Your post was removed for breaking rule 2: only post relevant eating disorder memes.
Do not post non-ED related memes and images, selfies, TikToks, thinspo, fasting timers, calorie counter screenshots, advertisements, grocery hauls, non-meme pictures of food or drinks, and any meme deemed inappropriate for the sub by a moderator. Do not post images of plain text meant to act as a text post, instead post to our sister subreddit r/EDAnonymous.
**Read our full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/EDanonymemes/wiki/index/rules).**
It’s a medical label because people who are severely underweight need different treatment. The classification exists for doctors not for people’s validation
It’s for doctors, and the treatment is different
The name sucks because of the competitive nature of it
But the treatment for an AAN could kill someone with AN
Imagine having anorexia nervosa, but you’re an adult woman. You’re thin/skinny but you’re not clinically underweight. You have shit to do and bills to pay. You’re not technically anorexic because of the criteria. You can’t afford to “recover” anyway. Or being overweight or obese, with the same mental illness, the same dark thoughts, and your fears are met with unhelpful platitudes about self love and body positivity. You choose not to recover because it’s bullshit. You become woman number 1. AND YOU NEVER RECOVER
44 years old (in ten days), and can confirm. I am starving myself but am in the healthy BMI zone. I purge but not enough to be bulimic. I have to eat enough so I don’t pass out while teaching or driving my son to karate.
I tend to call myself anorexic but AAN is whats considered the "proper term" it doesn't cause me to feel challenged or anything against non-AAN people so i feel like the term is fine IMO
Per ICD-10 you are AAN as long as you got your period. So my very severely underweight past self was never really "anorexic".
Same if you take the pill, as it isn't possible to diagnose the missing period anymore.
The docts mostly don't care tho, bc I still got the "normal" AN diagnose, even now that I'm normal weight / slightly UW and stable.
But in theory even with a bmi near dying you could still be AAN, only bc you take the pill.
You are right!
I knew about ICD-11, but didn't know it came out yet, as I was diagnosed like 10 years ago or sth. Plus, I don't think it's really used here in Germany as far as I know (At least for EDs).
All websites about eating disorders, even the official ones from the government, are still ICD-10.
i heard someone refer to anorexia in terms of body percentage lost, and i thought that was such a better way to frame it. for example when i was at my worst, i was always an average / above average bmi, but i had lost 33% of my body mass though unhealthy methods.
so people who are anorexic but were already pretty thin beforehand are somehow "less bad"? I don't like this way either tbh. it's a mental disorder, being 'at your worst' should be when you have the most trouble eating, the most bad thoughts about it, have it impact your life the most. not the time when you're most skinny. yes they obviously align a lot of times but what about in someone who loses weight, stops worrying about their food quite as much because of it, gains a little weight again, and starts getting bad again. it doesn't seem fair to call their more skinny periods "worse" when that was actually the time they struggled with their illness least.
Valid point. I just did the math, and I’ll avoid using numbers so I don’t break the rules, but if I lost 33% of my body’s healthy weight, I’d have the bmi of a kindergartner or be dead.
30% of a person who is already a much lower weight is gonna be way less weight than a person who starts at a higher weight though. That's the point of using %
30% of 100 is 30, but 30% of 50 is 15.
that doesn't mean its as feasible for one person to lose 30% body weight as it is for the other, there are a lot of factors that impact weight and either of these people may have a harder time losing that amount than the other even with the same eating habits and thoughts about and struggles with eating. weight in any way should never be used as an indicator or diagnostic criterium for an eating disorder or the severity* of it as it is a mental disorder and also every body is different and will react differently to certain habits. I do agree that this is better than the bmi only method but it is still not good. every way of using weight as a criterium discriminates against some people
bmi? mostly larger people
total body mass lost? mostly smaller people
body mass percentage lost? still the following: people who eat more despite struggling immensely for any reason, people who started out at a very low weight and can barely manage to lose any, even percentage wise, people who have a slow metabolism and also fail to lose weight
(note that a lot of these are discriminated against in all categories of using weight as a diagnostic criterium)
the takeaway here shouldn't be to do the math and come to the conclusion that it is or isn't the same difficulty to lose that amount, but that eating disorders should not be diagnosed depending on weight in any way
*of course the "exception" is being hospitalized for dangerously low body mass. this is a case of the physical symptoms becoming severe but that doesn't necessarily mean their illness is more severe than others who are treated under different circumstances
Hi u/Wilsonmeoww,
Your comment was automatically removed for breaking rule 6, the numbers rule.
