~*Because EVERYONE Deserves Support!*~
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Welcome to Project Shapeshift
The Birthplace of ProACTIVE Pro-Ana:
Supporting Those With Restrictive ED's For Over A Decade -- Sans Jugement |
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New Groundbreaking Study:
~*ProAna Sites HELP Those With ED's!*~
8.20.12: It is with great joy that I bring this news: An Indiana University study published this month in Health Communication shows that participation in a ProAna Community actually *benefits* participants! Those of us who are veterans of the Movement know this well, but this is a cause for celebration: At last, beneath the detritus of sensationalist media hype, the Voices of the Movement have been heard: We are here to support one another in Living with ED's -- NOT to recruit, promote, deny or glorify pathology!
IU researchers interview pro-anorexic bloggers for groundbreaking new study
Primary motivation of many was to seek social support and deal with stigma, not promote a 'lifestyle'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 20, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A groundbreaking new research study from Indiana University suggests there may be benefits to the controversial activities of "pro-ana" bloggers, the online community for people with eating disorders.
Most of the 33 bloggers from seven countries interviewed for the study, which has just been published in the journal Health Communication, said their writing activities provide a way to express themselves without judgment, which the authors believe can be crucial to their treatment.
"We don't know what are the effects of participating in this community on health," said Daphna Yeshua-Katz, a doctoral student in telecommunications in the IU College of Arts and Sciences. "But we do know that the current therapy for eating disorders is not effective."
"These communities are providing support, albeit supporting an illness that may result in someone's death," added Nicole Martins, an assistant professor of telecommunications at IU. "But until they're ready to go and seek recovery on their own terms, this might actually be a way of prolonging their life, so that they are mentally ready to tackle their recovery process.
"From the outside looking in, this looks like a really disturbing community, but I think that the fact that these women are able to find support from one another and find a place where someone understands what they're going through is a really good thing," Martins added.
They acknowledged that the study findings are different from media coverage and other research about the pro-ana community.
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders in 2010 reported that eating disorders affect more than 11 million people in the United States alone. Anorexics lose between 15 and 60 percent of their body weight and are susceptible to osteoporosis and heart ailments that can lead to death. It is viewed as a mental illness.
Little is known about the "pro-ana" online community because of the closeted and secretive nature of its members. The IU study is believed to be the first one to focus on interviews with the bloggers. Previous research in this area has centered on content analysis of what these people, mostly women with the disorders, are writing.
The researchers reached out to 300 bloggers and received a 10 percent response -- a statistically significant response. Both men and women with eating disorders were approached, but only women participated. Participants ranged in age from 15 to 33. Most were attending high school or college, and all lived in countries where anorexia is most common. About two-thirds lived in the United States.
Yeshua-Katz said many bloggers express themselves through song lyrics, music and photos that they call "thinspiration," which are very controversial. Complaints from eating disorder support groups have led Internet service providers to shut down pro-anorexia websites, but the site administrators and bloggers have remained resilient.
"They use the blogs to look for support and understanding, but at the same time, the content they display is something that for us -- people who are not sick -- is very disturbing," she said. "Studies show that people with eating disorders are stigmatized. Therefore these bloggers are looking for a place to vent out and express themselves without judgment of others."
Yeshua-Katz, the lead author on the paper, frequently researches how marginalized people are mediating their stigma through social media.
"The results revealed that the answers to why individuals are attracted to pro-ana sites have little to do with the need to share a broad philosophy or outlook and may stem from the desire simply to belong to a safe community of individuals with similar experiences," the researchers wrote in the study.
Their primary motivation for blogging was to seek social support. Most bloggers started publishing because they did not want to feel alone and were interested in finding others like themselves. They described interactions with family and friends as stressful "because they lack the understanding of their situation, while online they receive support constituted with sympathy, understanding and encouragement."
About half of the bloggers also said self-expression and the need to cope with social stigmas were other motives. When asked to give an example of how blogging might help them cope with stigma, six respondents answered that blogging offers them a different reality.
The majority of the sample reported that blogging about their illness improves their mood, and they found relief through their writing. The support they found was seen as unconditional.
"They receive encouragement when they post about their weight loss success and comfort in bloggers' comments when they fail in such efforts. Moreover, when a user wants to stop self-harm behavior or go into recovery, the community supports her choice too," the researchers explained.
"Our participants perceived the support within their ED community to be stronger than the support they received for their so-called strong ties to their offline life," they said, adding that eight bloggers reported meeting other community members in person.
In medical literature, a patient's decision to find support is seen as a good predictor of compliance and treatment leading to a cure.
Nearly 20 percent of the women interviewed for the study indicated that they were in the process of going through recovery from the illness. One respondent, who was in recovery, said that her blogging activities "gave her the skills to talk about her illness in the recovery process."
