The thin Web line

By By Liz Nartowicz

Thursday, April 20, 2006

At 4, convinced that she was fat, Darcy started starving herself. By 11, Darcy was wolfing down laxatives, diuretics and diet pills to lose weight. But Darcy says she felt in control of her habits until she discovered the Internet and got her first glimpse into online anorexia.

She was 15 when she wandered onto a “pro-ana” page — a Web site that promotes anorexia, or “ana,” and offers tips on how to lose weight. Darcy, now 21, says she thought these sites full of “thinspiration” (photos of emaciated models) were fabulous. She enjoyed the pro-ana sites’ weight loss tricks so much that at 16 she created her own site. Darcy says her site’s intention was to “help” other anoretics in their sickness — meaning share ways to lose weight.

Darcy decorated her site, called Finding My Wings, with gaunt goddesses and wasted away waistlines. But while these photos inspired her, it was the tips and tricks part of her page that Darcy turned to most. From her online interactions, Darcy says, she learned more ways to lose weight. Taking suggestions from her forum, Darcy started dabbling in dangerous weight loss techniques.

She graduated from restriction to purging, which she did as often as 20 times a day. She experimented with extreme exercise routines and diets. She traded in her diet pills for an antihistamine trick she read on her pro-ana site. Darcy scarfed down “handfuls” of antihistamines daily.

“They kept me so out of it that I didn’t have the presence of mind to think about eating, much less do it,” Darcy says.

The antihistamine abuse eventually sent Darcy to the hospital. It was here, hovering at 85 pounds, that Darcy realized her pro-ana sites were romanticizing the disorder. Lying in her hospital bed, Darcy reached her lowest point.

“I purged into my bedpan because I thought the combination of toast and the IV would make me fat,” Darcy says.

It was then that Darcy decided to change her Web site from a pro-anorexia slant, to a pro-survival pitch.

More than 10 million Americans struggle with anorexia, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. The disorder, most prevalent among women 11 to 25, has long been a subject of interest and debate. On- and off-line, anorexics and medical professionals quarrel over the disorder’s cause and remedy. But with pro-ana sites’ content changing from promoting the disease to managing it, the divide is slowly shrinking. Both Web site creators and medical professionals are beginning to investigate the possible benefits of an online community for eating disorder sufferers. But while evidence suggests this new wave of “ana” sites have the potential to discredit the old and offer advice to all, both sides of the debate remain leery of abuse.

Anorexia has been classified as a mental illness for decades, says Dr. Doug Bunnell, member of the board of directors for the NEDA. The psychological components and thought disturbances associated with anorexia clearly distinguish it as a mental illness, Bunnell says. But sites like Ana’s Underground Grotto, plagueangel.net/grotto, vehemently declare otherwise. According to the Web site, “anorexia is regarded as a lifestyle and a choice, not an illness or disorder.”

The lifestyle viewpoint is the driving factor behind pro-ana sites, says Katie Weber, Homboldt freshman. Weber, who visited pro-ana sites when struggling with anorexia, recognizes anorexia as a disorder but emphasizes it as a choice.

“It’s at the back of every girl’s mind: should I eat today or starve myself?” Weber says.

Helen, 16, says her starvation was a personal choice, and her site Ashes Of One, geocities/ashes_of_one, reflects that mentality. Helen doesn’t see her anorexia as a disorder, but rather a decision to lose weight. Ashes Of One is more for those who embrace anorexia as a lifestyle than an illness, Helen says. Besides boasting a “thinspiration” gallery, Ashes Of One posts the Ana Psalm and Creed. The Psalm and Creed are the universal, ‘unbreakable’ rules for anoretics to live by. They encourage fasting and reject recovery.

While Helen and others maintain their eating habits are an individual’s rational choice, research suggests a strong genetic link. A correlation between anorexia and chromosomes 1 and 11 has been established, says Beth McGilley, Wichita psychologist and eating disorders specialist. Seventy percent of anoretic cases are linked to heredity, McGilley says. But, she says, genetics aren’t the only driving force behind anorexia. Many social and circumstantial aspects contribute as well.

“Genetics loads the gun, but culture pulls the trigger,” McGilley says.