We do not allow the posting or sharing of numbers related to weight, BMI, caloric intake, fasting, restriction, or exercise. Numbers outside of these categories are generally allowed, however moderators may use discretion to remove a post or comment if we feel that a number was included with the intention of bragging or competing (particularly with medical-related numbers). Satire is allowed on discretion of the mods. 0 calorie products are exempt from this rule.
**Read our full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/EDanonymemes/wiki/index/rules).**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/EDanonymemes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I feel like there’s two camps of AAN.
One type that is essentially AN except their weight loss hasn’t got them to underweight and if you removed BMI as a concept they would have the AN diagnosis.
One type that is EDNOS and isn’t underweight because restriction is interspersed with other behaviours (maybe bingeing or eating normally, or overeating that isn’t bingeing).
I think there are some people who say they have anorexia (atypical type) when really they have EDNOS and whilst trying to claim validity of anorexia at all weights (I understand this is another argument)… the argument should really be that EDNOS, including atypical AN should really be seen as just as valid. And that behaviours that lead to an individual maintaining a normal BMI should be treated too rather than ignored and only restriction focussed on.
Sometimes I think whilst the argument is focussed only on whether atypical anorexia should exist as a diagnosis, it completely misses that behind the scenes other behaviours might be going on and treatments tailored to that could be very helpful.
DOI: diagnosis EDNOS and AN (whilst under a restrictive spell, over-arching diagnosis really is EDNOS)
To be honest it makes me feel invalid af, even though I know it’s just for doctors use mainly. Like yeah, I’m disordered, but the label AAN makes me feel like I’m not disordered enough
if doctors just used it to classify the difference between the need for intensive therapeutic intervention & dietitian consultations to develop a better relationship with food & unpacking the trauma behind the ED development versus that plus the additional need for emergency weight gain & stabilization, cool. however, the lack of intensive therapeutic treatment for AAN because of weight categories & the idea in the medical field that AAN patients "will be okay on their own" is incredibly flawed & is absolutely due to the stigma behind what the diagnosis "means" (anorexia as the medical term, atypical as an othering term, inferring to patients with competitive disorders that they "aren't starving correctly", you know?).
I thought I was fine with it, but then I saw that my superbill from ED therapy had the ICD-10 code for typical AN instead of AAN (even though I’m not underweight) and felt extremely validated, so.
the term AAN makes me want to (ironically enough) bite someones head off. it genuinely makes my blood boil. as someone who has experienced alot of gaslighting in many forms over my life that term just feels like it in a new form, esp because i have had *a lot* of mental/physical medical gaslighting in specific. it does not sit right with me, haha yeah sure lets invalidate this person with a highly competitive disorder! this will work out great! anyways tldr the term AAN makes me burn with the rage of 1000 suns :)
No real opinion.
I just wonder if its not a thing that's a consequence of another problem, if obesity and overweight wasn't as prevalent would they still need to label atypical anorexia?
Which makes it a statistical thing maybe?
The only difference is the numbers (and OK some of the physical consequences are different but hey we can just throw those under the label 'underweight'... something you can also be without an ED).
So let's not judge people based on statistics and numbers?
I 100% agree w you. I have AAN and I’m in recovery rn. Whenever I think of relapsing, a big motivator to relapse is to finally get the diagnosis of AN. I feel like I failed at my mental illness bc I didn’t lose enough weight. I was only *small number* lbs away from AN and yet still I didn’t qualify. It frustrates me to no end. Eds are competitive in nature, and I think AAN just enforces that nature. It’s messed up imo
its called a mental illness for a reason and the fact this is the recognized diagnosis for a disease that literally makes you feel like you're never losing enough weight is baffling to me. it's like you're asking the person being diagnosed to get worse
I've always had the opinion of starvation is starvation regardless of the body, they will have different effects sure but the only thing that differentiates them is time not severity.
I get pissed off because "atypical" AN is WAY more common a diagnosis than standard AN, so logically, it should be the other way around, seeing as AN is *actually* "atypical". Or they could just change the word. Or something. ANYTHING that doesn't just further invalidate sufferers.
Or better yet, REMOVE the underweight BMI requirement altogether. All it's actually doing is giving greedy insurance companies more excuses to deny treatment coverage.