Of the 33 women interviewed, 27 defined their eating disorder as a mental illness and six said it was a coping mechanism. Contrary to previous research based on content analysis of the blogs, only three of those interviewed called anorexia a "lifestyle."
"In other words, people living with eating disorders are not purposely making unhealthy or health-compromising decisions. They are trying to find the best way they can to live with this disorder," the researchers wrote.
"I think that's encouraging that a majority don't look at it as a lifestyle," Martins said. "The silver lining is there that if they realize that it's a disease, then maybe they'll eventually seek help for it. But right now this is how they're coping."
While most studies make the claim that pro-ana websites promote and maintain anorexia by sharing tips for weight loss and concealing the disorder, only five bloggers mentioned this as a reason to start their blogs.
"Participants in this research, except for shutting down their blogs, did actively engage in ways to warn their audience about the content and ignored or blocked requests for tips and tricks from what they nicknamed 'wannarexics' -- young teenagers who want to become anorexic," the paper said.
Yeshua-Katz and Martins hope their research provides the medical community with greater understanding of the people they are treating. One of the bloggers they spoke to expressed difficulty finding "recovery" blogs and still follows the pro-ana blogs because "it's hard to totally abandon them."
"For example, they were missing a 24-hour support place," Yeshua-Katz said. "We need to see what about (the pro-ana blogs) is drawing people into the community and design blogs for recovery that offer the same kind of useful information so the recovery will work.
"By knowing what they're doing in those blogs, we might be able to find better ways to provide online support," she added.
The paper also highlights a major paradox for the pro-ana community. "They go online to vent out and to relieve stress. But then by having their blog, by having their secret life, it adds another level of stress to their life," Yeshua-Katz said. "There is an information game going on, and it's very intense and stressful because your stigma is unknown."
Ten of the pro-ana bloggers actually produce two blogs -- a "healthy" one for family members and friends and another about their eating disorders.
"The fact that disordered eating is such a solitary and isolating experience makes the Internet an ideal place for offering support and advice," the researchers wrote. "The pro-ana community is worth studying in its own right as a social space that affords a style of interaction that would be highly unlikely to be visible in the offline or pre-Internet environment."
IU researchers interview pro-anorexic bloggers for groundbreaking new study
Primary motivation of many was to seek social support and deal with stigma, not promote a 'lifestyle'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 20, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A groundbreaking new research study from Indiana University suggests there may be benefits to the controversial activities of "pro-ana" bloggers, the online community for people with eating disorders.
Most of the 33 bloggers from seven countries interviewed for the study, which has just been published in the journal Health Communication, said their writing activities provide a way to express themselves without judgment, which the authors believe can be crucial to their treatment.
"We don't know what are the effects of participating in this community on health," said Daphna Yeshua-Katz, a doctoral student in telecommunications in the IU College of Arts and Sciences. "But we do know that the current therapy for eating disorders is not effective."
"These communities are providing support, albeit supporting an illness that may result in someone's death," added Nicole Martins, an assistant professor of telecommunications at IU. "But until they're ready to go and seek recovery on their own terms, this might actually be a way of prolonging their life, so that they are mentally ready to tackle their recovery process.
"From the outside looking in, this looks like a really disturbing community, but I think that the fact that these women are able to find support from one another and find a place where someone understands what they're going through is a really good thing," Martins added.
They acknowledged that the study findings are different from media coverage and other research about the pro-ana community.
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders in 2010 reported that eating disorders affect more than 11 million people in the United States alone. Anorexics lose between 15 and 60 percent of their body weight and are susceptible to osteoporosis and heart ailments that can lead to death. It is viewed as a mental illness.
Little is known about the "pro-ana" online community because of the closeted and secretive nature of its members. The IU study is believed to be the first one to focus on interviews with the bloggers. Previous research in this area has centered on content analysis of what these people, mostly women with the disorders, are writing.
The researchers reached out to 300 bloggers and received a 10 percent response -- a statistically significant response. Both men and women with eating disorders were approached, but only women participated. Participants ranged in age from 15 to 33. Most were attending high school or college, and all lived in countries where anorexia is most common. About two-thirds lived in the United States.
Yeshua-Katz said many bloggers express themselves through song lyrics, music and photos that they call "thinspiration," which are very controversial. Complaints from eating disorder support groups have led Internet service providers to shut down pro-anorexia websites, but the site administrators and bloggers have remained resilient.
"They use the blogs to look for support and understanding, but at the same time, the content they display is something that for us -- people who are not sick -- is very disturbing," she said. "Studies show that people with eating disorders are stigmatized. Therefore these bloggers are looking for a place to vent out and express themselves without judgment of others."
Yeshua-Katz, the lead author on the paper, frequently researches how marginalized people are mediating their stigma through social media.
