Since writing my last blog I noticed a lot of interest centred on the term “fake anorexic”. I never suspected it would be such a common Google search.
In my previous posts I spoke of Jane*, a girl I used to work with who constantly complained to be fat and started vocalising radical eating habits that she didn’t commit to.
Jane is not in any way suffering with an eating disorder. She drank Mountain Dew every day, never skipped meals and snacked on chocolates and candy whenever she went to gush over herself in the staffroom mirror. I had worked with Jane for two years before this started so I know exactly what she is like. I know she likes to be centre of attention, and the fake anorexia saga came after her stalker, a love affair with her college professor and being a successful fashion blogger – none of which are true.
This is what I meant when I said that Jane was fake anorexic. I monitored her eating of course, and regularly invited her for a date night with food and cocktails. It was just clear she liked to say things to get a reaction – a trait I have noticed a lot of people use.
Nowadays Jane has been demoted to Facebook Friend only, mainly due to work commitments. But in the last few years I’ve realised the term is more boarder than initially thought.
I’m no expert and this is just my opinion, but I think that the fake anorexics can fall into three categories:
1. ATTENTION SEEKER – Like Jane, someone who likes to get a reaction from people. They like to have people fussing over them at all times and don’t like it when someone else attempts to steal the spotlight. Without knowing them well or knowing their personality; it could take time to realise they aren’t telling you the whole truth. However it is important to mention – sometimes people say things to get attention because they actually need help. I’d say always monitor the situation, like I did taking Jane for food or bringing in snacks to work.
2. THE FANOREXIC – The hype of the media about skinny being beautiful is everywhere. I’ll not bother with the lectures here - but with every mannequin, magazine spread, perfume advert, is it any wonder why people go on diets or skip meals? I don’t think a fanorexic is the same as someone who attention seeks. Whereas they want attention, a fanorexic would prefer to just be seen as “normal”. I get this, I suppose this is what I used to be when I left school and I’d calorie count because I didn’t want to gain weight like my sister. I’d say it wasn’t like having a real disorder – there was no underlining fear, just a worry that I could become fat.
3. RECOVERED ANOREXIC – Alison* used to suffer an eating disorder pushing twenty years ago. If she had not disclosed this to me then I would have assumed she was a Fake Anorexic because she only eats porridge and salad, will vocalise not being able to eat any treats like chocolate and fusses endlessly about needing exercise. It can be a little annoying listening to her, but I wanted to say that it is important to understand the difference between Alison and Jane. I imagine that I will talk a lot about each of them in this new blog – highlight the differences between.
Any Eating disorder is a potentially fatal. What Jane does seems to knock its seriousness – I mean it’s like someone pretending to have cancer just to get empathy.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I cannot change Jane. She is who she is. What I can do is take pride in how I deal with people like her. If anyone has similar stories or different views, please share them. Again I am not a doctor, this is only my opinion.
Love Nikki