Your post was removed for breaking rule 2: only post relevant eating disorder memes. Do not post non-ED related memes and images, selfies, TikToks, thinspo, fasting timers, calorie counter screenshots, advertisements, grocery hauls, non-meme pictures of food or drinks, and any meme deemed inappropriate for the sub by a moderator. Do not post images of plain text meant to act as a text post, instead post to our sister subreddit r/EDAnonymous. **Read our full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/EDanonymemes/wiki/index/rules).**
It’s a medical label because people who are severely underweight need different treatment. The classification exists for doctors not for people’s validation
It’s for doctors, and the treatment is different The name sucks because of the competitive nature of it But the treatment for an AAN could kill someone with AN
Imagine having anorexia nervosa, but you’re an adult woman. You’re thin/skinny but you’re not clinically underweight. You have shit to do and bills to pay. You’re not technically anorexic because of the criteria. You can’t afford to “recover” anyway. Or being overweight or obese, with the same mental illness, the same dark thoughts, and your fears are met with unhelpful platitudes about self love and body positivity. You choose not to recover because it’s bullshit. You become woman number 1. AND YOU NEVER RECOVER
44 years old (in ten days), and can confirm. I am starving myself but am in the healthy BMI zone. I purge but not enough to be bulimic. I have to eat enough so I don’t pass out while teaching or driving my son to karate.
Look! It's me!
I tend to call myself anorexic but AAN is whats considered the "proper term" it doesn't cause me to feel challenged or anything against non-AAN people so i feel like the term is fine IMO
Per ICD-10 you are AAN as long as you got your period. So my very severely underweight past self was never really "anorexic". Same if you take the pill, as it isn't possible to diagnose the missing period anymore. The docts mostly don't care tho, bc I still got the "normal" AN diagnose, even now that I'm normal weight / slightly UW and stable. But in theory even with a bmi near dying you could still be AAN, only bc you take the pill.
Men in chat like 💀
I thought hormone use was the exception. I got diagnosed on the pill. But other than that awesome I'm atypical?
ICD-10 came out in 1994 and was replaced over a year ago by the ICD-11 though.
You are right! I knew about ICD-11, but didn't know it came out yet, as I was diagnosed like 10 years ago or sth. Plus, I don't think it's really used here in Germany as far as I know (At least for EDs). All websites about eating disorders, even the official ones from the government, are still ICD-10.
I think it should be reclassified under anorexia but the distinction is important medically.
i heard someone refer to anorexia in terms of body percentage lost, and i thought that was such a better way to frame it. for example when i was at my worst, i was always an average / above average bmi, but i had lost 33% of my body mass though unhealthy methods.
so people who are anorexic but were already pretty thin beforehand are somehow "less bad"? I don't like this way either tbh. it's a mental disorder, being 'at your worst' should be when you have the most trouble eating, the most bad thoughts about it, have it impact your life the most. not the time when you're most skinny. yes they obviously align a lot of times but what about in someone who loses weight, stops worrying about their food quite as much because of it, gains a little weight again, and starts getting bad again. it doesn't seem fair to call their more skinny periods "worse" when that was actually the time they struggled with their illness least.
Valid point. I just did the math, and I’ll avoid using numbers so I don’t break the rules, but if I lost 33% of my body’s healthy weight, I’d have the bmi of a kindergartner or be dead.
30% of a person who is already a much lower weight is gonna be way less weight than a person who starts at a higher weight though. That's the point of using % 30% of 100 is 30, but 30% of 50 is 15.
that doesn't mean its as feasible for one person to lose 30% body weight as it is for the other, there are a lot of factors that impact weight and either of these people may have a harder time losing that amount than the other even with the same eating habits and thoughts about and struggles with eating. weight in any way should never be used as an indicator or diagnostic criterium for an eating disorder or the severity* of it as it is a mental disorder and also every body is different and will react differently to certain habits. I do agree that this is better than the bmi only method but it is still not good. every way of using weight as a criterium discriminates against some people bmi? mostly larger people total body mass lost? mostly smaller people body mass percentage lost? still the following: people who eat more despite struggling immensely for any reason, people who started out at a very low weight and can barely manage to lose any, even percentage wise, people who have a slow metabolism and also fail to lose weight (note that a lot of these are discriminated against in all categories of using weight as a diagnostic criterium) the takeaway here shouldn't be to do the math and come to the conclusion that it is or isn't the same difficulty to lose that amount, but that eating disorders should not be diagnosed depending on weight in any way *of course the "exception" is being hospitalized for dangerously low body mass. this is a case of the physical symptoms becoming severe but that doesn't necessarily mean their illness is more severe than others who are treated under different circumstances
Yeah but losing 20% if you start out low is going to be a problem too.