"The results revealed that the answers to why individuals are attracted to pro-ana sites have little to do with the need to share a broad philosophy or outlook and may stem from the desire simply to belong to a safe community of individuals with similar experiences," the researchers wrote in the study.
Their primary motivation for blogging was to seek social support. Most bloggers started publishing because they did not want to feel alone and were interested in finding others like themselves. They described interactions with family and friends as stressful "because they lack the understanding of their situation, while online they receive support constituted with sympathy, understanding and encouragement."
About half of the bloggers also said self-expression and the need to cope with social stigmas were other motives. When asked to give an example of how blogging might help them cope with stigma, six respondents answered that blogging offers them a different reality.
The majority of the sample reported that blogging about their illness improves their mood, and they found relief through their writing. The support they found was seen as unconditional.
"They receive encouragement when they post about their weight loss success and comfort in bloggers' comments when they fail in such efforts. Moreover, when a user wants to stop self-harm behavior or go into recovery, the community supports her choice too," the researchers explained.
"Our participants perceived the support within their ED community to be stronger than the support they received for their so-called strong ties to their offline life," they said, adding that eight bloggers reported meeting other community members in person.
In medical literature, a patient's decision to find support is seen as a good predictor of compliance and treatment leading to a cure.
Nearly 20 percent of the women interviewed for the study indicated that they were in the process of going through recovery from the illness. One respondent, who was in recovery, said that her blogging activities "gave her the skills to talk about her illness in the recovery process."
Of the 33 women interviewed, 27 defined their eating disorder as a mental illness and six said it was a coping mechanism. Contrary to previous research based on content analysis of the blogs, only three of those interviewed called anorexia a "lifestyle."
"In other words, people living with eating disorders are not purposely making unhealthy or health-compromising decisions. They are trying to find the best way they can to live with this disorder," the researchers wrote.
"I think that's encouraging that a majority don't look at it as a lifestyle," Martins said. "The silver lining is there that if they realize that it's a disease, then maybe they'll eventually seek help for it. But right now this is how they're coping."
While most studies make the claim that pro-ana websites promote and maintain anorexia by sharing tips for weight loss and concealing the disorder, only five bloggers mentioned this as a reason to start their blogs.
"Participants in this research, except for shutting down their blogs, did actively engage in ways to warn their audience about the content and ignored or blocked requests for tips and tricks from what they nicknamed 'wannarexics' -- young teenagers who want to become anorexic," the paper said.
Yeshua-Katz and Martins hope their research provides the medical community with greater understanding of the people they are treating. One of the bloggers they spoke to expressed difficulty finding "recovery" blogs and still follows the pro-ana blogs because "it's hard to totally abandon them."
"For example, they were missing a 24-hour support place," Yeshua-Katz said. "We need to see what about (the pro-ana blogs) is drawing people into the community and design blogs for recovery that offer the same kind of useful information so the recovery will work.
"By knowing what they're doing in those blogs, we might be able to find better ways to provide online support," she added.
The paper also highlights a major paradox for the pro-ana community. "They go online to vent out and to relieve stress. But then by having their blog, by having their secret life, it adds another level of stress to their life," Yeshua-Katz said. "There is an information game going on, and it's very intense and stressful because your stigma is unknown."
Ten of the pro-ana bloggers actually produce two blogs -- a "healthy" one for family members and friends and another about their eating disorders.
"The fact that disordered eating is such a solitary and isolating experience makes the Internet an ideal place for offering support and advice," the researchers wrote. "The pro-ana community is worth studying in its own right as a social space that affords a style of interaction that would be highly unlikely to be visible in the offline or pre-Internet environment."
This news isn't shocking to those of us who have Lived this Truth since the First Wave began in the mid-late 1990's. What's new -- and so very positive for us -- is that this is a formal study MORE than just content analysis from an outside perspective. This is the first study in the US to look at the positive side of Pro-Ana. France preceded us with the ANAMIA Study, a comprehensive European study looking at Pro-Ana sites from the perspective of the participants' experiences. This news is a Dream Realized for me, and I cannot be more blessed to see this information come to society at large. My fervent hope is that this study will be the gateway to more funding and research in order to protect and understand (or at the very least, tolerate) the presence of the Pro-Ana Movement on the Internet.
I've been campaigning for this Truth for over a decade, and it is so beautiful to see it coming to light ahead of the grotesque sensationalist media which has long-demonized the Pro-Ana Movement as a whole. Myself and the Project Shapeshift Community, as well as a consortium of other Pro-Ana bloggers and Administrators, are celebrating this triumph!
I am infinitely grateful to the IU Researchers for investigating this issue, and I look forward with great anticipation to see a more broad societal realization that ED Sufferers NEED AND DESERVE to pursue ANY path, free of judgment, which helps them cope and survive best.
