Pro Ana Websites

blondie7

has anyone seen these or heard anything about them?? TV3 this morning show are doing a special about them tomorrow (Tue) so i googled pro ana, and was amazed at the amount of these websites that are out there. there is one called the Ana boot camp (ABC) that gives you a layout of the amount of caloies you have to take each day, the high days are 500 calories and the lowest i think is 50 calories a day and then fast for one day. this is a 30 day thing to lose serious wieght.

anyone any thoughts on this i think its outragous there are people out there are trying to convince young girls to become anorexic.

Nevyn

I'd ask that people please don't put up any links to them.

Yes they exist and so do the very twisted communities around them of people (not just females) who goad and encourage each other into damaging their bodies which such drastic measures.

I am all for taking control over yourself in your life and making choices and getting help
and support to loose weight is wonderful but the pro ana mindset is frankly toxic and they perpetuate it among themselves.

It's certainly something which is on my watch list as a danger to either of my kids.

Wibbs

Thaedydal wrote: »

I'd ask that people please don't put up any links to them.

Agree 100%. Please no links folks.

blondie7

im just trying to raise awareness among people especially those who have young teens and might want to do a little research to block these websites from there home computers.

Nevyn

Unfortunatly body issues and awareness is not an issue just for teens any more, I have had my kids talk about being worried they will be fat when they were as young as 7.

blondie7

Thaedydal wrote: »

Unfortunatly body issues and awareness is not an issue just for teens any more, I have had my kids talk about being worried they will be fat when they were as young as 7.

well thats true but remember most kids hit puberty ALOT younger these days too so stuff like pregnancy and eating disorders are bound to start affecting rhem younger. all anyone can do though is raise awareness early on in the childs life or pre teens as they want to be called:rolleyes:

Nevyn

The thing is that can be a two edged sword as raising awareness can in it's self lead to a child having issues and complexes.

I made a point of never making comments about thin = pretty or big = ugly and waited for them to start making comments and for them to raise the topic which given the bombardment with the media and how kids talk and tease didn't take long

amacachi

I doubt most people would be swayed by those sites. They may well reinforce or prolong the disease but I doubt many people going onto them haven't already started well down the path.
It's also one of those strange topics that raising awareness of them may have the opposite of the desired effect. Obviously no-one will post links to them but they're ridiculously easy to find, so a mention on a TV show is going to increase the traffic massively, which isn't what's needed at all.

The sites are pretty minging, and I don't mean that in an insensitive way about the people on it, and I find it funny how easy it is to track illegal downloads and shut down sites providing them, yet this stuff and others are allowed stay up in plain sight.

Thaedydal wrote: »

The thing is that can be a two edged sword as raising awareness can in it's self lead to a child having issues and complexes.

I actually agree with you on something. :P It is a strange little balance to get right, and at times it's probably better not to bring certain things up as they just get kids' minds working overtime on what for them should be a non-issue.

rannerap

i agree with the double edged sword comment,raising awareness could have a negative effect as well as positive,i do think a lot of it has to do with how you were raised and the attitude your family had towards food as well though,im my house we have never owned a weighing scales,no one has ever been on a diet and we all have a healthy attitude towards eating,i think it would help to put out the message to just be yourself and that you dont need to be thin to be happy etc

florio

"Ana" doesn't strictly mean anorexia nervosa anymore really. You get lots of girls (and the occassional boy) using it as a term to describe a fantasy best friend or inspiration ("Anna") who encourages them to lose weight, it's accepted on many pro-ana sites that everyone has their own definition of Ana, and plenty of people do use her without going down to extreme weights or developing the symptopms of Anorexia. Some people do use the concept healthily, though overall it's a worrying development. I'd wager this has happened because the term was originally coined by people with a misunderstanding of what anorexia really is, and that's left the door open for any sort of weight loss, motivational, or self-esteem gaining concepts to be linked in with its definition.

Nevyn

Anna is code for anarexioa, it started to be used when hosting sites in the usa started to crack down on such sites and so the term 'my friend Anna' started to be used instead.
I am aware of the culture that surrounds such sites and thier thinspiration pictures.

