AnaGirlEmpath's ProAna Education Series -- 2nd Video Is Up! :)

Understanding The ProAna Movement II:  History, Development and Censorship

The ProAna Movement remains one of the most controversial and highly-debated phenomena of our time.  In this series, I will be sharing findings from 10+ years researching ProAna.  My original question was, "Why?"  That question led to many others, and seeking answers has driven my studies since that time.  In Part II, historical information regarding medicalized support communities online; the evolution of ProAna in terms of the online dynamic, and the extensive efforts of condemnation and censorship are discussed.
Questions are welcomed and encouraged! :)

Eating Disorders and Personification: Ana? Ed? Male Or Female? ~TWR Thursdays w/ A.G.E.

It is very common for people with eating disorders to personify their ED. This is because the ED Voice and the experience of ED consciousness is experienced so much like there is an entity within, separate from self. Many patients name their disorder and intuit a gender for it as well. Ana, Mia, Ed, Rex, Eddie, Edna...the list goes on. Interestingly, female names seem to get the most flack; particularly Ana and Mia. This is likely due to the negative association with the Pro-ED stigma -- with which many people recovering from ED's are afraid to be wrongfully associated. What about you? Do you experience your ED as a Dual Consciousness? Is it a male or female presence? What do you call it? Please share!
I also share a favorite recipe of mine. ;)

AnaGirl's ProAna Education Series: First Video Is Up! :)

I just published my first video in my ProAna research and education project, "Understanding The ProAna Movement"!  Please share your thoughts, and if you like the video, please "Like" it on YouTube (you can also click "Like" at the top right of the embedded video)! :)  I am looking forward to stimulating some dialogue and I hope this video will be well-received.  Idealistic and potentially deluded of me? Possibly! LOL! ^_^

This is the video I made last month introducing this Project:

I'd love to know your thoughts! :)


Much love and be well, precious ones! <3
~A.G.E.

I'm Doing a Q&A Video Soon! Ask Me Anything (ED-related or otherwise; I'll answer all questions received)!

Shit People Say To Anorexics / People with Eating Disorders! ^_^

 

Ever seen one of the "Shit People Say" videos on YouTube?  There's a "Shit People Say" for just about everything -- "Shit People Say To Short People; Shit Healthy People Say To Sick People;" "Shit People Say To Arabs" -- you get the idea.  Well, now the ED Community has our very own version! :)
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed!  This video is a huge success in our Community and is very popular, thanks to all of the amazing submissions I received!  Several people are already asking for a Part II! LOL!  Please let me know what you think! :)  Much love! XOXOX

QUESTION:  WHAT DOES "PRO-ANA" MEAN?

ANSWER:
The two major definitions of ProAna are based on the two most common populations who embrace the term as an identifying descriptor:
1. Individuals suffering from Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or other restrictive eating disorders (ED's): Commonly, this approach to living with an ED stems from barriers to treatment and a subsequent desire to reach out and connect with kindred sufferers for support. They may or may not be recovery-oriented. Genuine ED sufferers who identify as ProAna embrace the term as PROACTIVE IN ANOREXIA - making the most of their Lives despite their disorder. This group includes those for whom treatment is inadequate, inaccessible or unwanted.
2. Individuals who covet pathology; who emulate anorexic behaviors and WANT to cultivate and celebrate ED's within themselves (aka "wanarexics").  These individuals have taken an historical empowerment motto and twisted it's intended meaning to a literal interpretation (i.e., a disavowal of victim mentality as an empowerment strategy -- they actually believe that "Anorexia is a Lifestyle, Not A Disease." These are individuals who do NOT have ED's but wish they did; those who strive to attain the extremely thin physique exhibited in long-term anorexics; who emulate the eating-disordered practices which manifest in AN patients.
The former are seeking a new approach to living with these insidious illnesses; reaching out when current treatment modalities have failed to help. The articulation of the "Ana Creed" and "Ana Psalm"; "Thin Commandments" and "Letters from Ana or Mia" were intended as CREATIVE ALLITERATIONS; explorations of the ED psyche - they were NEVER meant to be taken literally! This is a critical issue. Wanarexics have embraced these creative works as literal tenets for "how to become anorexic."
The latter are resented by genuine sufferers who know all-too-well that ED's are not glamorous or cool or chic in any way.

_______________

If a significant portion of the above text looks familiar, it is (at least to those who read my original essay on the issue, published first on Project Shapeshift's Tumblr page.  I recently answered a question regarding what ProAna means, and I thought I'd share the updated answer here.  I am also working on a major edit (with research citations) for the Wikipedia sections on ProAna (main and subcategory under the ED section).  I have updated my previous article to be more professional and less "insider-only"/colloquial, and I decided to share it here. <3  Thoughts?

