You can never be too thin....
Is it just me or does everyone think anorexia nervosa is the most bewildering illness?
My family was hanging out at Mooloolaba this week, parked next to a huge family group, obviously celebrating a teenager’s birthday.
The birthday girl was about 16, and emaciated. She was tall and bottle blonde, wearing a tiara bought by her loving family, and shorty pyjamas she was struggling to keep on her heartbreakingly bony hips. Her tiny thighs looked ready to snap like twigs.
There was clearly no lack of family support; the extended group was in the park to show her just how precious she was. They were laughing and playing, and no doubt working like demons to keep the party swinging.
It’s still not known why people get anorexia. What we do know, however, is that it’s a curiously Western disease, most common in teenage girls and certain employment groups like models and ballet dancers.
I knew three girls who suffered the disease when I was a teenager. One of them was my friend’s older sister, who literally starved herself to death over three years. Her bones became brittle, she lost the ability to walk and eventually her organs shut down.
The other two girls I knew were both perfectionists by nature. I remember when my friend Denise first stopped eating it just made me cross, because I resented how she flaunted her self control, shaking her head if we dared to eat chocolate or finish our lunch while hers sat unwrapped and untouched on the quadrangle tarmac.
These days anorexia nervosa affects around one in 10 girls and lasts about seven years.
Researchers at the University of Western Sydney have released a book based on four years of conversations with the families of 24 sufferers.
The book, Inside Anorexia, found in all 24 cases, the parents and siblings of the starving teen carry as many scars as the sufferer. Marriages have broken down, fathers have been forced to give up work and brothers and sisters are rebellious or withdrawn.
As a school mate I found Denise’s illness frustrating. Her obsessive behaviour was boring. While shamefully we continued to gossip about her, as friends we eventually withdrew our support. It’s terrible to imagine how that must have compounded things for her beautiful mum and dad.
Inside Anorexia tells the story of Hannah, who would peel and steam one frozen carrot at a time, weigh it, have three tiny mouthfuls, turn the plate 45 degrees and have another three mouthfuls.
When the carrot was gone, she would repeat the routine with another carrot from the freezer.
“It nearly drove us bonkers,” her mother said. “It would take her up to 2½ hours each night to eat … 200 calories. It was mind-blowingly annoying. And we’d have to have the exact products in the right part of the fridge or she’d throw a hysterical screaming fit.”
The study found obsessive compulsive disorder is often apparent in anorexics.
One mother talks about how initially her daughter became fixated on dog hair in the house, constantly vacuuming and sweeping, yelling at the dog for dropping hair on the floor and even blocking doorways with furniture to stop the stressed dog moving about the house. That was just before she stopped eating.
Australian Story this week featured the tragic tale of Channel 10 newsreader Charmaine Dragun. Her mother says the passing comment, “Pretty girl, pity she’s got such a fat arse,” as Charmaine walked past a building site was the trigger that ultimately resulted in her daughter’s death.
Tragically, so called “high achievers” like Charmaine are a large proportion of those who suffer anorexia nervosa, people who have advanced self discipline and a strong desire for perfection.
According to the authors of Inside Anorexia, schools and parents can accidentally encourage anorexia by placing too much emphasis on self discipline, competition with others and the importance of being thin.
Combine that with a couple of “fat arse” comments and it’s a potent, deadly cocktail.
Inside Anorexia is published by the University of Western Sydney and available on-line for $36.95.
My family was hanging out at Mooloolaba this week, parked next to a huge family group, obviously celebrating a teenager’s birthday.
The birthday girl was about 16, and emaciated. She was tall and bottle blonde, wearing a tiara bought by her loving family, and shorty pyjamas she was struggling to keep on her heartbreakingly bony hips. Her tiny thighs looked ready to snap like twigs.
There was clearly no lack of family support; the extended group was in the park to show her just how precious she was. They were laughing and playing, and no doubt working like demons to keep the party swinging.
It’s still not known why people get anorexia. What we do know, however, is that it’s a curiously Western disease, most common in teenage girls and certain employment groups like models and ballet dancers.
I knew three girls who suffered the disease when I was a teenager. One of them was my friend’s older sister, who literally starved herself to death over three years. Her bones became brittle, she lost the ability to walk and eventually her organs shut down.
The other two girls I knew were both perfectionists by nature. I remember when my friend Denise first stopped eating it just made me cross, because I resented how she flaunted her self control, shaking her head if we dared to eat chocolate or finish our lunch while hers sat unwrapped and untouched on the quadrangle tarmac.
These days anorexia nervosa affects around one in 10 girls and lasts about seven years.
Researchers at the University of Western Sydney have released a book based on four years of conversations with the families of 24 sufferers.
The book, Inside Anorexia, found in all 24 cases, the parents and siblings of the starving teen carry as many scars as the sufferer. Marriages have broken down, fathers have been forced to give up work and brothers and sisters are rebellious or withdrawn.
As a school mate I found Denise’s illness frustrating. Her obsessive behaviour was boring. While shamefully we continued to gossip about her, as friends we eventually withdrew our support. It’s terrible to imagine how that must have compounded things for her beautiful mum and dad.
Inside Anorexia tells the story of Hannah, who would peel and steam one frozen carrot at a time, weigh it, have three tiny mouthfuls, turn the plate 45 degrees and have another three mouthfuls.
When the carrot was gone, she would repeat the routine with another carrot from the freezer.
“It nearly drove us bonkers,” her mother said. “It would take her up to 2½ hours each night to eat … 200 calories. It was mind-blowingly annoying. And we’d have to have the exact products in the right part of the fridge or she’d throw a hysterical screaming fit.”
The study found obsessive compulsive disorder is often apparent in anorexics.
One mother talks about how initially her daughter became fixated on dog hair in the house, constantly vacuuming and sweeping, yelling at the dog for dropping hair on the floor and even blocking doorways with furniture to stop the stressed dog moving about the house. That was just before she stopped eating.
Australian Story this week featured the tragic tale of Channel 10 newsreader Charmaine Dragun. Her mother says the passing comment, “Pretty girl, pity she’s got such a fat arse,” as Charmaine walked past a building site was the trigger that ultimately resulted in her daughter’s death.
Tragically, so called “high achievers” like Charmaine are a large proportion of those who suffer anorexia nervosa, people who have advanced self discipline and a strong desire for perfection.
According to the authors of Inside Anorexia, schools and parents can accidentally encourage anorexia by placing too much emphasis on self discipline, competition with others and the importance of being thin.
Combine that with a couple of “fat arse” comments and it’s a potent, deadly cocktail.
Inside Anorexia is published by the University of Western Sydney and available on-line for $36.95.
posted by Caroline Hutchinson at 7:54 AM
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