Do I Look Like An Anorexic

Do I look too skinny, sick, or like I have anorexia?

You’re very underweight, but your size is not nearly as important as your general health. You talk about worrying that you look like you’re sick, but isn’t it more important to discover whether you actually *are* sick? You should get a thorough check-up; there are quite a few conditions that can cause a person to be underweight, and if you have one of them, no amount of weight gain will fix it.Sometimes when teens grow very quickly, they get skinnier. You’re a little old for a growth spurt at 17, but it’s not unheard-of. If this is the case for you, you’ll probably gain slowly as your body catches up to your new height, and you don’t have to do anything but eat when you’re hungry.If your being underweight is, by itself, starting to wear on your health, then you can try to get a consult with a nutritionist. They could give you some advice about how to re-balance your diet to make sure you’re getting enough of all the nutrients you need.Of course, you could have an unusual body type—that is, you could be naturally skinny but healthy. If you are, then the only problem you really have to face is being okay with the way your body looks. You’re luckier than people on the other end of the spectrum; you’re unlikely to face some of the nasty prejudice that naturally large folks have to deal with. People assuming you have anorexia might be a problem for you, though. Try not to let them get to you; your body is yours and none of their business.If you do want to gain weight, please do it in a healthy manner—nutritious food, physical activity. Try weight training to put on a little muscle, and make sure to eat enough protein to sustain it. If you’re vegeterian or vegan, make sure you’ve covered all your nutritional bases; if you skip the meat, you might not be getting enough protein or fat.But yes, bottom line: Get a checkup. Make sure you’re physically healthy. If you’re healthy, then being skinny is just the way you are, and nothing to be ashamed of.

How can I become anorexic?

I used to want anorexia, just so I could be skinny. Just so I could lose weight.I wanted it; until I got it.I stopped eating almost entirely, I became obsessed with counting my calories, and with exercising. If I had more than 400 calories a day I would go on at least 2 runs, and drink a fuckton of water.I would chew gum to keep myself from feeling hungry. I felt weak all the time. I got into fights with my mum over how much I was eating. I bruised easily, scars were vibrant.My body was shutting down.I lost 10 kilograms. I slept all the time. My grades were slipping, my concentration gone.Food was constantly on my mind, in my dreams. I would bake a lot of stuff, and never eat it, I’m still not sure why.I wanted to walk down that path, and so I did.And I wish I never did. It’s so hard to recover, so, so hard. A lot of the thoughts still float around in my head, when I look in the mirror, when I go to take another bite.You don’t want to walk down that path, I promise. Please don’t.

Do anorexics think other people look fat?

I'm looking at everyone else's answers and thinking how strange it is, because my experience was totally different.When my ED was at its worst, my perception of a normal body shape was incredibly skewed toward deathly thin. I thought of 16 or so as a normal BMI. During this time, my ideal body and what I thought was healthy looked something like this.This was the standard that I held myself to. You must understand that anorexia nervosa is primarily a disorder of the mind and leads to severely distorted thoughts. Say I saw someone walking down the street with this body type.She has a lovely, most likely healthy body. Most people can see that. But my ideal and what I saw as "normal" was a very thin body with little to no fat or muscle. So while I may not be outright judging the above woman, I would perceive her to be much bigger than normal. Then I would hope I don't look that big.Anorexics are harsh critics, especially of physical appearance. Again, I'm surprised that so many people here are saying they don't judge non-disordered people. Every other anorexic I've met also says that they internally criticize "normal" people for their eating habits and body shape.