Q2A

Got an enquiry ........

Hello , i'm really confused about some things and i don't know what to do. I have recently
been trying to lose weight and found that i lost 20lbs by fasting and eating hardly anything.
I tried to up my intake to around 600 calories but it felt like i was eating too much. I then
cut out all meats and became a vegetarian so i could lose some of the calories whilst still
trying to be healthy but it hasn't worked. I'm still at the same weight i was when i stopped
fasting but for the past three days i have purged my food after i've eaten it. I don't have
bulimia , do i? because i know that i'm doing it and i thought people with eating disorders
dont know that they have one.

Anyway the other night i was playing with some velcro , i then started to rub it on my skin
till it hurt and left marks. It stung all night and i like to look at the cuts , i think they look
good. I told myself i wouldnt do it again but last night i did it again so now i have 3 big
patches of red sore skin on my hands but i cant stop looking at them. I'm not self harming
am i? as i'm not upset or depressed or anything.

I just needed some help with these things , i fear i'm going crazy. Am i?

thanks

This is our reply.......

Hi

Thank you for your email. It's a very brave thing you have done to contact us. You realise
that some things in your life aren't right at the moment and hopefully we can help you.

Firstly, you are not going crazy, you are in a very difficult situation which has grown bigger
and bigger and now you are rightly, very worried.

There is a lot of pressure on young people to be thin, we constantly hear about famous
people gaining weight and then like magic they seem to lose it. Being thin is supposed to
make us feel happier and make us more popular but often it can be very difficult to lose a
tiny bit of weight and it doesn't always make us like ourselves more. What made you
decide that you had to lose such a lot of weight? Did someone say something to you?
Has something happened to you recently?

You said that you have recently lost 20lbs by starving yourself- which has worked but it
sounds like you want to lose more weight. Crash dieting has worked for you in the past
but you have realised that it is putting a strain on your body. If you want to lose more
weight then it's important to do it, like you have mentioned, in a healthy way. You need to
decide what is a good weight for your height and body shape and if you want to lose more
weight this can be done in a safe way.

You asked if you could be bulimic, people who suffer from bulimia or anorexia often: have
weight loss, periods stopping in girls, avoid fattening foods, have difficulty sleeping, feel
out of control and feel fat when underweight. We are not doctors and can't say whether
you are bulimic or not. By being sick you will have a certain control over your weight but
you will stop your body from having essential vitamins you need to function properly. There
are side effects such as tooth decay, mouth ulcers, bad breath and it can also lead to
more long term damage to your body. If you think that you may be bulimic you could talk
to your doctor.

You also mention that you have recently started to hurt yourself using velcro to rub the
skin off your hand. People self-harm for many reasons - perhaps because they are in
emotional pain, are angry, hate themselves, feel guilty about something or feel powerless.
A person who self harms may hurt themselves by cutting, scalding, scratching, picking,
biting or scraping a part of their body. People self harm for many reasons like letting out
the pain on the inside, to punish themself or to feel like they have some control over their
own body. There are lots of other reasons and it is important to find out why you want to
hurt yourself. It may be linked to your recent problem that you have not been able to lose
more weight, there are lots of triggers and the most important thing now is for you to get
support. Counselling can help and there are help lines.

It is very important that you find someone to talk to; this could be a friend, relative,
someone who you trust. This is affecting your life and you can get the support you need to
find solutions to your problems.

You might find this website helpful:

www.youthnet.org
www.b-eat.co.uk

Or you can phone the following help lines:

The Line 0800 511111

B-eat 0845 634 7650

Again, thanks for your email and if you need any more information please contact us
again.

Regards

Q2A

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