Asperger's and anorexia?

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I think he's just naturally thin. I know people with the same build and height that are not anorexic.

I've never had full-blown anorexia. I did live off soup and cigarettes for a while, but that was because I couldn't afford both food and cigarettes, so I chose the cigs instead of food. After quitting smoking and resuming my usual eating habits, I put a lot of weight on (and more still after taking SSRIs).

I do not have anorexia. I do however, wish I were thinner even though I am not overweight but I am kind of concerned with my weight just because LOTS of people in my family have weight issues (on both sides).

I'm not professionally diagnosed Aspergers because I can't afford the screening process right now, but it really does fit me.

I was diagnosed anorexic, and have been dealing with that for the past 6 years. I always puzzled doctors because I didn't give a crap about the media or my appearance... I never related to the girls who put forth this manicured appearance every day while starving... I just didn't eat. Still don't sometimes...
My therapist, who is an ED specialist and is absolutely wonderful, used to work with children with autism, and noticed autistic traits in me and suggested I read more about aspergers.

Ways I think the two relate for me:
- The numbers game... I hate round numbers... by which I mean numbers with lots of circles in them. 8's and 0's bother me a lot. I won't put exact numbers because specific weights can be trigggering for others with an eating disorder [the star is a placemarker for other numbers, so it is a multi-digit number], but I really wanted to lose to *2 pounds. I was just above it one day at *3, and the next i was *1.8 I was really upset and actually wanted to gain back to that nicer number.
- Part of why I don't eat is that food is painful for me: eating cuases me a lot of discomfort, and every food that i can eat seems to cause discomfort [I'm ridiculously picky regarding taste, texture and smell of food. If any of those are off, I feel so sick that I physically cannot eat it any more.]
- the loneliness and isolation... I have never been able to relate well to others, and that imense loneliness of no real meaningful connections made me want to be invisible. And the only literal way i could think of to disappear was to not eat...

I'm definitely interested in research connecting the two. One thing i found interesting is the suggestion that aspergers may "present" itself in females through an eating disorder, where other expressions of aspergers may be more relevant to the male experience.


And to anyone who is going through the dual aspie/ED thing, or even if eating is difficult for comfort reasons, DO seek help, and tell the person the full story. There are dietitians and therapists out there who can help with both things together. Though you do have to wade through a lot of bad practitioners first... But keep trying because it is worth getting the help.

I am a recovering anorexic...I was obsessed with trying to lower my metabolism and depriving myself to make myself a better person...probably why I am so cold and strong now.

Control issues also led to it quite a bit.

I also hate how most processed foods are in taste/texture. Leads me to eat less when I can't make my own food.

I have been recovering for months now

Most of the Aspie women that I have made friends with and met defently do not have any signs of anorexia they have a love of food, cooking and eating healthy. I tend to comfort eat when stressed which makes me put on weight I am over weight but happy.

I have noticed that people who are very skinny seem to get accused of having anorexia while over weight people are accused of being lazy and eating too much. But it seems like people who are naturally very skinny usually have very high metabolism. I knew someone at work who said at work that she was so skinny, people thought she had an eating disorder and they assumed she was a bulimic because they see her ate. They even follow her to the bathroom to see if she would throw it up. She was still thin at 37 but she wasn't as thin as she used to be. Plus I have heard a few other stories about very skinny people and they also had crap too for their body size. Someone online once said in a yahoo group how she was very skinny so she was accused of having an eating disorder so she said to them one day "I am eating right now, does it look like I have one?"

<< -- aspie recovered from anorexia nervosa

Things I correlate:

1) strive for perfection. Because I was without an AS diagnosis until I was 17 (thereby without explanation other than "you're just not good enough"), I resorted to perfectionism to attempt to make up for not being NT enough. This is probably the biggest reason.

2) what meems said about control. I desired to control something as I was without control in my weird AS life. Doubly so since my mother tends to be controlling and anxiety-ridden. I just wanted to take my focus off of my other uncontrollable issues, plant a nasty in my brain and call it my pet object of control.

3) A lot of us are misdiagnosed ADD/ADHD and stuffed on stimulant medicines. Also get prescribed antidepressants. A lot of these medicines suppress appetite as a side effect. Which does not help.

4) Digestive issues/intolerances. I used to not eat as much as a child because the cheap food my family was feeding to me was very low quality processed food that made me feel like crap.

5) when you've starved yourself numb, you can't give 2 f*cks about what other people think of you. Especially people who are judgmental. I still wish there was a way to not give a f*ck about what people think while maintaining healthy habits.

6) when I did get attention, it was always seeming to be negative attention. Thus the desire to disappear.

I have developed an eating disorder since 7, because my mum wouldn't help me eat a peanut butter sandwich.. I hate peanut butter!! ! I'm not scared of being bigger... I'm scared of spending money, so i sacrifice food to keep my wardrobe the same, though I also have other factors... Dislike eating at tables and I compulsively smoke
And drink coffee. I can't control outside factors but I can control what I put in my mouth. I no longer obsess over healthy options due to my children being diagnosed with a serious illness.... Now I am a cynic to most new age stuff though I know it works... Nothing expresses how I feel except for the act of starvation.... Oh Lordy Lordy!! I hope I get help soon...

I know someone who isn't autistic, but has OCPD, and his eating disorder was interesting.

Rather than being obsessed about his weight, he was obsessed about the cost of food.

He was in denial about his weight and the problems that were coming up, in denial about the need for proper nutrition, refused to maintain proper body weight, but instead of counting calories, he counted dollars. Or, more specifically dollar. He would not spend more than a dollar a day on food.

He told us that he was diagnosed with anorexia, but it might have been eating disorder-NOS officially.


Some autistic people might go in that direction too. There are reasons beyond wanting to control the weight that lead to the eating disorder. Other types of obsessions lead to it too.

If you are anorexic for fear of food costs, that's stupid. Medical bills cost way more and without food you can barely function.

Mine was me trying to make myself stornger against pain. might have bene really bad at the time, but this will help if I am ever in poverty (or should I say when...artists are rarely able to sustain themselves without another job.)

No offense meant, and I certainly don't mean to make light of a serious condition, but I lol'd at this:

Very punny.

You could similarly say if you are anorexic at all, that's stupid, because you can barely function without food.

It's the same thing whether its about money or about something else, its not about not having the ability to afford it, its about control. It's just going about it in a different manner. Not everyone who is anorexic cares about how they look. Not everyone has the same reasons. In his case, the control and perfectionism and need for everything to be exactly right rather than going into how he was looking went into other paths. It wasn't sane or healthy, but it wasn't 'I can't afford to eat' and it wasn't "I'm afraid of not being able to afford food", it was the same control and perfectionism. Thus, why I mentioned it.

It just happened that in his case it was OCPD that was associated with it. Which is a common comorbid, so its worth mentioning.