I decided to write this post in response to a blog I read on Empowered Eating that spoke about the dangers of pro-Ana content. I happen to be a huge proponent of the pro-Ana community and the purpose it can serve. Don't get me wrong, what it emphasizes isn't a healthy way of life.. But it provides something that people with eating disorders so desperately want. A community. No, it is not a healthy or positive one but it is a community. It is full of people with similar mindsets and ideals. All wanting to reach their ultimate goal weight or UGW. I have been active pro-Ana member for years through tumblr, pinterest, instagram and as a member of prettythin.com. Would I recommend this group of people to someone without an eating disorder or a disordered mind? Absolutely not. But for someone like me who just needed to know that I wasn't alone with my thoughts...it has been a source of comfort. A very important one. It is a place where I can openly say " I ate so much...like a whole X amount of calories. Need to restrict for the week. Who wants to be my partner?' and get responses form girl and boys who want what I want. There's no shame attached, everyone has the same goal with different specifics. Personally, I don't see a problem with pro-Ana sites and content. It doesn't glorify eating disorders, it just lets sufferers find each other. And that can be a very important part. There's also a huge acceptance of people leaving to recover. Those people are celebrated so much! I've had pro-Ana friends post and say "thank you all for being here for me but now it is my time to recover take care". And the response is huge because they feel strong enough to escape. This is why I don't hate pro-Ana. On the inside it is just a community so don't judge it without being a part.
What are your thoughts on the pro-ana community?
Stay Strong
xo Aria
Having been a part of that community I can say I do not hate pro-ana members I just hate what it stands for. Yes, the community of pro-ana can be enticing and even dare I say 'encouraging' at times but the advice isn't helpful or productive. It contributes not only to your own eating disorder but others.
ReplyDeleteI learned the hard way in the past when going on a fast with a 'buddy'. It didn't end well for either of us and she nearly lost her life. That's when pro-ana communities become scary because we're becoming killers. We kill ourselves.
I don't want to be the factor that takes away a life when I could've been the one to save it.
I do see your point of view. Very clearly. However, I don't completely agree. I think for me if I know what I am doing has the possibility to kill me anyway, I would rather die knowing I have a friend in the end, then die completely alone. Seeing as I know you in real life, I can tell you that I have been that girl. That girl who ends up in a hospital bed after a fast with a friend. And the only thing that helped in that moment was knowing I wasn't alone. There was somebody who stood by my decisions because they understood. When someone who is that deep into their disorder is trying to fast, nothing you say will save their life. I know.
DeleteIf you really look at it from a retrospective view (life-saving aside): you’re endangering a person you truly care about, someone you call a ‘friend’. Even the fact of having a community of friends with the same interest in killing themselves is pathologically upsetting. It would be like… for example: an alcoholic who has no desire to give up alcohol, constantly placed at a bar to eventually die from liver failure. Pro-Ana websites though comforting at first are hazardous because of the “community” aspect. It leaves little reason to ever recover (if at all) and though you're ultimately both fighting for the same goals, that same fight becomes competitive. What was first a “friend helping a friend in need” becomes who can reach their UGW first or binge and purge better. You walk a thin line in pro-ana communities one that is easily snapped. Pro-Ana isn’t a lifestyle choice. It isn’t an identifier of a person. I believe people who say that it is are generally crying out for help but cannot express it in any other way but what they know.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your last sentence; if the only way they know to reach out is through pro-Ana, is it better for them to go that route or not reach out at all?
DeleteThe thing is within a pro-ana community outreach there is hopeless when you reach out you're not getting help you're getting encouragement to continue to do the things that hurt you. So, it's about as good as not reaching out at all.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways you are correct. But I can tell you that I have reached out in the community several times and received exactly what I needed. Sometimes it was encouragement to starve...other times it was help to finish a meal. I feel like you are generalizing the community and not recognizing that it is composed of individuals.
DeleteNot generalizing but compressing what the community is as a whole. What I'm trying to say is you do not receive healthy outreach there. Again, it's like cheering on the alcoholic to have another drink or in this case the anorexic to starve. Basically, it's a way to glorify the problem rather than change it. It would be like someone saying to me 'You go girl eat more' during a binge. It's not productive or helpful. Granted, most of the pro ana community due talk about a want to recover but that they cannot because this is all they know which means three things: 1.) they're in denial, 2.) they're scared and 3.) they don't want to change because they're not ready to give it up.
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ReplyDeleteYou have made so many excellent points. Personally, I still disagree but rather than get further into it...Let's just agree to disagree.
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