How Can I Be Sure I Really Need Residential for an Eating Disorder?

Question by : How can I be sure I really need residential for an Eating Disorder?
Here’s a little about my current behaviors: I binge and purge at least 3-4 times a week, I eat about 5-600 calories for breakfast and exercise them all off.. then I have around 5-700 calories for dinner.. I constantly am thinking about being thin.. or I’ll feel super fat even if I’m told I’m not.. My self injury ( bruising, cutting, burning) is mainly related to my eating disorder.. like if I binge and purge and I didn’t want to and now I don’t have a definate for sure caloric number for the day I’ll punish myself for being bad and bingeing.. My exercise is usually only an hour a day every day of the week no matter how bad i feel unless the occassional days when it feels like I might pass out and I know I can’t physically exercise (this rarely occurs only has occurred twice w/i the last month), but I don’t feel like this is over exercising is it? do I sound like I need an inpatient type deal? I’m not severely underweight.. I’m 5’11 and 173.5 lbs..Also, what is involved in a phone interview for an Eating disorder evaluation? as this is what my therapist told me I need to get done to see if I should be admitted there.. I just keep thinking (now that the ball is sort of rolling for inpatient) that I’m not bad enough.. I’m not sure when my eating disorder started I’ve been dieting since around 14 (am 23) .. I just don’t know when it became an eating disorder.. the physically vomiting started about a year and 2 months ago.. the self injury for 3 years..

Best answer:

Answer by Lewis
You have an eating disorder. You don’t need to be extremely thin or “dying” to have an eating disorder. I went through it and I know how you feel. None of what you are doing besides the purging is very unhealthy for you (you should be eating more calories, but you won’t starve on what you’re eating) but you are still suffering mentally, and this needs to be addressed before things get worse. Call for the evaluation and if they deny you, keep persisting. I doubt they will, but things happen.

My eating disorder started as this too, and eventually I ended up with a BMI of only eleven and in the hospital with many organ problems. It starts off small at first so you need to “nip it in the bud” so to speak.

Please call that number, please keep trying.

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