I want to help my friend

[wannabeweightless]

A friend of my has started to not eat, and has purged int the past. And i'll admit, she's alittle on the heavier side, but im scared that her not wanting to eat will develop to serious anorexia and/or bulimia. and i want to help her so it doesnt get that far. any suggestions of what to tell her or do when the topic of her eatting habits, or her weight gets brought up?

[Agoraphobia♥]

Hey there, I think you just need to remind your friend that you will always love her for her and she doesn't need to resort to these drastic measures to be pretty because everyone is beautiful in their own way. It's hard for someone to accept these thoughts when they don't agree but just be there for her. Don't scold her when she slips up, she can't help it, eating disorders are just that. Disorders, after someone falls in that cycle it can be very hard to try to think differently about one's self and food. Be there for her at times when things are hard and praise her when she's taken a step towards getting better. When someone is dealing with an eating disorder of any kind, the best thing you can do is be their support because trust me, they need a friend there to tell them it'll be okay and that they are pretty. She probably knows the dangers, but just remind her that she is beautiful.

You could maybe also help her towards healthy eating, and give her some facts on eating disorders that she may not know, such as not eating slows down your metabolism so when you eat your body stores the fat in fear it won't get any more nutrition for a long time again. Help her to see how unhealthy this is and how she could lose more weight if she wanted to through a healthy diet. Like I said before, just be her support system and try to steer her in the right direction, but don't pester her into it. Just try to help as best you can and be there when she needs you. That's all you really can do and I know from experience it will make a lot of difference, slowly but surely.

[Heartlines.]

Be there to support her. I know that seems hard, but support her in HEALTHY weight loss. Tell her how to exercise and eat healthy. Maybe go to the gym with her, and eat healthy with her. It's easier to do things the healthy way when there is motivation from people you care about. Tell her your fears. And make sure she knows the risks to not eat and throwing up food. Also, tell her how beautiful you think she is. And you do love her. If she asks if she is fat, don't tell her she is. But tell her that if she wants to lose weight then there are healthy ways to do it, and that you'll help her.