I heard it again today

[Dee]

Someone today found out I suffer from anorexia and they said "I wish I had that problem."  I was mentioning not being able to go to something in the morning because I had to see my dietician.  They asked why I see one so often, and I was honest.  They said they wish they had that problem, I am so thin.  They want to be thin too.

Really, you wish you had a fatal mental illness.  You wish that food controlled your every thought, your every move.  You wish you turned people down to hang out because the pressure of having to eat was too much to handle.  You wish that no matter what you looked like it was never good enough.  You wish you had severe health issues (as I do) related to the mental illness.

I've never heard a person say I wish I was bipolar, or I wish I had OCD, or even I wish I had PTSD.  I think it would sound ridiculous to them to even think of saying that.  So why is okay to say "I wish I was anorexic?"

[Three Roses]

Ugh! If people only knew what they sounded like sometimes! 


"Gosh, I wish I had OCD. My house would be so clean!"

"I wish I heard voices all the time, I wouldn't be so lonely."

Like, SERIOUSLY??

[AphoticAtramentous]

Wow, what the heck.
I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they meant to say they'd like to be thinner rather than actually wanting to be anorexic. People use those terms colloquially and casually these days, unfortunately? So you get people saying they're "OCD for being so organised" and stuff like that. It's a trend I think that should die out quick smart though because it can be super invalidating or ignorant. Or maybe they really did mean they want anorexia, which just means they're severely uneducated about the matter like a lot of mental illnesses are. Maybe next time someone says they want anorexia, go tell them to read a book. lol
But I've had people come up to me and say they want to be as thin as me, including my sister, and I always reply; "No you don't". It's not fun getting a simple pat on the back followed by; "EW, I can feel your spine!" People are disgusted by you for being "a walking skeleton", yet you still feel inadequate about your weight. Why would anyone want that!?? >:[

[Phoebes]

Dee- I'm sorry that person was so flippant and insensitive. Whether or not they mean to be, people can be so ignorant and hurtful in that way. Maybe they lack empathy, or maybe they just don't think before they speak. 

[Dee]

I think people just don't realize what they are saying.  What she might of said is, I have trouble with food too.  I also don't think they realize how serious of an illness it is.  I hear comments all the time, like it is an adjective.  Recently, I heard someone describe a shirt that was too small for them as an "anorexic shirt."

I just got back from my dietician.  I felt like I ate everything in the house in the last few weeks, I don't know how much, but I lost weight.  I can't even see how that is possible.

People just don't think.

I have a service dog, all the time I hear "I wish I had a service dog."  It is easier for me to challenge that one.  I often ask them if they wish the had the disability too? or would you tell someone in a wheel chair that you wish you had one?  One person said "you know what I mean," I replied "no, no I don't."

[Three Roses]

One person said "you know what I mean," I replied "no, no I don't."

[Andyman73]

I wish people came with an ignorance filter, so they would not say such stupid harmful things. Nobody ever wished they were anything like me...