email protected]  

6) Gary

My name is Gary and I'm 35 years of age.  

I have been recovered from anorexia for over fourteen years now. I was hospitalized six times for over 300 days during my high school and early college years. My hospitalizations kept me away from so much high school that I even needed to repeat my senior year. I also did some self abuse (cutting and burning), had depression, had a borderline obsessive compulsive problem, was suicidal at times, and struggled with overexercising to the point of destroying my body--basically a slow suicide--and got down to 103 pounds (I'm 5'8"). I almost died. 

Through intensive individual and group therapy, along with support from family, friends, my Christian faith, and a plethora of professional mental health staff, I learned to "let go" of my eating disorder habits and thought processes. Today, I'm married with three children, am a licensed school counselor, and live a happy, productive, balanced life. 

I'm also a national resource person and media consultant for ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders) of Highland Park, Illinois, and have been so for fourteen years. It is my goal to offer support for individuals and families who suffer from eating disorders. 
[email protected] 

7) I have been diagnosed at various points with anorexia, purging anorexia, and bulimia. I am a 22 year old college graduate with an M.S in Chemical Engineering. My struggle with eating disorders started approximately four years ago when my family was going through a hard time and threatened separation. I had also had bad relationships in the past and dealt with some difficult sexual situations which very negatively affected my body image. I began restricting my calories in a desperate attempt to gain attention from my family. The weight came off rapidly and the disease had a numbing effect, I seemed to be able to get through long days of studying without eating knowing that my body was �pure�. At this point I was also taking a triple or quadruple dose of diet pills daily and could go for days on a regiment of diet soda. 

One can only continue to not eat for so long and I first began purging a few months later. Throughout college I kept this routine up until the very last semester of my academic career. The pressures of finishing school along with moving both my estranged family and my fianc� overseas pushed me to my limits. I came back from Spring Break to find everyone had moved out of the country. I felt utterly abandoned. My parents called to tell me to help move things out of the house and to keep it maintained until they sold it. This meant a weekly 100-mile round trip drive in my already hectic schedule. I began to binge and purge; I think it was to stuff down the pain of abandonment and then to purge out the feelings of hurt and animosity that had grown inside of me. 

I turned down a high paying engineering job to take an internship overseas with my fianc�, where I was earning approximately $2/hr. I didn�t know the language or anyone else there. My relationship with my fianc� suffered as I started to grow weak and lacked energy to go out or complete chores. He was also a compulsive neat freak and would spend hours cleaning out pots and pans I had already washed. He chastised my inability to keep things clean. I felt inadequate. Although I was excellent at losing weight. At this point I was purging everything I ate, including water or tea. My weight was very low, I hadn�t had a period in over a year and I passed out quite often. I finally had to quit work because I couldn�t function. I couldn�t sleep either. I was in a bicycle accident and still have nerve damage on my left hip because I passed out while riding, and I hit a pillar with the car while passing out and driving (luckily only in the parking lot). 

I suffered through several of the most difficult months of my life when I finally decided that it was completely up to me to do better for myself. I started taking steps in the right direction, seeking out support groups, therapists, etc. I had some good experiences and bad ones. But I did learn one thing. The more I could be open and talk to others, the less I wanted to hurt myself.

Everyone has pain and many choose an eating route to cope with these hardships. I do not condemn these people for their decisions; rather, I try to encourage using your voice rather than your body to express your pain/troubles/hardships. This is why setting up an email correspondence can sometimes be extremely therapeutic and will help take the focus off of hurting one�s own body.� 

I hope to appeal to college age girls and younger, when the problem often starts. 

I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to helping.

You can have them correspond through a special hotmail account of mine:

[email protected]