It's a good day for us, Precious Ones! <3
Much love and BE WELL!
~A.G.E.
I've been campaigning for this Truth for over a decade, and it is so beautiful to see it coming to light ahead of the grotesque sensationalist media which has long-demonized the Pro-Ana Movement as a whole. Myself and the Project Shapeshift Community, as well as a consortium of other Pro-Ana bloggers and Administrators, are celebrating this triumph!
I am infinitely grateful to the IU Researchers for investigating this issue, and I look forward with great anticipation to see a more broad societal realization that ED Sufferers NEED AND DESERVE to pursue ANY path, free of judgment, which helps them cope and survive best.
It's a good day for us, Precious Ones! <3
Much love and BE WELL!
~A.G.E.
Want To Know More About The Pro-Ana Movement?
Check Out The Following Videos!
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We Are ALL Warriors On This Journey!
"...the woman wielding the machete -- fearless and leaping amidst a shocking explosion -- was almost entirely inspired by [you]..."
"though distant, we fight side by side against evil, apathy, entropy and sullen oblivion. You are a flower among a sea of ashes."
~Sickboy, excerpts from message sent to AnaGirlEmpath along with this beautiful work of art
I wish to pay this Message forward to EVERYONE Living with an ED:
We are ALL tenacious and resilient by necessity. Never forget it! <3
"though distant, we fight side by side against evil, apathy, entropy and sullen oblivion. You are a flower among a sea of ashes."
~Sickboy, excerpts from message sent to AnaGirlEmpath along with this beautiful work of art
I wish to pay this Message forward to EVERYONE Living with an ED:
We are ALL tenacious and resilient by necessity. Never forget it! <3
What Is Project Shapeshift?
Project Shapeshift is home to a diverse, international Pro-Ana/Pro-Reality/Ana Acceptance Community for adults age 18-50+ with *RESTRICTIVE* ED’s (AN, EDNOS-r, orthorexia, etc.). Our Members hail from many Nations, cultures, beliefs, gender identities, sexual orientations (LGBTQ Safe Zone) and walks of Life.
While this Site is public, the Community Forum is a private group; i.e., one must register on the Board itself in order to view and share. In case you missed it up top, here's a link to our Forum! :) The PS Community embraces the concept of Optimal Wellness: Finding A Workable Balance Between Overt ED Pathology and perfect health; and Living WITH, not FOR, one’s ED. Wherever you are in your Journey, we are here to support you! :) Many of our Members have found current treatment modalities to be inadequate, inaccessible or altogether ineffective. 60-75% of anorexics never recover fully. Unfortunately, many Recovery-focused sites are intolerant of sharing about the intricacies of the ED experience. We at PS believe that this is a stifling and alienating approach and offer a more open, accepting environment for ED sufferers. We are accepting of the PROACTIVE IN ANOREXIA subgroup of Pro-Ana ONLY — this is NOT a place for wanarexics or ED Groupies hoping to acquire an ED. This is NOT A DIET SITE! Harmful “tips and tricks” are strictly forbidden, as is “diet education.” ~*Be Well, and Good Journey!*~ ***NOTICE: UPDATED POLICY REGARDING INTENDED AUDIENCE!***
NOTICE TO MINORS -- YOU ARE PROHIBITED FROM JOINING OUR FORUM COMMUNITY!
If you are a minor, MOVE ON. Any Member suspected of being underage will be INVESTIGATED THOROUGHLY by any means available online, and minors will be banned until they are of appropriate age to access our Forum! EXCEPTION: IF you wish to obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian to access the Project Shapeshift Community Forum, contact AnaGirlEmpath for the appropriate form. The signing adult will need to provide signature verification to deter forgeries on the part of minors. A picture of a parent's ID which shows their signature is required as well as the permission form. These signatures must match to be accepted. NOTICE TO ED GROUPIES/WANAREXICS -- YOU ARE UNWELCOME HERE! If you think ED's are "cool" or "chic" or are looking to lose several pounds for some special event; if you are obese and hoping to be motivated herein; if you are otherwise fixated, enamored, enthralled or attracted to ED Communities, MOVE ON NOW! The intended audience for Project Shapeshift is as follows: 1. Individuals 18 years of age or older who have Anorexia Nervosa (AN) 2. Individuals 18 years of age or older with another RESTRICTIVE ED (EDNOS-r; Orthorexia; etc.) 3. Individuals who prefer to identify as one who walks Ana's Path in Volition* IF YOU DO NOT ALREADY HAVE A **RESTRICTIVE** EATING DISORDER OR IDENTIFY AS *GENUINELY* WALKING ANA'S PATH IN VOLITION (*Rejecting victim mentality -- ProReality, NeoProAna, etc.), THIS SITE IS NOT FOR YOU! ~*Implementation Of Changes At Project Shapeshift: Protocol; Issues*~ PROJECT SHAPESHIFT HAS EMBRACED A NEW GENRE DESCRIPTOR IN ADDITION TO PRO-ANA: ANA ACCEPTANCE! Why? The term "Pro-Ana" can mean so many different things, and no longer clearly depicts what this Site and Forum are about. With the advent of the Second-Wave Pro-Ana Movement, we have seen a disturbing influx of individuals