Something that bothered me regarding a possible anorexic

[freaker]

This is really bothering me. Tonight I was at CVS getting some anti-biotics and cough drops. There was this girl at the counter who was absolutely gorgeous, but I couldn't believe how skinny she was. Her arms must have been smaller than 8". I don't see how someone could be that skinny unless they were anorexic or on drugs. Despite being emaciated, I'm sure she gets plenty of attention from guys, but I could really detect that she had low self esteem and she had a hard time looking at me. Although I noticed her looks, I wasn't interested in any romantic way, not to mention that she could have been under 18 and had what appeared to be an engagement ring on. I wanted to say something to help her, but of course she would have been 100% unreceptive to some guy who was shorter than her and weighed well over twice what she did. Many formerly anorexic women end up overcoming their sickness through fitness, and she might be receptive to such a person, but it just bothers me and I wish there was someway to slip her a fitness magazine or some way to help her because I see no way someone could naturally be that skinny. Maybe my feelings are partially some male-related control thing, but I really feel bad for her.

[imperfectly_lou]

You're right, she may have been suffering from an eating disorder. But she may also have cancer or similar. There are also girls out there that are just plain thin, and they resent being called anorexic when they are just like that.

I used to suffer from anorexia, and the thought of anyone approaching me, let alone a stranger, was absolutely horrifying. It is nice that you were concerned, but unfortunately, people suffering from EDs need to find their own reasons and will to recover.

You mentioned she looked very young. That is often quite common too. I have friends with EDs who are in their late 20s and still look like teenagers.

[mrs.hi-c]

My sister is 35 years old, barely 5 foot 2 and weighs somewhere around 95 pounds. She's tiny--only time she ever broke 100 is when she was pregnant. I know people must think she's anorexic, but she's always had that frame and super-high metabolism. The woman eats more than me--and that's a lot! Speaking from that experience, I'd hold off on the fitness magazine giving-'cause you don't know her whole situation.

mrs.hi-c

[mrmit]

As previously mentioned she may be just skinny. At 16 I was 5'4 and 100 lbs and unable to gain weight dispite my inactivity and bad eating habits. I was only able to gain weight through weightlifting. You cannot help someone you don't know.

[freaker]

This thread was mostly a way for me to talk about something that bothered me because realistically it would probably do more harm than good for me to say something to a stranger nor would I try to give them a magazine or talk to them about fitness. People do have to make their own decisions. I definitely know nothing of her situation but since her face appeared perfectly healthy (not sucked up like a drug addict) and her arms were Ethiopian thin, my first thought was anorexia. She also reminded me of someone I used to know who had some anorexia issues.