6th

I watched a programma a couple of years back about these sites and I have to say there are few things that have shocked me as much since.

florio

No, not on all such sites. I've been on many of them before myself and there is an extremely hazy concept of what Ana really is on the majority of them. It's not all just code to hide from censure. though that element only helps muddy the waters further. I suppose you could broadly split the users of such sites into two types: Those who have been diagnosed with anorexia and seek the sites out as a result, and those who are there because they wish to find a strict philosophy to guide them in their own weight loss goals. The first kind I agree do usually use it very unhealthily, to deny their illness, but the second type, not necessarily so.

Mixedup

God i got the fright of my life when i saw this thread title, for a split second i thought it was people looking for links!

Those things are insanely dangerous, ive never been so disturbed by anything i googled!

Nevyn

The second type are those I worry about more, they get infected with the mind set of the first and follow all those insane tips and regimens of the thin at any cost philosophy rather then healthy weight loss which can be sustained. There are many different types of eating disorders and Ana is only one but the distorted mindset and wrong relationship with their body and food is common to all of them.

metaoblivia

I have a friend who frequents sites like this. He has ED and severe body image issues. He down plays it when he's with our circle of friends, but he slips things in sometimes, like the time his mother threw out their scale and he through a temper tantrum and had a panic attack because he couldn't weigh himself.
It's such a bizarre world.

Wibbs

Sites like that and communities like that worry me, but show how much of an issue is, even on the fringes. I can see lower level pro ana sites springing up more and more.

The percentage of women I've known with body issues and food issues is alarmingly high.:( TBH I can't recall any woman I've known well(exes and mates) that didn't dislike their bodies, or some part of their bodies to some degree. The ones that had issues around or their focus on food the same. Either too little or too much.

What has surprised me over the years was that even if they were the bodyshape held up as the "ideal", an ideal that many women would kill for, they still felt wrong in some way. I could understand women falling outside that ideal feeling bad, but ironically they were the ones who had this the least in my experience.

Now all but two of the women I've known didn't have an actual eating disorder(that I know of of course), but most of the rest were paddling in the shallows of that sea. Some further away from the shore than others.

Too many women, smart, gorgeous, good hearted women with so much to offer waste the best years of their life worrying unnecessarily when they should rejoice in their bodies. OK if you're very underweight or very overweight, neither is healthy and if you can reduce that impact more power to you, but what I've learned is no matter how many dress sizes you drop(or gain), you'll rarely feel you've arrived. Its like chasing a rainbow.

Speaking selfishly for the moment, as a man it's very hard at times. "Does my arse look big in this" may be a long running joke, but it can be hard to navigate as mate and especially as a partner.

Dudess

blondie7 wrote: »

i think its outragous there are people out there are trying to convince young girls to become anorexic.

Aren't the proponents anorexic and mentally unwell themselves though?

Wibbs wrote: »

What has surprised me over the years was that even if they were the bodyshape held up as the "ideal", an ideal that many women would kill for, they still felt wrong in some way.

Yep. I'm absolutely shocked at what I used to consider "fat" when I was a teenager. Thankfully most of that crap has left me - but it never fully does. Me and probably the vast majority of women though.

Now all but two of the women I've known didn't have an actual eating disorder(that I know of of course), but most of the rest were paddling in the shallows of that sea. Some further away from the shore than others.

Spot-on. If an eating disorder is merely an unhealthy relationship with food, then I really don't think eating disorders are one bit rare whatsoever.

Too many women, smart, gorgeous, good hearted women with so much to offer waste the best years of their life worrying unnecessarily when they should rejoice in their bodies.

Spot-on. It's a horrible shame.

Speaking selfishly for the moment, as a man it's very hard at times. "Does my arse look big in this" may be a long running joke, but it can be hard to navigate as mate and especially as a partner.

It's a really unfair thing to do to a guy - and goes from upsetting him to just exceptionally boring after a while.

Lia_lia

Yeah I remember looking up those about 4 or 5 years ago after reading about them in a magazine, just to see what all the fuss was about. Found a load of them alright. Was kinda in a wtf state of mind for a while. Not because I was shocked, more because I found them just ridiculous really.

But I've never been able to "get" eating disorders. Couldn't grasp the concept of people being so obsessed with their weight, and only their weight. Really I mean how could you just stop eating? Baffles me. Guess you just have to have a certain kinda mindset. But many of my close friends have eating disorders. Which is pretty sad. 2 of them have been hospitalised and nearly dies because of them. I do think that putting pro ana sights into the spotlight has encouraged people to look them up and therefore caused more eating disorders. Might sound kinda ignorant or whatever, but is bloody true.