drawn to PS for the wrong reasons, and a distortion in the general conceptualization of what Pro-Ana is all about. AnaGirlEmpath wrote the following report on this phenomenon: The Pro-Ana Movement and related Sites have remained a volatile and highly debated phenomenon of our time, most significantly due to the involvement of minors in creating and populating Pro-Ana Sites. Recently, France banned all websites of this genre due to the purported danger of the material encountered on Sites like these to minors. The research is abundantly clear: Yes, minors have created, run and populated Pro-Ana Sites. Further, adults have created Pro-Ana Sites with potentially damaging content, and have neglected to exercise prudent care in making such Sites and Forums open-access, with no age criterion for Members. This is the focal point of the condemnation we who walk Ana's Path have faced, from past to present. It is critical to understand, however, that there are significant benefits to Sites like ours, and that a mature, responsible approach to the Pro-Ana Movement has actually SAVED LIVES, promoted Healing and Balance along the Journey; enabled those seeking Optimal Wellness to unite and develop strategies to avoid the pitfalls, risks and complications associated with restrictive ED behavior. Second, there are those who seek Ana's Path in a Volitional manner. Volitional Anorexia in this case is defined as one who walks Ana's Path in the absence of obsessive, negative and self-destructive pathology. In recent years, a more socially acceptable moniker has become the flag of Volitional Anorexic Praxis: CRON (Caloric Restriction; Optimal Nutriiton). CRON differs principally from Pro-Ana in that the focus is purportedly an aim for maximizing Health and Longevity. This Lifepath is NOT associated with a pathological impetus and is therefore tolerated to a significant extent by society at large. When one searches for accurate, informative, constructive or otherwise positive reports regarding Pro-Ana, one finds a profound disparity of quality content. We as a society are much more interested in the negative; the macabre; the sensationalistic, and therefore, the positive side to the Duality of walking Ana’s Path in Optimal Wellness is categorically absent in research and publications on this subject. This is a tragedy for the thousands upon thousands of people aided by membership in a Pro-Ana Community. Project Shapeshift has always remained in steadfast advocacy of this approach to the Journey as valid and potentially beneficial. Negative attention is always loudest and travels the furthest, and thus positive findings are few and far between. We at Project Shapeshift wish to dispel this grievous myth. In order to understand this Community’s position on the ascetic Journey, it is important to understand several things about the dynamic of such an Internet Community; how we operate and what tenets we embrace as core ideology. Recently, with the advent of the Second Wave Pro-Ana Movement, it is with great concern and the onus of responsibility that we as a Community have come to re-evaluate our purpose, intent and priorities. What is Pro-Ana? This term “Pro-Ana” means different things to different people. Research suggests that this term was originally utilized by the mothers of Pro-Ana Movement to assert their dismissal of victim mentality; to reject the notion of pathology; to EMPOWER THEMSELVES in the face of a Journey known to be fraught with many rigors. These women understood that Ana’s Call, once heard, is never unknowable. Once Ana has awakened within, She can never be silenced; never be exorcised. Understanding this truth is profoundly discouraging. One notes the element of despair and lack of autonomy over one’s Life when one is afflicted with a chronic, incurable illness. A dismissal of this despair can be profoundly Healing! The claim that the founding mothers of the Pro-Ana Movement wished to keep others entrenched in pathology; to recruit healthy individuals to eating disordered Living is grievously erroneous. The Pro-Ana Ideology became, for them, a rejection of the “sick forever” label; an embracing of the unmitigated presence found within; a rejection of social expectations and above all, an EMPOWERING, SELF-GOVERNED FOCUSING OF THE WILL; OF EXERCISING GALVANIZED INTENT in Living with their eating disorders rather than for them. "This is a gathering point for sentient individuals who are working to cause changes to occur in body in conformity to will. There are no victims here, and maturity is measured in the acceptance of personal responsibility, not the number of birthdays survived. This is not a place for the faint-hearted, weak, hysterical, or those looking to be rescued. This is not a place for those who bow to consensus definitions of reality or who believe in the cancerous fallacy that there is any other authority on earth besides their own incontrovertibly self-evident, inherent birthright to govern themselves. This is a place for the elite who, through personal success in their ongoing quest for perfection, demonstrate daily the power and results of applying will, imagination, creativity and effort toward meeting