It was the recognition that pro-ana sites might be pulling the trigger that made Darcy revamp her site. To show the ‘real’ side of anorexia, Darcy removed the frail models on her page and replaced them with photos of caged mice and desolate individuals. Her remodeled site, now painted with wings and the words “life” and “hope”, represents the new generation of ana Web sites. No longer recruiting or encouraging, the ‘new’ ana sites offer compassion.

“They support each others’ health, not death,” Darcy says.

With a change in attitude comes a change in reception. Researchers now are exploring possible benefits to the altered sites, including anonymity, availability, support and setting an example. A soon-to-be-published article for The Journal Of Treatment and Prevention cites these forums as “refuges for those living with the condition.” The article, by Stephanie Tierney, acknowledges the sites as places that offer understanding with no motive to foster anorexia. In fact, Tierney writes, the sites could assist both anoretics and treatment specialists in recovery.

Complete anonymity and 24-hour access are two potential benefits Tierney notes in her article. At any hour, anoretics can log online for support without the fear of being judged. Tierney says, however, that delayed responses with the lack of verbal cues could actually worsen despondent feelings. But overall, Tierney’s research shows, anorexia sites could aid in diminishing feelings of loneliness that accompany the disorder.

Because eating disorders intensify social anxiety and self-consciousness, many anoretics tend to isolate themselves, treatment specialist Ed Bloch says. This social withdrawal often results in deterioration of social skills, says Bloch, who owns Life Enrichment Center, 4830 Bob Billings Pkwy. By sharing experiences online, Bloch says, supportive sites can help individuals feel less alone while promoting a change in behavior. The Life Enrichment Center treats a variety of eating disorders.

Lauren, designer and operator of Not Otherwise Specified, lexusine.candyandrazorblades.net, says the most common response her site receives is from people “immensely” grateful to hear that someone shares their situation.

“It means a lot to know that they’re not all alone,” Lauren, 21, says.

Eating disorders can stand in the way of making connections with “real-life friends,” because of the difficulty of “coming out” to someone who may not relate, Lauren says. Online communities such as hers take some of the pressure off because everyone shares the same issue, Lauren says.

Before Lauren created Not Otherwise Specified, the term given for non-categorized eating disorders, she hosted Diagnosed Pursuit of Perfection, a type of pro-ana site she now condemns.

Kelly, creator of Ana Lifestyle, analifestyle.com, says the change in sites like Lauren’s allow not only for comfort but also for a community and recovery. Feeling alone with her anorexia, Kelly, 28, formed her site to provide a community for people dealing with the disease. Even though she feels her site does promote eating disorders as a lifestyle, Kelly says her sites’ goal was to offer a place of love and friendship.

“We need support from people who understand,” Kelly says. “Otherwise we’d go off the deep end.”

To help people struggling with anorexia, Kelly says her site has a buddy system and chat rooms. Kelly says these features, along with links to recovery sites like something-fishy.org, can actually promote health for those not ready to seek recovery and encourage those who are.

Tierney, author of the most recent research on these sites, writes in her article that professionals in the recovery field could actually benefit from visiting the sites. Because anoretics are more open on the sites, Tierney writes, professionals could visit and gain a better insight into the motives behind anorexia’s self-destructive behaviors. Some professionals are even investigating the use of online sites as therapy, Tierney writes.

Jenny Wilson, Stanford University research assistant, says that while conducting a study on the new, pro-survival sites, she saw potential for recovery sites to learn from the survival sites. Participants in the study said online sites, both pro-anorexia and pro-recovery, were too extreme, Wilson says. It would be better if the sites could learn from each other, she says, and fall somewhere between triggering the disease and being too authoritarian.

But while the benefits are still being explored, potential dangers of any site containing anorexic matters still exist. Both professionals and site creators worry that the sites could cause a relapse for someone in recovery or be misused to perpetuate harmful behaviors.

Bunnell, NEDA board of directors member, says patients are already ambivalent about their recovery and any message that paints their disorder as acceptable may prompt a relapse. Studies show that out of 100 young girls who view positive anorexic material, five or six will develop symptoms while one or two will develop the disease, Bunnell says.

Sarah, creator of pro-ana site Evanescence, evanescence.itgo.com, says in some cases the sites can be the last straw, prompting a relapse. But they can also serve as a reminder to those in recovery why they don’t want or need to relapse, Sarah, 19, says.

“It’s not a black and white issue,” Sarah says. “It’s a fine line between helpful and harmful.”

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