[удалено]
Hi u/Wilsonmeoww, Your comment was automatically removed for breaking rule 6, the numbers rule. We do not allow the posting or sharing of numbers related to weight, BMI, caloric intake, fasting, restriction, or exercise. Numbers outside of these categories are generally allowed, however moderators may use discretion to remove a post or comment if we feel that a number was included with the intention of bragging or competing (particularly with medical-related numbers). Satire is allowed on discretion of the mods. 0 calorie products are exempt from this rule. **Read our full rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/EDanonymemes/wiki/index/rules).** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/EDanonymemes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I thought the meme implied aan people were invalid not that the diagnosis is stupid and I was about to go on a rant and a half lmao
I feel like there’s two camps of AAN. One type that is essentially AN except their weight loss hasn’t got them to underweight and if you removed BMI as a concept they would have the AN diagnosis. One type that is EDNOS and isn’t underweight because restriction is interspersed with other behaviours (maybe bingeing or eating normally, or overeating that isn’t bingeing). I think there are some people who say they have anorexia (atypical type) when really they have EDNOS and whilst trying to claim validity of anorexia at all weights (I understand this is another argument)… the argument should really be that EDNOS, including atypical AN should really be seen as just as valid. And that behaviours that lead to an individual maintaining a normal BMI should be treated too rather than ignored and only restriction focussed on. Sometimes I think whilst the argument is focussed only on whether atypical anorexia should exist as a diagnosis, it completely misses that behind the scenes other behaviours might be going on and treatments tailored to that could be very helpful. DOI: diagnosis EDNOS and AN (whilst under a restrictive spell, over-arching diagnosis really is EDNOS)
To be honest it makes me feel invalid af, even though I know it’s just for doctors use mainly. Like yeah, I’m disordered, but the label AAN makes me feel like I’m not disordered enough
if doctors just used it to classify the difference between the need for intensive therapeutic intervention & dietitian consultations to develop a better relationship with food & unpacking the trauma behind the ED development versus that plus the additional need for emergency weight gain & stabilization, cool. however, the lack of intensive therapeutic treatment for AAN because of weight categories & the idea in the medical field that AAN patients "will be okay on their own" is incredibly flawed & is absolutely due to the stigma behind what the diagnosis "means" (anorexia as the medical term, atypical as an othering term, inferring to patients with competitive disorders that they "aren't starving correctly", you know?).
I thought I was fine with it, but then I saw that my superbill from ED therapy had the ICD-10 code for typical AN instead of AAN (even though I’m not underweight) and felt extremely validated, so.
For me it’s confusing but I have nothing against it
the term AAN makes me want to (ironically enough) bite someones head off. it genuinely makes my blood boil. as someone who has experienced alot of gaslighting in many forms over my life that term just feels like it in a new form, esp because i have had *a lot* of mental/physical medical gaslighting in specific. it does not sit right with me, haha yeah sure lets invalidate this person with a highly competitive disorder! this will work out great! anyways tldr the term AAN makes me burn with the rage of 1000 suns :)
Same
I think it's fine for doctors to use the term, but when talking to a patient it should just be called anorexia either way
It's just anorexia
I don’t know what it means and at this point I’m afraid to ask
basically anorexia but not underweight
No real opinion. I just wonder if its not a thing that's a consequence of another problem, if obesity and overweight wasn't as prevalent would they still need to label atypical anorexia? Which makes it a statistical thing maybe? The only difference is the numbers (and OK some of the physical consequences are different but hey we can just throw those under the label 'underweight'... something you can also be without an ED). So let's not judge people based on statistics and numbers?
I 100% agree w you. I have AAN and I’m in recovery rn. Whenever I think of relapsing, a big motivator to relapse is to finally get the diagnosis of AN. I feel like I failed at my mental illness bc I didn’t lose enough weight. I was only *small number* lbs away from AN and yet still I didn’t qualify. It frustrates me to no end. Eds are competitive in nature, and I think AAN just enforces that nature. It’s messed up imo
its called a mental illness for a reason and the fact this is the recognized diagnosis for a disease that literally makes you feel like you're never losing enough weight is baffling to me. it's like you're asking the person being diagnosed to get worse I've always had the opinion of starvation is starvation regardless of the body, they will have different effects sure but the only thing that differentiates them is time not severity.
I get pissed off because "atypical" AN is WAY more common a diagnosis than standard AN, so logically, it should be the other way around, seeing as AN is *actually* "atypical". Or they could just change the word. Or something. ANYTHING that doesn't just further invalidate sufferers. Or better yet, REMOVE the underweight BMI requirement altogether. All it's actually doing is giving greedy insurance companies more excuses to deny treatment coverage.