their goals." --excerpt from Ana's Underground Grotto, original text NOTE: Some Original content has been preserved throughout this Site and will stand for reference herein. Be aware that such material may not reflect our current position on any issue. In lieu of the emergence of the highly disturbing Wanarexic Phenomenon, we have archived material which we feel is of greatest potential risk to those naive enough to believe that Pro-Ana works should be interpreted literally. We do NOT support the advocacy of pathology! Please keep this in mind when viewing original works posted here. You must understand that using this website is a PRIVILEGE. It is not a RIGHT. In order to continue using this website, you will abide by the following rules: For our protection, as well as yours, Project Shapeshift is restricted to persons at or over the age of 18 years. In other words: If you are 18 years of age or older, you are welcome to register! If you are under the age of 18, you will need to contact the Administrator regarding policy and procedure for obtaining formal written consent from your parent/legal guardian. Moderators of this website are unpaid volunteers. They have offered to donate their time to better this Community, and such altruism will be respected. They are here to ensure that everyone has a safe, sane environment within which to express ideas, opinions, values, and etc. that may (and are likely to) deviate from the mainstream. You are expected to comply with Staff requests and conduct yourself as the mature, sensible individual you are assumed to be. Members are expected to treat one another with respect and courtesy. Making derogatory, inflammatory or otherwise hurtful comments about another Member is forbidden! First-time violators of this Policy will be warned; subsequent offenses could result in permanent deletion of your Account. Members are prohibited from selling or promoting wares, personal or commercial, unless s/he has the express consent of the Administrator. Promoting other websites is forbidden -- phishing will NOT be tolerated! Spamming/mass-emailing will also result in disciplinary action (warning; suspension or deletion of Account). All Forum posts are the sentiments and property of the Author and do not necessarily represent any opinions or endorsements of Project Shapeshift. In addition, you may NOT remove or copy any content located on this website without the express consent of its Author. Violation of this rule may result in permanent deletion of your account. YOU are responsible for what you choose to post on Project Shapeshift. Please remember that this is an Internet Community, and what you post can potentially be read by anyone and everyone. It is up to you to decide what information to disclose. We strongly discourage posting any personal information, such as your real name, address, phone number, or any other personally identifying information.
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What Does "Pro-Ana" Mean?
The two major definitions of Pro-Ana are based on the two most common populations who embrace the term as an identifying descriptor: 1. Individuals suffering from Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or other restrictive eating disorders (ED's): Commonly, this approach to living with an ED stems from barriers to treatment and a subsequent desire to reach out and connect with kindred sufferers for support. They may or may not be recovery-oriented. Genuine ED sufferers who identify as Pro-Ana embrace the term as PROACTIVE IN ANOREXIA - making the most of their Lives despite their disorder. This group includes those for whom treatment is inadequate, inaccessible or unwanted. 2. Individuals who covet pathology; who emulate anorexic behaviors and WANT to cultivate and celebrate ED's within themselves (aka "wanarexics"). These individuals have taken an historical empowerment motto and twisted it's intended meaning to a literal interpretation (i.e., a disavowal of victim mentality as an empowerment strategy -- they actually believe that "Anorexia is a Lifestyle, Not A Disease." These are individuals who do NOT have ED's but wish they did; those who strive to attain the extremely thin physique exhibited in long-term anorexics; who emulate the eating-disordered practices which manifest in AN patients. The former are seeking a new approach to living with these insidious illnesses; reaching out when current treatment modalities have failed to help. The articulation of the "Ana Creed" and "Ana Psalm"; "Thin Commandments" and "Letters from Ana or Mia" were intended as CREATIVE ALLITERATIONS; explorations of the ED psyche - they were NEVER meant to be taken literally! This is a critical issue. Wanarexics have embraced these creative works as literal tenets for "how to become anorexic."
The latter are resented by genuine sufferers who know all-too-well that ED's are not glamorous or cool or chic in any way. Meet The PS Staff Team!
I'm CrimsonButterfly (also known as ScarletAngel and Darkening_doom). I live in the UK with my hubby and my two cats Rukia and Pepper. We live in a two bed flat which we own. After a few years of trying, our baby girl is about to be born!
