If you know, or even think the topic of eating disorders may trigger you, please do not read below
Hallo. Guten Tag.
So lately I have been noticing many stories containing eating disorders in the writing community. And by that I mean every writing app, episode, wattpad, archive of our own, etc. I am not talking about stories that bring awareness to this topic, but stories that make anorexia and bulimia look “pretty”. This usually happens in romance stories. Where a bigger girl starved herself for a guy to like her, and then they start to date. Do people actually want to give out that message to young readers? Or even sometimes look up (character’s name) fanfiction (and you scroll down to the part that tells you what is often looked up) the first that appear are usually
CN eating disorder fanfic
CN abuse fanfic
CN suicide fanfic
CN self-harm fanfic
Like what the hell?! Do people actually find pleasure out of reading these stories? How come everyone makes a big deal when there is cussing and sexuality in stories, yet no one cares about authors making disorders, rape, and suicide glamorous?
And even when authors do disclaim how they are “not condoning this behavior, and not glamorizing it” doesn’t mean they aren’t. If they write a romance story and give out that mindset “if I am skinny, guys will date me” then you kind of are. I honestly don’t know how to end this, and I probably missed key topics that should be talked about, so please discuss below.
Hmm… That’s very interesting. I personally haven’t seen this much. Maybe a very long time I saw one briefly, but I think it was taken down, I don’t actually know.
But your topic made me think, what if that person was large? She thinks that people would like her better if she starved herself, but someone told her not to, he shows her reality and prevents her from doing that. They fall in love, and she stays the way she is, and instead of doing anything for anyone else, she does it for herself. (Things that are related to herself. Y’know what I mean?)
He helps her. What do you think of something like that?
if you mean obesely overweight when you say large, that’s not okay!
you should lose weight if you’re really large, not cos of looks but cos of your health
when you tell a chick that’s slightly above average to starve herself that’s horrible, but when this person is large you should help them out!
I think I understand what I mean, but that’s where the point of where she does things on her own accord. She would want to improve herself for herself and not for someone else
I haven’t come across stories like this and I hope I don’t. I suffered from pretty bad non-purging bulimia in my mid-twenties, and I wasn’t in a position to seek help, so I basically had to pull myself out of that hole alone.
I don’t need someone who doesn’t understand EDs enabling that mindset. Many of us are never fully cured. It’s a constant battle fighting that voice in our head, and the smallest things can help it win and trigger a relapse.
There’s a delicate balance between showing the mindset of the sufferer, who thinks what they’re doing is a positive thing, while also showing the actual awful reality that comes with having a potentially deadly mental illness.
True. As someone who hasn’t experienced that, I wouldn’t be able to actually properly represent the characters. I also most likely not write a story like this as it was a very on the spot type of thing.
That is some very valuable information. Thank you.
I also want to mention that I’m sure you are beautiful. You already seem to have a wonderful personality.
Awww, thank you🤗
Most eating disorders are caused when you feel you’ve lost control of your life, so we turn to food and our weight to feel like we’re back in control of something. Of course, most of us don’t realize that this is the underlying cause. I didn’t discover this either until I researched the topic when I was trying to cure myself.
I do think that it’s possible for someone who has never suffered from an eating disorder to write a realistic and supportive story, especially if they’ve done extensive research.
In fact, sometimes it may be a good thing, because many of us still have an unhealthy mindset which could show in our writing. But it’s definitely important for a non-sufferer to ask for someone (or more than one person) who has experienced an eating disorder to make sure there’s nothing too triggering in their story before publishing to a wider audience, and it should always include trigger warnings.
There are many people in the world that suffer from eating disorders, anorexia, etc.
To think that people actually enjoy reading about a person who suffers through anorexia, is actually revolting because they don’t know what suffering from anorexia actually feels like, and authors think its okay to just throw it out there without teaching people the negative effects of anorexia.
Anorexia is not entertaining and it’ll never be, peoples lives are being ruined because of it, people are suffering in hospitals because of it, and my heart sinks just looking at people who suffer from it.
The fact that authors just throw in suicide, anorexia, eating disorder, and so on is just a huge middle finger to the people who suffer from it, because they just add it on there as if its a fairy tale story.
To all the authors out there, please think twice before adding in harmful disorders, and such peoples feelings might get hurt because they suffer from it and to just find out that people are writing a STORY about something you’re suffering from because it’s “entertaining” just breaks peoples hearts.
This is all depending on my opinion, and if anyones hurting feel free to PM me because I would love to help you out.
This is kinda off-topic, but I used to eat away my depression. When that didn’t work, I started to cut. Then I suffered loss of appetite, and still do, so I’d starve myself. I’m trying really hard right now. People don’t know what we go through.
Edit: I normally don’t get scared, but I am scared of relapsing. Scared of going to the hospital. Scared of successfully overdosing. I’m trying to keep myself alive, by thinking of my loved ones… I don’t want to leave that special person all alone. So, seeing these types of stories, disgusts me. Love does not fix mental illnesses, especially when you don’t have any. Please. Stop sending the wrong message, man.
Most people also don’t realize that there are many types of eating disorders besides anorexia and bulimia (and even that within those two most well-known types there are many varieties). Disorders that involve compulsive eating or overeating in particular just get ignored or even mocked and it’s really unfair.
I saw 1 story where MC was abusing laxatives. So the guy LI(who she moved in wth for some reason) made sure she ate well and was healthy. The story started okay…until they ended up screwing and wat i can only assume(cuz i stopped there) was him “loving” her mental illness away…idk i hated it…left a bad taste in my mouth…it could have been a good story
A topic I’ve come across more recently amongst not only the writing community, but the editing community as well, is self harm. I’ve had a long history of self harm and it still haunts me today, there’s not a day goes by where I don’t either hate myself for the scars I have and can’t hide, or hating the fact that I know I can’t give myself more. It’s a constant struggle that everyone with mental illness deals with, and I find it incredibly disturbing that people manage to glorify and romanticise this kind of behaviour.
I know I can’t speak for everyone, but as for myself, relapsing is something that I am incredibly scared of, and I can imagine that a lot of other people live with that fear everyday as well. So it truly honestly baffles me when I see people talking and writing and drawing about such sensitive topics without any regard to what it’s truly like for the people who have had to deal with it themselves or with a loved one.
I’ve read a story where a girl is in hospital because of an eating disorder, and her recovering. At the end of each episode the author says that if you are struggling with an eating disorder then you should get help.
It’s called Hospital Romance if you want to read it.