Anorexia, bulimia and suicide
I’ve long known that eating disorders are associated with high mortality rates; however, it’s only in recent months that I’ve been able to understand exactly why.
You see, I always assumed that it was because anorexics starved themselves to death and bulimics purged their bodies to the point where a heart attack or stroke was inevitable.
But that’s not necessarily the case.
Instead, it seems many women and men with eating disorders die from suicide. Many suffer from undiagnosed conditions, like depression and bipolar disorder… and without proper medications and/or therapy, they take their own lives.
This article from Psychiatry Online delves into the connection between suicide and EDs a bit deeper.
Eating disorders cannot live in a vacuum. If you’re suffering from one, chances are that you’re suffering from other psychological ailments, too. I know that I’m given to bouts of OCD and depression; I’m sure they’ve had a lot to do with my 20+ years of body image problems.
I urge you — if you have suicidal thoughts, please take advantage of any of the following hotlines. Then, call a physician and start on the path to recovery.
There is life after Ana and Mia. I promise.
SUICIDE HOTLINES (U.S. only — feel free to let me know of your nation’s hotline and I’ll add it to the list):
- 1-800-SUICIDE
- 1-800-273-TALK
- 1-800-799-4TTY (hearing impaired hotline)
1 opinion for Anorexia, bulimia and suicide
Erin
Jul 3, 2008 at 12:32 am
And because no one wants to be seen as the weak one…the one who teetered over the edge and contemplated taking her own life I’ll put myself out there.
The hardest times I’ve had in recovery thus far have been during those times that I was doing better with not binging and purging as much, eating a little bit more regularly (a BIG trigger for me), and I was off my anti-depressant. I had nothing to help me live with the pain that filled every space in my body and I was fighting the eating disorder with everything I had…and I was losing. It’s not so inconceivable for people who suffer from eating disorders to go down “that” road when we’re used to keeping things to ourselves and our unhealthy coping mechanism isn’t being used or is really ineffective at the worst possible time.
I hope…no I pray I’m never in that dark of a place again but when you’re there it feels like it will NEVER fucking end. It will. One excruciating minute after another until a couple of months have passed (hopefully with the help of a fabulous therapist like mine, very supportive community of friends and loved ones, and something to cling to…)
I didn’t call a hotline. I called my sponsor. I called my therapist. Because there really is always that little voice that is OURS and not the eating disorder’s or the depression’s that say…if you wait it out, one day you’ll really BE out. You don’t have to escape to be out. You don’t have to do THIS to not feel the pain. It hurts. I know it hurts. I know it seems like it will never ever end. But hold on. And call someone who can say something to bring you back.
(Sorry for taking over the comments section. But you just never know who’s reading what…and I think this is a subject that we shouldn’t shy away from. It’s scary and it’s shameful (for some people) but it’s also the reality. We can’t keep up the eating disorder forever…and I think we know that. But we’re also not willing to LIVE with the emotional pain. Treatment is obviously THE way to live that life worth living, but it takes a L-O-N-G time to get there and we need encouragement. Every single day.)
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: