The fight!

[Ashley-Kate]

Eating Disorder Statistics

PREVALENCE

• It is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder ? seven million women and one million men
• One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia
• Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia
• Nearly half of all Americans personally know someone with an eating disorder (Note: One in five Americans suffers from mental illnesses.)
• An estimated 10 ? 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males

MORTALITY RATES

• Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
• A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that 5 ? 10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease; 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years and only 30 ? 40% ever fully recover
• The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 ? 24 years old.
• 20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems

As an anorexic-bulimic, looking at these statistics has always reminded me that i probably would never recover, it has always reminded me that i have one of the mental disorders that has the highest mortality rate and it was like that in itself gave me a reason to try a little less harder because well it was proven that i only had a 30-40% chance of full recovery.

I am looking at it today after spending 3 days in bed not doing anything contemplating when and how i was going to take my own life and then i thought, really am i really going to allow myself to be another statistic to higher the rate of mortality for this disorder am i really going to allow myself to be the reason in 10 years from now another little girl will look at those statistics and think well i can't make it because the stats are against me. No i am going to be the one that tips "the scale" I am going to be the one that fights this and beats it, I am going to be the one that looks straight into the eyes of all the people that didn't believe in me and prove to them they don't know the disease as well as they thought. I am going to be the one 10 years from now that looks another little girl in the eyes and tells her we are going to fight this together, I am not going to give up on her, I am going to fight this so that one day i will be strong enough to help others fight it as well but not alone. So i guess i have had a very bad last few months and i am still very depressed but i am also not one to let some stupid unprofessional psychiatrist tell me i am not going to make it, I rise up to challenge, if someone told me i couldn't lose 10 pounds i would do it, if someone told me i was not that thin i would lose more to show them that i was "that thin" and now they are telling me i am chronic and i won't make it, well I am going to show them that they don't know me at all. just thought i would share my thoughts.

 

[suewatters1]

Re: the fight!

Ashley you are such a fighter I know you will win this fight. Also don't let some stupid unprofessional psychiatrist tell you you are not going to make it. That Psychiatrist is not being very professional if they tell a patient they don't believe they will get better. That DR should be disbarred. 30% or 40% odds on winning your battle is better then 0%. I got this disease called CIDP. The odds of getting are 1-100,000 or from a flu shot 1 in a Million and I got it from a flu shot. I think your odds of winning is very high because you are continually looking for help either by coming on these boards to get help or getting counseling and stuff. You never stop trying to help yourself. It shows you are not a quitter you are a fighter and got lots of fights left in you. You are going to succeed and will achieve so much in your long life time I can picture it now in my head you as a older woman giving lectures to kids at a University on Eating Disorders. I see you being such an advocate for this cause.
You are going to go so far in life and live to an nice old age that we all strive to achieve.
You have so much guts. I am proud of you and how hard you are fighting this fight and we are all behind you

Sue

 

[adaptive1]

Re: the fight!

That is the spirit Ashley, no one has the right to tell you that you won't get better, that you will be a statistic. I can sense you are getting stronger every day.

 

[Ashley-Kate]

Re: the fight!

I spent so much time in the last week being sad about everything and today was the first day that i realised that i am really mad at them all, am really mad sad as well depressed as well but upset and in furiated with them. I was too busy being sad to realise anything else. today i did feel stronger, inspight of having a very down day i felt so strong about this hole thing. thank you

 

[David Baxter PhD]

See also Full Recovery from an Eating Disorder is Possible. | Psychology Today

 

[forgetmenot]

Anger can be a good way to pull one out of that darkness i have used it many times to keep me here You should be angry at anyone that tell you what they did. You will survive because you are a survivor Ashley-Kate
hell you have showed us all what it is like to be a fighter. I will say again you can beat this illness i have seen it been beat under the guidance of a good professional your doctor you can beat this and you will.

 

[Retired]

i am also not one to let some stupid unprofessional psychiatrist tell me i am not going to make it, I rise up to challenge

Ashley,

You are an inspiration. Your post was the first thing I read this morning, and your remarks have helped to make my day! Carry on, you will succeed!

 

[Ashley-Kate]

thank you all, yeah i even reread my post to try and fight away any discouragment and i am impressed.. thank you all very much. I guess i came to realise that i have never been a quitter even with the eating disorder i have never been a quitter i felt i needed her and there was no way anyone was going to take her away, and now i see she is distroying me i don'T need her anymore, i admit i don't really know anything else but i am more mature now and i can understand i chose the e-d to help me survive 13 years ago and now that i have survived i think i am ready to start living again