Raging Bulimic Neighbor...

CapeCodLady8
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:00:30 +0000

Not to alarm you here, but many years ago when I was in college, I had to attend the funeral of a dorm friend who died of congestive heart failure, due to her bulemia. The shock and sadness surrounding the whole tragedy, was only compounded by the immeasurable grief of her parents, who truly did not know. Whatever it takes, do something. You might think that ‘everyone knows’, but you’d be surprised how people can rationalize things. Talk to the girl, talk to the RA, private health service, whatever…just talk to someone soon. Two years after the death of my classmate, while living off campus, one of my new roommates was also bulemic. We were able to get her help through her family. I know too well the sounds of those bathroom trips and it is painful and you do feel powerless, especially since they often deny the degree of the problem. And both girls I knew were:
-very popular
-very pretty
-had boyfriends
-great grades
-involved in everything
-were admired by peers
-were great at hiding their secret, unless you shared a bathroom with them

My friend who lived with the girl who died felt so guilty and responsible that she didn’t suspect, but maybe should have known. She would see her eating jars of peanut butter and M&Ms and yet, was extremely skinny. She always would say that she was ‘just lucky’ that she had a very high metabolism.

Good luck with all.