I grew up in the army so I moved around a lot when I was younger. I have one older brother who i have a good but strained relationship with. My parents are divorced my mum lives close to me and I see her quite often, my dad on the other hand I don’t see an awful of. I currently work part-time in a warehouse, but I do have a degree in Biomedical Science but I haven’t found a job yet in that area. So on to the ED stuff. Well I had been a happy healthy child with a very healthy appetite (I often overate and comfort ate), but I never was overweight till I hit my teen years. Looking back now I realised I was eating out of boredom and because I felt down because I wasn’t happy with myself both inside and out. Everyone else around me seemed much thinner, I wasn’t huge and most people say it was only puppy fat but actually it was just fat. I did go on diets and stuff in my teen years but it wasn’t until I was 21 that the ED started. I had a bf who dumped me just about 2/3months before my 21st and I was in my first year of uni, which didn’t help. So I went on a diet and slowly cut down my intake. I knew what I was doing wasn’t healthy but I didn’t care. I remember watching a documentary way before this about Pro-Ana and connected the two. So one day I went on the internet and searched for a forum and the first one to pop up was Project Shapeshift. I mainly lurked for a few months, but I then started posting and making friends with other people who were going through similar stuff. Then the 2007 schism happened. I fleeted back and forth between the two forums, not really knowing where I felt at home. I left it for a while, still sort of going back and forth between the two. Eventually I stuck to PS and made a home here. One day I read an application call for moderators and I decided to go for it. I started off modding the Media Madness forum and then later I started modding the MPP section as well. I love modding. I love helping other members and giving them support as they give me. Other random stuff about me. I’m lactose intolerant. I love crocheting. I loving playing games, I own a PS2, PS3 and a wii, oh and a GameCube. My favourite games are Eternal Darkness and Silent Hill (one of my old avies on the originally PS was a Silent Hill 2 nurse). I love Horror movies, favourites include Ring, Sky high and Into the Mirror. Yes they are all Asian horror movies, which I love. I’m more of a suspense thriller type than a slash and dash gore fest. Though I do like some slasher flicks. I also like my action movies and Si-Fi movies too. I like rock music generally. My favourite band of all time is Disturbed, but I also like Slipknot, Evanescence, Nightwish, Linkin Park, Halestorm. I love anime and manga and I love to cosplay too. I also like dressing up in fancy dress or Lolita style. I’m usually quite introverted and quiet IRL. I’m not very talkative or can be quite shy and anti-social. I prefer my own company. My favourite colour is purple (in case you haven’t already guessed). I generally write in purple, but if you see my posts without colour it means I’m posting from my phone. I tend to give inanimate objects names eg my phone is called Katelin-Celeste, my car is called Ralph, MP3 player is jayjay etc. I can be very sarcastic but that probably doesn’t come across when posting. @GlassBirdHouse, Forum Moderator <3 Hi, I'm GlassBirdhouse. I live in Absurdistan, on what's essentially a farm. I grow some amount of my own food (not enough yet), keep a flock of chickens, have a few ducks, and three cats. I live with my fiancee and our roomate, who has a dog and a cat, so our house is full of and surrounded by animals. I work seasonally in a greenhouse, and am currently attending College to get a degree as an American Sign Language Interpreter. I developed disordered eating in my early teens (likely tied in with my body dysphoria), but didn't really dive head-first into the abyss of restrictive eating until 2003, when I had the rest of my coping mechanisms stripped of me and was left with nothing but the option to take my anxiety out on my body via the manipulation of food and exercise. I probably classify as EDNOS-r, having lived an experience since then colourful with diet pills, laxatives, restricting, orthorexia, over-exercising, and purging. I discovered PS way back in '02-'03, but found the atmosphere at that time uncomfortable, so made my home on BlueDragonfly. After many years 'doing my own thing' I came back to the internet looking for support on how to live with this, rather than die with it, and re-discovered Project Shapeshift in it's current form. I absolutely love this place because of it's mature user base and atmosphere of camaraderie. Whether someone is trying to recover, stay afloat, or self-destruct, there is always some form of realistic, health-encouraging advice and support available - which resonates so strongly with my own attitude that I can't imagine life without this place! After the support and help I've received time and time again over the years, I applied to moderate in an effort to give back to the community. I currently moderate Ana's Lounge, which is a mellow place to hang out and talk about all manner of things in general (and have fun while we're at it!), and find it an enjoyable experience compared to the high-stress forum I moderated for many years ago. @Sickboy, Forum Moderator <3 Hello, my name is Sickboy. I am 25, born and surviving out of complete chaos. I have always had unusual eating tendencies and disordered thoughts. I'm an atypical case, so I'd probably still be called EDNOS-r. My life is complex and strange. PS is a second home to me, and I see every PS'er as a friend (even if we don't know one another yet!) This is the only site of its kind, and while I'd visited ED sites before, this is the only place I feel like I 'fit'. Together with Hope I moderate parts of our Mental Health