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Mootoo
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19 Nov 2012, 11:01 pm

I realize that anorexia is concerned with the psychological perception of eating, and obviously is in most cases associated with the mental image etc. - but I'm increasingly developing this habit in which I constantly say to myself "I'll eat after I finish reading this..." - and then the same an hour later, until my stomach is howling with hunger pangs.

It's kind of bizarre, but in contrast, a year ago, I ate a lot of fast food, sometimes every day... now it's barely once a week. If these aren't some form of eating disorders I don't know what is...



idratherbeatree
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19 Nov 2012, 11:18 pm

It's not really an eating disorder. I do the same thing. I go for DAYS without eating until I end up hypoglycemic and stuck in a panic. Just because It's not on my mind. I find that putting on my daily schedule helps.


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Mootoo
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19 Nov 2012, 11:30 pm

Actually, that's a disorder by definition, as eating should be instinctual, and if you don't get the impulses to eat when you need to eat then the 'instincts' are disordered.

Maybe not exactly like anorexia nervosa, as the mind is actually not entirely obsessed with appearance and thus food intake, but still.



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19 Nov 2012, 11:59 pm

idratherbeatree wrote:
It's not really an eating disorder. I do the same thing. I go for DAYS without eating until I end up hypoglycemic and stuck in a panic. Just because It's not on my mind. I find that putting on my daily schedule helps.


Sounds like me. My husband has to remind me to eat. Or if I see him eating, I'll eat something.


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cathylynn
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20 Nov 2012, 12:34 am

i like to eat. wish i didn't. i've never skipped a meal by accident. i have to go on a diet every so often to maintain a low enough weight to be healthy.

i know of more than one person who loses weight because of OCD. they just can't bring themselves to do the messy process of preparing food. not really an eating disorder, but dramatically affects eating.



idratherbeatree
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20 Nov 2012, 1:13 pm

I will point out that when I said what I said, I was thinking of Anorexia under the context of Anorexia Nervosa. Technically the medial definition of anorexic is lacking an appetite, so technically yes I suppose.


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20 Nov 2012, 1:26 pm

Anorexia and anorexia nervosa are not the same thing. Anorexia is a medical term meaning that someone stops wanting to eat for an unspecified reason.

Anorexia nervosa is a specific kind of anorexia. It means that someone stops eating because they're concerned their body is too fat to be attractive.

So, yes, it sounds like you might be in danger of developing anorexia, but not anorexia nervosa.

I don't think it sounds like it's due to "procrastination." Procrastination means postponing something you don't feel like doing, by trying to find excuses for not doing it. From what you describe, it sounds nothing like procrastination, and more like concentration. When you are very absorbed in doing something, as an autistic person, it's very common for your highly concentrated state to lead you to forget to eat, sleep, drink, pee, etc. This is obviously not healthy but it happens to me as well so I don't really have any useful advice I could contribute to help you stop doing it.



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23 Nov 2012, 7:18 pm

I have the same problem, except with me, if I put it off too long, I start feeling dizzy and might even faint.

It's an autistic thing. I think it's a mix of a sensory issue (hunger isn't as noticeable or attention-getting), and difficulty shifting attention. Possibly with a dash of 'poor sense of time' thrown in.