How should I help someone with severe anorexia?

yeahokay · ‎10-07-2016

Hi, this girl I used to be good friends with has anorexia. I saw her recently and she is so skinny I cannot look at her, as it makes me incredibly upset to see her so unwell. I'm pretty sure her parents either haven't noticed or pretend not to and I'm not sure how to help because she goes to a different uni to me and the rest of her friends, lives far away and I'm not close enough friends with her to have a nice chat about it. Any advice on who to contact would be greatly appreciated because she needs to be hospitalised - she has previously complained about physical symptoms and joint pains.

Fairywings · ‎10-07-2016

Hi there and welcome I'm so sorry to hear this terrible news regarding your friend who is suffering from this evil addiction. The butterfly foundation is good place to start. you can just google them to get contact info and depending where u guys are they may be able to redirect you. let me know how things go xx always here to chat

romantic_thi3f · ‎13-07-2016

Hi yeahokay,

Thanks for reaching out to us and welcome to the forums. It's great that you want to be there and help support your friend.

Do you know if your friend has any insight into what's going on for her? Is anorexia something that she's been diagnosed with? Has she ever seen a Doctor or a psychologist before about it?

If she hasn't, and you wanted to encourage her to get help - sometimes it can just be having a conversation. Let her know that you are concerned about what's going on, and that you want to help. It may be that she is afraid of reaching out, or not quite sure how to go about it. If you're not too comfortable with this, or don't feel close enough - maybe you could try building your friendship more so that she can feel comfortable reaching out to you. You might even be surprised if you just try - often people distance themselves and it's not uncommon for people suffering with body image issues to be very isolated and lonely.

Alternatively, you could also try and contact her parents, or if there were mutual friends that you knew. Her parents may even want to contact the uni and arrange for a counsellor to check in on her.

Also - FairyWings had a great suggestion with contacting the Butterfly Foundation. Anyone who has a question about eating disorders or is concerned for themselves or even their friends/family can contact them, so they may have some more ideas up their sleeve. Their website is thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

Narniakid · ‎14-07-2016

Hey yeahokay,

Thank you for your post. It's lovely to hear that you want to help your friend.

If you feel comfortable doing so, I would send her a message just letting her know that you're concerned for her health and you're there if she needs you. I have done this if I've seen someone on my feed who is struggling or showing signs of, and sometimes even just a message letting them know that you're willing to support them is enough for them to seek help themselves.

FairyWings' suggestion of contacting the Butterfly Foundation is fantastic, and as romantic_thi3f suggested, it's probably a good idea to let her parents or any mutual friends know that you're concerned about her well-being.

Crystal

Zeal · ‎14-07-2016

Hi yeahokay,

It is really kind that you are concerned about this old friend. Crystal, Romantic thief and Fairywings have already given you great support and advice. If you have your friend on facebook, you could privately send her a message to say hi and that you saw her recently and are worried about her health. Her being aware that you care about her and are willing to talk is great. I had anorexia in 2012, and I alienated myself socially. My parents also didn't know how bad I was. It's often hard for those closest to the sufferer to notice the physical changes, as the change isn't as noticeable when you see the person every day.

I hope you can get in touch with your friend.

Best wishes,

SM