One More Thing About Eating Disorders

[squirrel_monkey]

Comments

[rose_lemberg]

So much yes to all this.

[squirrel_monkey]

Glad you liked!

[tithenai]

This is a fantastic post. Thank you.

Relevant to this:

Mental illness is internally driven - anorexia, for example, is often thought to originate from the extreme need to control one’s environment; it’s a response to the internal need (for control), not mere external pressure (to look good).

I was recently reading about how Asperger's and other autism spectrum disorders are often misdiagnosed in women as anorexia, when in their cases anorexia is instead a consequence of untreated neuroatypicality. Trying to find the article.

[squirrel_monkey]

Also, anorexia is often co-occurring with OCD; the reasoning goes that obsessiveness and perfectionism help exercise more control over one's biological drives. Considering that autism spectrum is often characterized by obsessive interests, it doesn't seem surprising that they would be mutually misdiagnosed. And of course, the doctors are more likely to diagnose women with AN. I also wonder if the reverse is true: men with anorexia get OCD or Aspie diagnoses based on this gendered bullshit.

[tithenai]

I also wonder if the reverse is true: men with anorexia get OCD or Aspie diagnoses based on this gendered bullshit.

Anecdotally I can stay this is definitely true, as one good male friend is Aspie and anorexic, with the latter diagnosis being very long in coming in spite of its obvious detrimental effects on his health.

[hani]

Yes, especially the last three sentences.

[blades_of_grass]

Very well said - the "you should just snap out of it" approach (it does seem not a little Looking Glass kind of approach, which is more of a recession) is very simple to fall to, even if one knows the - official - diagnosis. After my daughter was diagnosed with ASD, it was not easy to internalize that this is who she is, and not a mood to go away. So yes, and thank you.

[squirrel_monkey]

You're welcome! Glad it was useful.

[marrael]

This is so right. Thank you.

[squirrel_monkey]

Thank you!