Think my friend is annorexic

[Slink]

I have just come back from a lovley day at some friends for dinner, and another of our friends turned up and she is sooooooooo skinny, she just pushed her food around the plate making it look like she had eaten something. When i spoke to her she denied all saying she went for a meal last night and had over eaten.

How can i help her? she is so bad at returning my calls. Her dp said he didn't love her coz she was sooo skinny.. great help and support he is. What shall i do???????

Hi Slink

You must be worried for your friend - she's lucky you are looking out for her.
Best thing to do initially would be for you to call the Eating Disorders Association helpline to talk in more detail about the signs you have seen (www.edauk.com), and how you can support your friend.
In general, quizzing her about food probably won't get her to open up about any problems - but instead if you can get her to talk about how she's feeling in general, that could be good for her. Instead of saying 'you've lost weight and I'm worried' you could go for something more neutral like 'you look a bit tired/you are a bit quieter than normal - is everything OK?'
It's very hard to know what to do for the best, but if she knows there is somebody there who cares about her and keeps making the effort when she probably feels really bad about herself, that may be all you can do. It just depends on when she feels ready to open up about it - it can never be rushed.

Hope that helps
Vic

Vic thank you for your reply. I have been over to see her since the weekend and she is chatting about it, she has two lovely little boys but feels fat and her dp well thats for another thread. But i have said all that you have mentioned and said also she is beautiful and that is about being healthy she has gone too far. We are going to a group in her area at the weekend. And she is a great friend she has always been there for me.

Thank you so much for your reply xx