We Are More Than The Doctor's Paper

3-Eating Disorder~Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder in which people have an intense fear of gaining weight and can become dangerously thin.

Those who may suffer from Anorexia Nervosa have less than normal weight, negative body damage, and an obsession with food.(www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/anorexia-nervosa/default.htm)

There are many many many symptoms for those who suffer from Anorexia Nervosa and they are all negative to a person's body. Dehydration, dizziness, fainting, under weight, irregular menstrual cycle or absence of cycle, vomiting, brittle nails, dry hair and skin, headaches, and slow heart rate are just some. Social isolation and depression are also effects of Anorexia.

1 in 200 American women suffer from Anorexia according to www.mirasol.net/learning-center/eating-disorder-statistics.php

1.0% to 4.2% of women suffer from Anorexia in lifetime (www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/statistics.php)

Anorexia Nervosa is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents (www.mirasol.net/learning-center/eating-disorder-statistics.php) 

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Hello. My name is Caitlyn Gunther. I don't like it here at Briarcliff Manor. I feel like everyone here judges me because I'm anorexic. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's something I'll live with for the rest of my life. I started starving myself back in the sixth grade. (I'm now a senior in n high school.) People don't know how much their words can hurt. The girls in my grade always made fun of me because I was a little bigger than them. I wasn't skinny like them nor was I fat. My mother always told me I was average and there was nothing wrong with how I looked. Too bad the other girls couldn't see that. They were all so mean to me and none of them wanted to be my friend. Whenever lunchtime came around they ate "healthy" things while I had my peanut butter and jelly sandwich with chips and cookies. There was one girl who lead all the rest and she never left me alone. Everyday she had something to say, " That's why you're so fat Caitlyn.", " Try a diet Caitlyn.", " No wonder why no one likes you." I got tired of hearing them saying things like that to me and whispering about me so I started going to the library. Unfortunately, the librarian doesn't let people bring food into the library, so I didn't eat lunch. A few weeks went by before I realized if I could go without lunch then I could go without breakfast too. Months went by and I started to notice that I was losing weight. The girls noticed too and started to accept me. However, I felt that it wasn't enough. I then started to skip all three meals. No one noticed. My father was barely around and whenever my mother asked if I had ate, I would either say yes or make up some excuse. She bought everything I told her. One day, I was almost caught. My aunt took me shopping and grabbed a dress she thought was my size. When she saw how skinny I had become, she started to question me. Luckily she bought my I'm-growing-up-and-getting-taller story. I never ate in front of anyone and soon became really depressed. I had made a friend whose name is Terra. Terra isn't like the mean girls. She's really nice and makes me feel like I can actually eat and get better again. When I felt comfortable enough to tell her I was anorexic, she was completely supportive and still is to this day. Terra is the one who tried to get me to get some help. She told me that her grandfather was a therapist who could talk to me. I didn't get a chance to talk to him before I got placed in here. During our ninth grade year, there was a guy who told Terra he planned on asking me out. When the leader of the group who made fun of me found out, she said loud enough for everyone to hear, " Why her? She's so fugly and fat. Wouldn't you rather want to date me?" I ran home after school that day and made myself throw up everything in my system which wasn't much. I passed out because of lack of nutrients. My parents brought me here after I was released from the hospital. The doctors try to help me get better by telling me how much I can accomplish if I started eating again. I eat enough to keep myself from dying, but not too much to where I can gain weight. Golly I hate it here and the only people keeping me from going are my friends here at the Manor and Terra who visits me often. Unfortunately, none of them understand.