I came across a post on Jezebel (yes I stalk Jezebel, lets move on) anyway, I came across this post about Anorexia groups popping up left and right on Facebook. It didn’t surprise me since these “pro-ana” groups can be found almost everywhere online: Youtube, Myspace, and some even have their own domains. Just as easily as you can find a support group to help you quit smoking or a community for collecting comic books, you can find groups dedicated to eating disorders; and quite frankly it’s disturbing.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not disturbing because these young women and men have eating disorders, it’s disturbing because instead of being used as a vehicle to help recover or at least control, many of the groups recruit, or further encourage the behavior. As Jezebel points out, “It’s important to note that the line between helpful and hurtful when it comes to internet discussion of eating disorders is very thin (no pun intended). According to Newsweek, a recent study shows ‘50 percent of teens who visited sites ostensibly devoted to eating disorder recovery also learned new weight-loss tips.’ ”

I actually wrote a paper in high school on anorexia. Consequently  I began to visit sites like these, and although I never became truely anorexic/bulimic, I did develop some bulimic tendencies, just from looking at the propaganda pictures they plaster everywhere. I can only imagine what visiting a “pro” site, or group could do to an actual anorexic or bulimic person.

Luckily sites like Facebook and Youtube shut down the accounts of users who abuse their sites for “pro-ana” propoganda, but I think it should extend more than just blocking the person’s IP address I mean, who’s to say they won’t just join another Ana/Mia site? I think that if they’re also going to shut down the groups and such, they should also make them aware of actual communities that can help them, not encourage them to hurt themselves.

If you need help with an eating disorder, don’t seek it on those “pro ana” and “pro mia” sites. Get real support:

National Institute of Mental Health

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

Academy for Eating Disorders

http://www.aedweb.org/

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders

http://www.anad.org/

National Eating Disorders Association

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/