Am I developing an eating disorder?

[MisterNobody]

I'll keep this short. I'm severely depressed. I sleep 3/4 of the day. I stay awake long enough to attend college/do homework and then I'm beat. I'm very calorie-conscious... I'm within the normal weight range for someone my height. But lately I've been too nauseated to eat and I flat-out refuse most of the time. I've been eating anywhere between 300-800 calories a day (usually between 300-500 on average) and I feel extremely self-conscious after eating. I know I'm not fat, I don't look fat, but I feel fat. I never thought I'd ever think like this, and it just came on all of a sudden... it's scaring me. I literally have to force myself to eat... and I'm so cold/weak when I don't. I still drink water and take my vitamins, but I just don't want to eat anymore. What's happening to me?

[xxPerryPlatypusxx]

you should probably consider seeking a guidance Councillor or something
eating disorders are serious conditions and need immediate medical attention
It can cause long term health problems
I suggest you speak to your parents. please get help :(

[Malcolm Tucker]

In my opinion, it seems like it's a by-product (for lack of a better term) of the depression. It's known that when one goes through depression, it's not uncommon for one to have changes to appetite, like what you described above.

I'd advise talking to someone, about all of it, not just about the eating concerns you mentioned. Maybe a friend you'd entrust with this, a family member, teacher, or even a profession if you haven't already done so like a doctor or a counsellor. We here at VT are here for you as well, to lend an ear and a shoulder, if needs be.

:hug:

[MisterNobody]

Maybe it is a side effect of the depression... but I feel in control when I eat less and less... I get a sort of high, so to speak... I don't know. This is freaking me out.

[Malcolm Tucker]

Maybe it is a side effect of the depression... but I feel in control when I eat less and less... I get a sort of high, so to speak... I don't know. This is freaking me out.

While I wouldn't, nor anyone else on this site, could definitively say whether it is an eating disorder, or not, I think you'd need to find out what it is about eating less and less that causes you to get "a sort of high". If it is freaking you out then I'd strongly suggest going to see someone about it, because eating as little as the above mentioned calorie figures on a regular basis, then it may be harmful in the long-run. A doctor, or a counsellor would be the best for this.

[Jinxxy]

My Depression borderlines the Severe category (for Britain) and however cliché it sounds - I know how you feel.

I don't count calories, but I do check my weight. I moved out of my mum's place after I'd had enough of her abuse the November just gone and at that point, I was 5ft 2" and I weighed 6 stone/84 pounds which is considered severely underweight - basically, I was anorexic.

I moved out, met a great guy and moved in with him and his family - I'm now 7 stone 2 pounds/100.8 pounds on the BMI scale... Still a bit underweight, but I'm happier now :)

I used to have a friend with severe anxiety - She could never leave the house, but she was trying to "learn" how to eat.

This is the advice I gave her (and this worked) - make food that is healthy, but you enjoy very much and eat it while doing something you enjoy (watching TV, reading a book, dancing around in your room to music while taking forkfuls as you dance past) :)

Vitamins and water won't help you raise your weight or get healthy. Plus, eating will help your mental state get better :)

I hope this helped, I can help you put on weight, if you like? :) All you have to do is message me ^_^

[MisterNobody]

Thank you, that's actually a great suggestion - eating while doing something I enjoy. I'm in the habit of eating extremely healthy - I'm vegetarian - and I don't want to put on weight. I just have to eat again. But we'll see what happens. Thanks again < 3

[Fiction]

I don't think you have an eating disorder, but you may be on your way to developing one, like you said in your title. It is going to be easier at this point than in any point in the future to help yourself. From my experience, eating disorders can develop from depression. I'd been depressed for years and I self-harmed. My eating disorder started as a continuation of my self-harm, just another way to harm myself. It also gave me something to work for and to concentrate on, when depression had stolen all my motivation in other areas. Now obviously only you know if it's something similar, but if it is maybe try something else to work towards. I haven't really got any suggestions about what because I don't know you, but something that you enjoy doing and set yourself goals.

Eating disorders are possible to get through. And at the end of the day the thing about EDs is that you have two choices; get better or die, and it's going to be easier to get better now than at any time in the future.