Have you seen her face????

Today I am greeted with "Have you seen her? Have you seen her face?" The young women with anorexia was hospitalized and her face is swollen up like a balloon. Other parts of her body have significant edema. Not a good sign. Word on the street has it that the docs told her her body is falling apart. I believe the damage is at a cellular level so she is retaining fluid everywhere. I am worried I think she has just given up and decided to let the disease win.....

Anorexic at the Gym

I have been very disturbed and upset every morning at the gym. There is a young women in her late 20's early 30's who has been working out early in the morning every day for the last 4-5 months. She started off thin, but now there is no question in my mind there is a problem. Her bones are sticking out- her spinal cord, pelvic bones. Her workout clothes are falling off. She looks like an 8 yr old. It turns out this poor women has been battling anorexia since she was 15. 15 years of having a disease controlling your life! Although I guess how is different from gaining weight. I think it is on some level- anorexia is worse, it is an obsession and compulsion and eats up every waking hour. Weight gain was not that for me, I could ignore it and pretend that others didn't see me that way. One thing I have not shared is that I did have anorexia for a short time at 14. My family was going through very difficult times and it manifested in this way for me. I was down to 80lbs but got treatment right away and it was never a problem again. Certainly my battle with food was....
Anyway I feel obligated to say something to her, offer her support although I know logically that it won't help. But if I feel that if I don't say anything, I am allowing her to continue to live in the fantasy that everything is ok and no one notices. I know, I know this is a typical female response- we can help, we can fix