Asperger's and anorexia?

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I read recently that there is a higher incidence of anorexia nervosa among those diagnosed with Asperger's. Is anyone familiar with this idea? Or have any personal experiences related to knowing an Aspie with anorexia?

I personally have experiences with anorexia, which I don't like to talk about mostly because of the stigma and misinformation that surrounds the condition (e.g. "anorectics are selfish rich trust find babies/movie stars/models/teenagers with low self-esteem that can cure themselves whenever they want to, but choose not to"). I also have Asperger's, and to me, the connection between Aspies and anorexia is extremely logical. The obsession with a few narrow topics, the tendency towards obsessive compulsive behaviors, cognitive inflexibility, a need for perfection, ritualized behaviors, are just a few of the qualities that the two disorders have in common.

Of course, due to the relatively lower number of females with Asperger's, research is a bit slim. But recently there've been several articles released about the possible connection between these two disorders. Anyone have any opinions on this?

Definite connection. I really hope in the future there is more help for girls with ASD's. I've been diagnosed with an eating disorder and the lady did not know what to make of me. She ran through a list of common fears/perceptions associated with it and then finally said, "Well, there's got to be some reason!" Such ignorance.

Wow, seriously? What a moron. Sometimes I wonder how some people got into the mental health profession. It's like there's no screening for idiots. >_> Not to sound hateful or anything, hehe.

I'm currently studying to be a therapist specializing in LGBT issues, and I run across so many would-be therapists who are so grossly unqualified to offer advice and assistance that I grieve for their future patients.

I would think the two would not be co-morbid as those with AS are less likely to care/perceive about social ideals or what others think of them.

Perhaps those with social issues independent of AS, like low self esteem, may be more likely to have eating disorders.

See, this is exactly what I meant when I said I don't like talking about the disorder because of the stigma and misinformation that people believe about it. >_< Not everyone with anorexia has low self-esteem. More importantly, though, anorexia has less to do with social perception than it does with the struggle to impose perfection on one's life. Many people with anorexia could care less about their physical attractiveness -- in fact, many anorectics realize that the extreme thinness that they strive for is unattractive to the opposite sex, but they don't care because the endless fasting gives them a means of purchase on a life that is spiraling out of their control. (I'm not speaking from personal experience, here, I'm just citing the general consensus in the psych community.)

I have aspergers and I have gone through cycles of anorexia. I wasn't doing it for other people at all. In fact I can't quite put into words why I would starve myself day after day because I wasn't even obsessed with my appearance and felt that a lot of the other anorexic girls I saw were gross looking.

I've gone through cycles of anorexia since I was really young. I could give nary a f*(k what people think of how I look. It's just another method of coping I suppose. And of course it goes deeper, makes me feel like I have a grasp of control on something when, especially with AS, so many things are completely out of my hands. Cliche I guess.

I had anorexic/bulimic habits growing up. I have a theory that people start behaving in this way partly because refraining from food can actually be healthy and natural (fasting does wonders for the body; shutting down the digestive system temporarily gives you time to work on other issues. body will even work on/eat/destroy tumors when in fasting mode). Animals other than humans will refuse to eat when sick. Perhaps all the other factors of our lives that we find to be 'out of control' are what motivate us to take fasting to the extreme. It's only in a fatted up society that not eating is considered a disorder and people are not educated on how to do it without destroying their systems.

I fast occasionally. Never have I had more energy than when I have done cleansing and refrained from food for a few days. Other people I know who fast also had 'disordered eating' tendencies when they were younger.

I was diagnosed with anorexia in 2007 and I was shocked about the diagnoses. Except I wasn't underweight and I still got my normal periods but they still labeled me with it. My aunt thought the doctor mistook my eating patterns for anorexia because of my AS but I really was starving myself because I was afraid to get fat and I thought I was fat then too because I hated how I looked in the photos and if I was so thin, then why did I not look thin in the photos? I hated how I looked. Then I started to eat more food and I got more color in my skin. Then I ate less again when I lost my full time job. But I never wanted to be so skinny I looked like I came out of concentration camp so I never got that thin and I never went days without eating. I still ate everyday but I skipped meals. I skipped dinner. So for me, it was about my appearance and I wanted to eat normal again and enjoy food but what was stopping me was the fear of getting fat. I would fluctuate and not go back down to where I was the day before the next day so it always freaked me out. And I was scared of if I don't weigh myself then I wouldn't know if I was gaining weight and fore I know it, I'd be back up to 140 and then to 145 and then to 150 because of all that fluctuation. Last time I had let myself gain weight, my prom dress stopped fitting me so I vowed to myself to never let that happen again and I started to starve myself when I was 18 so that wouldn't happen again because I wanted to control my weight. I didn't want to be 140 again because I did get bigger and then I lost the weight again.

I was surprised to hear that some people think people do it for attention but I know that isn't true. There was this one woman who thought that until her own daughter got anorexia and she realized it's not done for attention. She even wrote a book about her daughter going through it. The book is called "Brave Girl Eating."

Anyone who thinks that people with anorexia are refraining from eating clearly don't understand what anorexia is. The vast majority of anorectics don't tell others about their disorder; in fact, they'll go out of their way to keep their disordered eating habits a secret. So yeah, like many of you have been saying, I don't think anorexia is about how others perceive you at all; it's about self-control and discipline. Not unlike the fasting that various religious figures (Buddha, various Judeo-Christian saints and prophets) undergo to demonstrate their strength of spirit and conviction in their beliefs. Not that I'm trying to relate anorexia to a religious crusade, but there definitely are similarities of intent.

Hm. I am confused maybe you can help clarify.. how is anorexia not 'refraining from eating' ? Granted I realize there is more to it than this (excessive control over a very basic function/desire/need, possibly distorted perceptions surrounding body and physical existence, etc..) but what about refraining from eating does not describe anorexia?

I have been there and I'd say that mostly what was on my mind was refraining from eating, controlling the quality and quantity of food I consumed. The secretive and over-obsessive part of it seems to be the only thing that really makes it a problem. IMHO, calling anything a disorder makes it seem like it needs to be completely remedied / eradicated.

I'm not sure about your insistence with anorexia not being about self-esteem issues as well. I certainly have issues with that and it appears League Girl also has body image problems.

Yikes. Sorry, that was a typo. It should be: "Anyone who thinks that people with anorexia are refraining from eating for appearence's sake."



You misunderstood what I said -- I said that not everyone with anorexia has self-esteem issues. Certainly the vast majority do, which is why that stereotype exists. Making broad generalizations, though, such as "all/ anorectics have self-esteem issues" is ignoring the people who aren't struggling with self-esteem issues, but rather with issues revolving around control and obsession with perfection.

I struggled with it as a teen.

Not diagnosed with AS...but I can see why Aspie girls/women would struggle with it.

It was an obsession for me, almost like a special interest. I knew everything about it and practiced it religiously.

I was also fueled by Ritalin and Adderall, I don't know if I could have pulled it off w/o it.

I don't really talk about it, either. I moved past the "mental"aspect of it, in my late teens. There was a time, though, when it was a huge part of my self-worth.

Ive struggled with food all my life. As a child I was under weight and my parents were always nagging at me to eat but I just did really see the point.

Later in life it became a problem beuase of my anixtey and the fact I listend more and more to the media as to what food were bad for you, belived them so ended up eating v little.

Even now there are certain things I eat and if i can't, I would rather go without.

I defo have had food probs including anorexia when I was a teen - and bulimia from teen up until a few years ago. Last year I had food phobia where I was having panic attacks when I ate so I avoided all food except boiled chicken & rice and Celery and water. I am ok now though