I need help!!!!!!

[Alexis369]

I have a male friend that is 17 years old and i do not know how to help him. He is an atheletic person and for that he needs to take care of his eating habits, but the problem is that he doesnt eat at all and the only thing the he does is consume liquids witch is gatorade or water for the whole day. He's been doing this for almost a month or more and its affecting him alot. At night all he does is throw up, but what can he throw up if he has no food inside his digestive system, so i made him eat yesterday but things got worse, he threw up even more and to be honest am really worried, but the problem is that i do not know what i can do to help him. Please help me! =(

[Patricia Pitts, PhD]

Dear “I need help!!!”,

It must be hard on you to care about your friend and see him do so much damage to himself.  You have cause to be concerned.  His lack of eating and vomiting could be life threatening.

You could say to him something to the effect, “I feel scared when I see you not eat all day and then vomit.  I’m afraid you are damaging your body and could even die.”  You could go on to say, “I’m really worried for you and I feel helpless, I want you to get help.”

You could see if he is willing to go to our website at www.thebellavita.com and take our free and confidential male eating disorder survey.  He will receive an immediate response as to whether or not he could have an eating disorder.  While he is on our site, he could read about anorexia and bulimia to see if he has similar symptoms.

You could suggest he seeks a consultation from an eating disorder specialist.  Because of his age, his parents would need to be informed.  

If he is not receptive, you could go to your parents for support.  You and your parents could speak to his parents.  This option would not be a betrayal.  He needs support.  If he is unable to hear it directly from you, you may need to push the point.

Know this is his battle, not yours.  You can support getting him help.  He will have to work on the emotional issues that are driving him to his thoughts and behaviors.

Best,

Dr Patricia Pitts
The Bella Vita
Los Angeles, CA

[Alexis369]

Dear, Dr. Pitts,


           Your answer was really helpful to me. And about him eating, I told him a couple days ago that i really cared for him and that I didnt want anything bad to happen to him. Also that he was torturing his own body and that he was putting his life in danger, and he reply be saying ok ok I will start eating, and since then he does eat but the thing is that he was telling me just yesterday that he feels much worse than when he didnt eat and that sometimes he even throw up more when he eats. I know that this is his battle but the problem is that his parents dont care about him, and to be honest, am scared of them because they are really mean and agressive, but I am willing to go to them and talk to them but the thing is that if his parents dont want to support him by taking him to a eating disorder specialist, am not sure if my parents will be willing to support him.
But I will tell him about the website that you requested me to tell him to take a survey, and I will talk to my parents about it.

Thanks for your time,

Sincerely,

Alexis Y, Lopez