Crumble Froo

scary, scary sites. suffer from EDs since i was about 12, and ill never forget coming across the pro-ana and pro-mia sites when i was about 16 or 17 (when we first got internet). it's... even if you read it with a critical disapproving eye... the sharing tips... when you get into a bad headspace that info comes back and then you put it into practice. not good.

similarly, when my boyfriend got chucked into the looney bin when he got his weight down to 6 stone (a stone per foot) and after his lungs had collapsed a couple of times from not eating, and over exercising, he got put in with other people with EDs... and they shared tips etc too... like going to jail and learning to be a better criminal really. :rolleyes:

@ Lia Lia ...

But I've never been able to "get" eating disorders. Couldn't grasp the concept of people being so obsessed with their weight, and only their weight.

it's just not always about weight though. weight wasn't an issue for me for about 4-6 years of my eating disorders... oddly, it was after i started recovering and reading up more about it,t hat i began to link the ways i ate with my weight.

as for broaching the issue or raising awareness. i do believe that seeing it in the media etc can sort of put ideas into your head... a good honest conversation about it with your kids (at the appropriate time/moment), could be a good idea. i know my parents made me hide my eating disorder from my sister (5 years younger than me) so i didnt put ideas in her head, and of course, y'no, it wasn't normal, and shame and blah blah whatever :rolleyes:
the fact they were already worried about her (a gymnast) because she could find bits of flesh to pinch now and then and would talk about 'being fat'. i still beleive that it would have been more appropriate to have my sickness be out in the open, **** knows i was miserable enough, and ive been used often enough within the family as a learning story of 'what could happen if you dont...'.

I doubt most people would be swayed by those sites. They may well reinforce or prolong the disease but I doubt many people going onto them haven't already started well down the path.

in my experience (just mine), it can be incredibly isolating to have an eating disorder. there is shame, stigma, and all that fun stuff around it, and well, it's quite often the refuge of someone who is at least somewhat miserable with other elements of their lives... if you come across a site full of 'people like you' who will give you support and acceptance... it is easy to get more into it, to be encouraged and to accept that this is not an 'illness', but a 'lifestyle choice'.

sorry this has turned a bit rambly... it's quite late here, and a bit of an emotive subject for me.:o

panda100

Lia_lia wrote: »

But I've never been able to "get" eating disorders. Couldn't grasp the concept of people being so obsessed with their weight, and only their weight. Really I mean how could you just stop eating? Baffles me. Guess you just have to have a certain kinda mindset.

I think many people who suffer from eating disorders and mental illnesses in general do have a certain mindset. They generally tend to be very intelligent and high achieving people who use food, or the lack of it, to gain some control in their lives.

shivvyban

I'll be completely honest here. I know three people who suffered from anorexia and one from Bulemia, luckily all are well now but while I saw what these girls were doing, I though fair play to them. Having been bullied for my weight for years, I admired these girls even though I knew they were ill. Please don't jump down my throat here, guys, this is the way I USED to think. I went through bouts of both not eating for days on end and then others were eating and making myself sick up until last year and no-one knew. I, like the girls I mentioned earlier, snapped out of it. They got help and I just woke up and realised what I was doing.

I never even looked at those websites before I saw this thread. I'd heard about them but to be honest, avoided them in case I would go back to seeing the appeal of looking that way.

I bit the bullet and had a quick look. I am disgusted that this stuff is out there. It goes further and beyond any of the hopes/visions I had for being 'super skinny'. It makes me look back on what I was trying to do and thank god or whoever woke me that I got out of it before I got too into it. :eek::eek:

This thread reminds me of the one that someone posted a few weeks ago about the kids getting changed for/after swimming. I stand by what I said then - it is a f***ing disgrace!! :mad::mad:

eth0_

If anyone thinks these websites will make a non-anorexic become anorexic, you are seriously deluded/ignorant.

Wuggectumondo

Articles like the one printed in the Evening Herald annoy me. I've had an ED and never heard about pro- ana and mia sites until there was an article printed in the Independent

Nevyn

eth0_ wrote: »

If anyone thinks these websites will make a non-anorexic become anorexic, you are seriously deluded/ignorant.

