posted
One of my good friends has been throwing her food up multiple times a day for about 4 months (she also has body image issues). The thing is, she's been confronted about this individually a few times and last night, my friends and I all confronted her about it, but she always denies it. One of my other friends told her RA who then talked to our friend, and she denied it then too. Our RA said that since she's not admitting to having a problem, we can't do anything about it. My friends and I feel horrible having her go through this and want to help her, but we don't know what to do anymore. We told her roommate, but she doesn't take this situation seriously. Right after the talk last night, my friends heard them laughing about it in their room.
Is there anything we can do? How can you help someone who doesn't want help but clearly needs it? We're concerned about it getting worse; she's not underweight or malnourished yet, but we'd like to help her stop before that happens. Posts: 238 | Registered: Jul 2011
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posted
Unfortunately, you cannot really force someone to accept help, no matter how badly they need it. It sounds like you and your friends have already taken all of the right steps: offered your help and informed the people around her, including the RA.
One other thing you could do, if you feel that it's appropriate, is to inform your friends parents. Though this is a call only you can make, as it depends on how well you know the parents, and on what you know about the relationship your friend has with her parents.
Outside of that, the best thing you can do is continue to be there for her, and let her know that you are ready to support and help her whenever she is ready to accept the help. Along with that, you can also give her phone numbers or links to counseling resources, in case she would rather reach out on her own to an outsider.
-------------------- -joey Scarleteen Volunteer
"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand Posts: 8422 | From: Cologne, Germany | Registered: Sep 2005
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