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What is it with friends competing to see who can lose the most weight, or who can lose weight the fastest? The more I talk to people, the more this is unfolding as a commonality amongst school girls, even work colleagues, and sometimes siblings. It is quite disturbing that this is how an eating disorder can start, and then, when the diet continues to a dangerous stage, how the competitors find that they cannot stop and have to keep going, and even keep competing, at any cost. This is a dangerous game. Eating disorder ‘buddies’ can potentially keep each other on this destructive path by being bonded by their secret. They can also learn ‘bad habits’ from each other, such as embarking on laxative consumption or learning how to purge through vomiting. True friends need to look after each other, protect each other from life’s painful hurdles and obstacles. The very notion of two friends keeping each other trapped inside their self destructive worlds, controlled by their eating disorders while living their own private hell, is not indicative of the definition of ‘friendship’ by any means. However, once on this path, the road ahead is perilous and treacherous. When you think about friendship, in the true sense of the word, it means loving someone so much that you would do anything for them. Protecting them from pain, stopping them from walking into walls even if conflict develops as a result. You do all this because you love them unconditionally, because they are worthy of your love. And you yourself, are worthy of love too. If you are ever in the situation where you try to encourage a friend to join you in your quest to lose weight, or a friend trys to rope you in to joining them in their diet with the promise of better things, I urge you to think twice. Remember what friendship means, what it means to you and how much you treasure it.
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