A Disorder by Any Other Name

Ana, Mia, Ed, and Ben. Deb, Sue, and Cat. Would they be the same roses by any other name? Or does giving them an identity give tragic disorders far more respect than they deserve?

One of my Tweeples posted a very wise observation on personification of eating disorders on her blog A Mirror That Doesn't Matter.

"Eating disorders are not their own entity. They don't have souls or personalities. But rather, they steal yours. They take your essence and change it from the inside-out."

I strongly recommend reading the rest. It is her opinion, but regardless of everyone's different views, it is a very interesting perspective and worth considering.

These days the nicknames for disorders are often used to romance the illness. When the names began it was different. Back in ancient times, we used the names to hide what we were talking about. They began as code so those in the know could speak openly without others knowing or judging what they were talking about. Kinda like girls discussing the latest visit from Aunt Flo. But it has changed a lot. Are the names a way of expressing what is already going on, or are they a way of glorifying something dangerous? Comment what you think in the "messages in bottles" below.

For any new to this world, here is the key to Eating Disorder Nicknames and a few others:

: Ana :
Anorexia Nervosa: The cause. Not to be confused with the symptom of anorexia. Often used by diagnosed anorexics or the ProAna community of also anorexics and many wannarexics. Ana represents starvation, control, "quod me nutrit, me destruit" - what nourishes me destroys me (latin), extreme deprivation, and so much more... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_nervosa

: Ben/Betty :
Binge Eating Neurotic Disorder: aka BEND (or being on a BENDer), officially BED (Binge Eating Disorder). This is like bullemia without the puke. If anorexia is to starve yourself to disaster or death, binge benders are for eating yourself to death. The United States is known for having a ProBen culture in general, consuming to compensate for other issues, causing obesity, hording, etc. Sometimes for gratification, sometimes as a weapon of self harm... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_eating_disorder

: Mia :
Bullemia Nervosa: The act of eating then purging, rinse, repeat. Often built on Ben, Mia takes things a step further with ridding yourself of the binge at great cost to your health, often creating the symptom of anorexia without the control of anorexia nervosa. There is also a ProMia community, often overlapping with the ProAna world, but not always... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullemia

: Ed/Edna :
Eating Disorder: Often refers to all eating disorders in general or to EDNOS in particular. This can mean any combination of the above personas and tends to be varied person to person. As each disorder has differences person to person, so does Ed... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDNOS

Disclaimer - I've had eating disorders my whole life, but I'm not officially diagnosed and those are my largest problems. I am a PMDD sufferer which has dipped me into severe depression and occasional suicidal proximity, but when I'm not hormonally imbalanced, I do not feel those things. I have never participated in communities related to the following disorders, so I don't know them as well. No judgments. I have nothing but love for everyone. I admittedly avoid these things for a variety of reasons. Mainly because the death toll in my life due to suicide and depression is very high and I have a hard time being constructive with living people heading that way. I blame myself. I have limits, and that's one of them. I'll keep these definitions shorter.

: Deb :
Depression: Who doesn't know this one? Most of us related to any of the above categories experience depression. This one should speak for itself. Often associated with clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)...and more... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_(mood)

: Sue :
Suicidal Tendencies: This can be deep contemplation of ending your own life, attempts to kill yourself, true cries for help, attention whore cries for help, or just attention whoring. The spectrum makes it a very delicate subject and not one to take lightly. As a PMDD sufferer, I can say that the chemical imbalance can make even a generally happy person contemplate suicide, and I've been there many times. I can also offer that of the 10+ people I've lost in my life to suicide, NONE of them indicated very openly that they might do it. And thankfully all of those close to me who expressed interest never went through with it. I'm going to stop talking about it now though because that is where my constructive observations end. Too painful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_crisis

: Cat :
Cutting: Self harm by cutting. This is a large community and affects a lot of people. It is deliberate self harm and is associated with more disorders than I know of... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_harm

There are a lot more too...

Perry : Paranoia
Addie : ADD
Olive : OCD
Sophie : Schitzophrenia
Nia/Izzy : Insomnia

Some people have different names for the same, but these are the ones I see around the most.