PROJECT SHOUTOUT! My First 4! :)

***TWO NAME SPELLING ERRORS! AGH! *headdesk*
CORRECT SPELLINGS: @MalinGunilla and @LuvingLolita ***
Project Shoutout was conceived from the knowledge that WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER! :)  Vlogging can be intimidating, especially if you're new!  Support is so critical in this Journey, and reaching out can be particularly difficult for ED sufferers. Well, screw that!  Come join us!  We love you!  Tell me your YouTube name, share age if you like, which eating disorder you have and how we can best support you and I will include you in a shoutout video!  You can also submit a name of someone who could use a shoutout, or someone influential in the Community whom everyone should know.  Want to make your own? Submit any shoutout as a video response to this video!  Let's get connected everyone!
~*Much Love & Be Well, Precious Ones!*~

PROJECT SHOUTOUT: Why?

PROJECT SHOUTOUT!  Why?

 Project Shoutout was conceived from the knowledge that WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER! :)  Vlogging can be intimidating, especially if you're new!  Support is so critical in this Journey, and reaching out can be particularly difficult for ED sufferers. Well, screw that!  Come join us!  We love you!  Tell me your YouTube name, share age if you like, which eating disorder you have and how we can best support you and I will include you in a shoutout video!  You can also submit a name of someone who could use a shoutout, or someone influential in the Community whom everyone should know.  Want to make your own? Submit any shoutout as a video response to this video!  Let's get connected everyone!
~*Much Love & Be Well, Precious Ones!*~

PROJECT SHOUTOUT! Connecting Eating Disorder / Anorexia / Bulimia / EDNOS Vloggers (Esp. New Ones)!

PROJECT SHOUTOUT! Connecting Eating Disorder / Anorexia / Bulimia / EDNOS Vloggers (Esp. New Ones)!
Project Shoutout was conceived from the knowledge that WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER! :)  Vlogging can be intimidating, especially if you're new!  Support is so critical in this Journey, and reaching out can be particularly difficult for ED sufferers. Well, screw that!  Come join us!  We love you!  Tell me your YouTube name, share age if you like, which eating disorder you have and how we can best support you and I will include you in a shoutout video!  You can also submit a name of someone who could use a shoutout, or someone influential in the Community whom everyone should know.  Want to make your own? Submit any shoutout as a video response to this video!  Let's get connected everyone!
~*Much Love & Be Well, Precious Ones!*~

Processing The Journey: A Poem I Wrote Some Time Ago Regarding My Walk With Ana and The Point Of Choosing Life

We often ponder where the turning point lies -- when we find that we are poised upon the precipice of the choice between Life and Death.  The following work was shared on Project Shapeshift on April 2, 2010:


"I was reading a work by Kodou, and the following empathic processing ensued:


I am transported --
To a different time
A different place
A former Life
As a different wife...

Wedded in Black to Ana in absolute dark devotion,
I have stood in that place;
Faced the Inquisition before every reflective surface...

This netherworld where all who slip over the Thin Red Line find themselves...
Into the soul-annihilating abyss of overt AN...
At once beautiful and hideous
Wondrous and devastating
Alluring and most toxic
Terrifying and irresistible
The most exquisite torture, and yet
There is Pleasure here

She beckons, always
Her whispers milk and honey --
Promising Absolution
Purification
Ascension
Enlightenment
NirvAna

Nothing but the velvet kiss of Death will free me from this rapacious seduction; this defiled Lifepath,
Chasing Ana and Her elusive promises over the edge and into the Inverse of Living itself

I must fight -- with every breath
Deny the potent desire of my own heart
Stand vigilantly against what feels so natural...
But is unquestionably my ultimate demise

Locked in the tenuous throes of opposing wills,
I resist the longing;
Close my eyes against the corruptive enchantment of AnaVision
Close my mind against Numberlust
Seek that which is intrinsically ME
Within a tainted being, where Ana's signature blurs the boundaries of self and AnaConsciousness
For if I falter; if I relax
Even for a moment
She will win
And this will be the end.


See my reading of this work on YouTube: Processing The Healing Journey: Anorexia Nervosa

Sharing Some Writing...

‎"I do not think the rates of eating disorders [in men and in general] are increasing. I think AWARENESS is increasing -- and raising Awareness encourages and empowers those stigmatized [for any reason] to come forward; to find and then add their Voice to the cause; to speak out and refuse to maintain their silence."
~AnaGirlEmpath, manuscript excerpt, "Notes From The Field: A Treatise On The Eating Disorder Experience"