Re: What's the score with supporting people unconditionally on a water fast?

Wow, good response Willow. I agree with just about everything you say.

I am sure that low self esteem goes hand in hand with an eating disorder. I have also been told of other things to look for, such as usernames like thinspiration and so on. Plus waif like icons. Fairly obvious things really. Below also is a table copied from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm

From the same site also is a picture

By the way I have tried emailing people with low self esteem, and no response. I also get private emails too, maybe every couple of weeks when I post a lot. A typical email might say "Hi I saw your before and after pics, can you post more? They inspire me so much". Then when I respond and ask questions, no reply. Zilch. Zippo. They just pop up elsewhere a few weeks later asking the same questions - "please help me, blah blah blah". And this pattern is repeated, often for months or years.

Oh but I should also say I get some really nice emails too, from people who are a bit shy or don't like to post their failures to the forum for example. These people are great, and I often enjoy corresponding with them. As long as a dialogue is going I am fine. Good luck to you shy fasters ;)

The other dilemma I have is that I am a moderator of said Water Fasting Forum. So is it enough for me to stand idly by, when others are telling a person with low self esteem and with a few other indicators "go on, you can do it?" I often cringe when I look at a person's previous posts, seeing low self esteem and the same pattern over and over, and people who are less informed are (in all innocence) cheering them on.

And remember when I first met you on the forum? I new straight away you were going to succeed, because you were showing all the right signs, mainly self confidence. Yes I am sure that all people with EDs have low self esteem. Well, definitely the serious cases anyway, which is what really concerns me.

But here's the main dilemma, in a nutshell. It is supposed to be a Water Fasting Support Forum, but "support" for the wrong type of person may seriously harm them, or even kill them.