They won't the same way a picture of self harm ( cutting) will not effect someone who doesn't suffer from that but will impact on those who does which is why those images are triggering and we don't' post them on this site.

Those sites may not make a person anorexic but they can contribute and they can normalise what is a toxic mindset about body image and crash dieting.

eth0_

Thaedydal wrote: »

Those sites may not make a person anorexic but they can contribute and they can normalise what is a toxic mindset about body image and crash dieting.

True, but you obviously already have body image issues if you're looking for these sites for any reason other than morbid curiosity.

Nevyn

eth0_ wrote: »

True, but you obviously already have body image issues if you're looking for these sites for any reason other than morbid curiosity.

Nope, not in my case, I have an interest in the darker side of the internet.
As much as it is a wonderful way of disseminating information and bringing people together in a positive supporting way there are toxic communities out there.

Most people don't' go there trying to find how to be a better anorexic they go there for 'weight control' tips.

shellyboo

eth0_ wrote: »

True, but you obviously already have body image issues if you're looking for these sites for any reason other than morbid curiosity.

Yes, and the websites exacerbate the issues. They provide people with a community and make them think that what they're doing to their bodies is ok.

eth0_

Thaedydal wrote: »

Nope, not in my case, I have an interest in the darker side of the internet.
As much as it is a wonderful way of disseminating information and bringing people together in a positive supporting way there are toxic communities out there.

I didn't mean "you" as in "you, thaedydal". I meant the general population. You (like everyone on this thread) have looked at them out of morbid curiosity.

Thaedydal wrote:

Most people don't' go there trying to find how to be a better anorexic they go there for 'weight control' tips.

Learning new ways of not eating/purging food from your body is learning how to be a 'better anorexic'...these sites are setup in the style of a support group. After all, anorexics are mentally ill, they don't see anything wrong in supporting a girl who's 5' 8" and weighing 5 stone.

eth0_

shellyboo wrote: »

Yes, and the websites exacerbate the issues. They provide people with a community and make them think that what they're doing to their bodies is ok.

I never said they didn't. My point was, simply looking at a pro_ana website won't "turn you anorexic" unless you have serious underlying mental or body image problems.

Nevyn

eth0_ wrote: »

I never said they didn't. My point was, simply looking at a pro_ana website won't "turn you anorexic" unless you have serious underlying mental or body image problems.

Which a large % of girls and young women have and it's on the rise.

Wibbs

And they would have an impact in normalising their way of thinking.

shellyboo

eth0_ wrote: »

I never said they didn't. My point was, simply looking at a pro_ana website won't "turn you anorexic" unless you have serious underlying mental or body image problems.

Did anyone say they did? Or are we all just having a state-the-obvious competition? :pac::D:p

meganj

Not to be a stick in the mud in this discussion but these sites in general should be banned ( although i hate saying that as the idea of censorship on the internet offends me), some have pointed out here that a lot of the websites are just showing diet control tips and not advocating ana or mia (that anorexia and bulimia) but thats because (and solely because) if they do do so they will be shut down and so the tiny little loop hole allows them to get away with it provided their not advocating anything.

In addition to this, it's not really about whether or not your affected, or if you will be affected, or your mental stability if you are affected, as many have stated here it normalises anorexia/bulimia/OE anyone who has spent time with more then one eating disordered person is likely to feel a little self-concious about not being a part of the discussion, in the same way if your in a group talking about nuclear fission and you know nothing about it.

however, there was a trend a few years ago of pro-ana/mia websites offering actual support groups to people with eating disorders, which I have to say despite the insane diet tips, is a very good idea peer to peer counselling is said to be very helpful to people suffering from EDs.

Gloom

[ THIS IS ALL MY OPINION ON ANA/MIA. ]
I'm a guy, btw.
(Apparently, personifying them as Ana/Mia makes it cooler)

Personally, I think the Wannarexics are far more scarier than the Anorexics. These guys (yes) and girls want to have "it" so they'll be thin. Posting tons of "thinspo" pics and songs to help them.

It can start from anything. You've just been called chubby/fat/ugly/disgusting in school/public and you quickly need to find help on how to lose weight/become "pretty". To the internet.