forum, and I also moderate our Diet and Foods Forum. I enjoy the science of cooking, and finding new ways to encourage health even when my desires to eat become disordered or diminished. As an enthusiast of pro-active and radical mental health, I find healthy food and vitamins can be extremely helpful in times of mental duress. I can cook just about anything to anyone's specifications (vegan, gluten free, low GI, anything) Besides cooking, I like to collect old books and vinyl records, hang out with my dog, and work out a lot. @Hope, Forum Moderator <3 Hi, I'm Hope. I moderate the Mental Health Forum with the assistance of sickboy in the Thought Disorder Refuge subforum. I joined PS in 2011 but was familiar with the Grotto since the First Wave of the Pro-Ana movement. My interest in moderating the Mental Health Forum happened naturally as a result of my studies in nursing and psychology (both unfinished due to medical reasons). I love being a part of the PS community and team because of the unity, Optimal Wellness Focus, and unique support for restrictive eating disorders which set this community apart from others. My own history with eating disorders began 11 years ago as an adolescent with anorexia purging type, at that time I was familiar with the Grotto but never joined the forum. In the past 11 years, I've dealt with what would probably best be described as periods of Night Eating Syndrome, Bulimia, EDNOS, and recovery. I've been severely underweight, normal weight, overweight, and even a little obese. Currently, I'm recovering from EDNOS-r with an outpatient team in a nontraditional way in that the sole focus is not my food or my weight - but my happiness and achieving a balance in my life - much like Optimal Wellness states at PS. In the future I plan to get married to my fiancé, finish my psychology degree, and continue fighting for a redefinition of "recovery" to include a more global view that encompasses Optimal Wellness and balance. In my free time I love writing, art, fashion, beauty, make-up, and photography. @AnaGirlEmpath, Owner/Administrator <3 Hello and welcome! I'm AnaGirlEmpath, also known as "A.G.E." (NOT "Age!") or "AnaGirl". I serve as our deeply devoted Owner/Admin here at PS! :) I found Project Shapeshift during the early days of the First Wave Pro-Ana Movement. I have never before or since found a more beautiful, diverse, amazing ED Support Community and have never wavered in my appreciation for this safe haven! From the beginning of my Membership at PS, I had been an avid participant in our journaling forum, Members' Personal Progress (MPP). In 2006, I had the honor of becoming MPP Forum Moderator. In April of 2008, we moved from PS1 to PS2, and I continued to serve on the Staff Team. Eventually, I was promoted to CoAdmin under Aijin's Leadership. I inherited full Owner/"Admin-ship" from her in February of 2009, and I have served in this capacity since that time. <3 I love PS with all my heart. Nothing is more precious to me than connecting with others who walk similar Lifepaths; giving and garnering support. My mission has been to foster unity, love, support, compassion and Optimal Wellness on Ana's Path. I am happy that we are all working to strive for balance along the Journey! My own ED Journey is long and complicated. In summary, I have Danced on the Thin Red Line between overt AN and perfect health for many years. I have fallen into the perilous depths of Ana's Dark Side and nearly succumbed, and I've walked as closely as possible to health; in Balance and Optimal Wellness. I'm now closer to balance than I've ever been, and have been for quite some time! :) I am vehemently opposed to and appalled by the Second Wave Pro-Ana Movement and the promotion of pathology as glamorous or cool in any way. AN and related ED's are very much real diseases and extremely damaging to those afflicted. I am often asked how I reconcile these beliefs with Pro-Ana. My answer? Pro-Ana has two subgroups, each embracing an unique Ideology. One group lauds Ana's Path as a Lifestyle; a diet strategy and a glamorous, cool, chic endeavor. The other group acknowledges that AN and related ED's are very much serious illnesses and embraces the term "Pro-Ana" in the context of being PROACTIVE IN ANOREXIA. Myself and the Project Shapeshift Community are among the latter. Most of those afflicted with AN and related ED's (60-75%) can never be entirely free, but this does NOT mean that one must remain in a position of feeling like a victim; powerless and lost. We CAN find a middle-ground; a workable balance between overt ED pathology and perfect health. It IS POSSIBLE to assert autonomy along the Journey; to recognize the dangerous fallacy of Numberlust and walk this Lifepath in Balance! I have been stable at a low but reasonable weight for several years now! Ups and downs are a given along this Journey, but I haven't been immersed in pathology for quite some time! I am currently optimizing my nutrition and fighting to increase my BMI (it has been very hard) to regain fertility and get pregnant. I am here to offer support, raise Awareness, Advocacy and education to anyone -- especially those suffering similarly. I can sum up my Mission with the following: IT IS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE THAT ALL ED SUFFERERS HAVE ACCESS TO COMPASSIONATE, POSITIVE, TOLERANT, ENCOURAGING AND LOVING, ACCEPTING SUPPORT -- REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY ARE IN THE JOURNEY! This is what PS is all about and what sets us apart in the ProACTIVE Pro-Ana genre. I am so blessed to work with such an excellent and dedicated Team of Moderators! This Community is amazing... it is a genuine honor and privilege to share in each of your Lives. To all of our Members, thank you for choosing PS as your home! <3 Laughter is great Medicine! ^_^
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