I had a perioid where I was feeling really down on myself, really unhappy with how I looked and so forth. But, thankfully I found a healthy site which provided healthy recipes and exercise information.

I've checked out a lot of sites and "plans" out of morbid curiousity. Some are just horrible, some are not so bad. There are support groups for those with the disease who try and help and thankfully, try to weed out the wannarexics. Some of the tips are pretty good (such as drink tons of water, which is obvious) but some are just crazy. (the whole, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels :mad:"

It's easy to see a wannarexic on a site, usually some name like "BonesxArexBeautiful" with some Mary Kate/Ashley Olsen picture as "thinspo" :rolleyes:

A lot of people think that anorexia is only due to weight, but it's also down to control. Some people have messed up lives, completely out of order. You can control what you eat, what you don't. It gives them "power". However, sometimes the control takes over and causes harm.

allandanyways

I absolutley despise these websites, I wish they were illegal, they basically promote a slow suicide.

My younger sister has been addicted to these websites since she got her own laptop in Feb, and despite denying this and deleting (one of) her account(s) in front of me, I am 99% certain she is still on these sites, the forums and the blogs. She never had any body issues or problems before she got a laptop, she never, ever watched what she ate so please don't anybody say "maybe she had this for years..." because she didn't.

Edit: reading back on this thread, I see people saying that thinking proana sites turn normal people anorexic is crap, well I would argue whole heartedly with that. I knew my sister, she used to tell me everything, we were best friends and she was one of the most physically secure people I'd ever met, she was beautiful and she knew it, it was annoying at times but she never had body image problems and I know people will say "how did you know she didn't?" and anyone who is/was really close to their sister will understand when I say I JUST KNEW. So yeah, if you're young and influential and looking for a way to stray from your parents' control- apparently proana sites are the new smoking, and then if you're "lucky", you actually become anorexic, you become drawn in.

I could go into a big spiel on how horrible, disgusting and down-right immoral these websites are, but I just want to say one (very long) thing to anyone who has looked at a pro ana website and thought anything remotley positive:

People on an online anorexia blog DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. If you need support, go and get better. Sitting on your computer and talking to fellow ana-lovers will not make you better. Fasting and purging and restricting and maintaining, whatever you're doing, you know that it's sick. Being thin has always been in fashion, but actual anorexics recognise that they have an illness and they want to get better. Admiring girls who weigh 98lbs and eat 35cals a day isn't recognising that you're sick, it's wanting to be part of a cult.

Those people don't care about your family, your friends and your partner, all of whom can see what you're doing. These websites encourage betrayl, lying and dishonesty, they ruin relationships and they destroy people's trust and respect for you. Do you think that the girl who's lost .5lbs by fasting today cares that your behaviour is making your sister depressed or your father lose all his trust in you? No, she doesn't. It's not always about you and one more thing, don't ever get annoyed if people find you, nothing on the internet is private and some of the things you said, once they're read, you'll never be able to take them back.

The quote (on her pro-ana blog that I managed to track down) that made me lose all faith, trust in and respect for my sister (and I'm sharing this only to prove how destructive these websites can be on relationships and other people, not just the person affected by this disgusting fúcking cult)

"I hate that people care about me, I wish I lived alone. I hate that allandanyways tries to "help" me.... I don't care if allandanyways kills herself because I make her so upset tbh, I don't care if Dad leaves and I don't care if Mam has another heart attack, as long as I'm thin, nothing else matters"

That's word for word (with my real name there obv), and she was my best friend this time last year.

Wuggectumondo

allandanyways wrote: »

The quote (on her pro-ana blog that I managed to track down) that made me lose all faith, trust in and respect for my sister (and I'm sharing this only to prove how destructive these websites can be on relationships and other people, not just the person affected by this disgusting fúcking cult)

"I hate that people care about me, I wish I lived alone. I hate that allandanyways tries to "help" me.... I don't care if allandanyways kills herself because I make her so upset tbh, I don't care if Dad leaves and I don't care if Mam has another heart attack, as long as I'm thin, nothing else matters"

That's word for word (with my real name there obv), and she was my best friend this time last year.

Please dont lose faith in her! Anorexia is an irrational illness- she is not thinking straight.

This is not her true self- she is deep deep in an illness.