Imagine watching the person you love slowly fade away, becoming a mere shadow of their former self. Now, imagine that person is your boyfriend, who’s so skinny he resembles Christian Bale in ‘The Machinist.’ He eats barely enough to keep a bird alive, and his health is deteriorating right before your eyes. He’s stubborn, refusing to see a doctor, and you’re left with a heart-wrenching dilemma: Do you respect his wishes or take matters into your own hands to save him? This is the predicament one woman found herself in. Let’s delve into her story.
Meet the ‘Skeleton’ Boyfriend
His Unhealthy Eating Habits
The Weight Loss Journey
Depression and Denial
Disturbing Health Scare
The Fear of Losing Him
The Desperate Act
The Surprise Doctor Visit
The Diagnosis
The Aftermath
The Uncertain Future
Love in the Time of Anorexia: A Difficult Decision
Caught between a rock and a hard place, our protagonist made a desperate decision to save her boyfriend’s life. She secretly arranged a doctor’s visit, leading to an awkward confrontation and a diagnosis that confirmed her worst fears. His health was indeed in serious jeopardy. But instead of gratitude, she was met with anger and accusations of betrayal. Now, their relationship hangs in the balance, and she’s left wondering if she did the right thing. Let’s dive into the internet’s top responses to this emotionally charged situation.
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NTA. Commenters emphasize the seriousness of boyfriend’s anorexia and need for help.
NTA for intervening. Saved boyfriend’s life. Grateful for your care ❤️
NTA. You helped him seek help for his own sake
NTA. You helped him realize his problem.
NTA. Concern for his health led to a difficult revelation.
NAH. Boyfriend’s eating disorder requires family intervention for treatment.
You’re a hero! Saving your boyfriend’s life ❤️
NAH. Concerned for boyfriend’s health, but he needs to want help.
“NTA person recovering from an eating disorder here. I read a few paragraphs into this and immediately said to myself ‘your boy has an eating disorder’ and as I read on it just kept being confirmed. Thinking he was fat when he was perfectly healthy, eating under 1000 calories a day (which is classed as a starvation diet btw ), saying his body doesn’t ‘need’ it even though he’s loosing weight, refusing to admit his problem etc. Now thus is why you aren’t an asshole for violating his wishes: eating disorders aren’t diets, they are serious mental illnesses. He isn’t choosing what he eats in sound mind, he is doing it because of his disorder. His brain chemistry and body right now do not want to get better. He will cling to that disorder until it kills him, as many people with EDs do. He does not have his full capabilities and will not make choices that positively affect his health, but instead one’s that further his eating disorder. That’s the eating disorder cycle. And I want to stress this very hard: eating disorders are the mental illness with the highest death rate. He is not safe. This is a very serious situation. Even if someone with an eating disorder were to recover, they may and are very likely to have lasting health damages (which I do) Stepping in and removing his right to choose is correct here because he is not thinking with his full culpabilities. From experience, the little bit of him that wants to be healthy and happy again will secretly be screaming for someone to step in and help him. Just to add a disclaimer: obviously there’s a chance this isn’t an eating disorder, but even then OPs boyfriend isn’t attempting to take care of his body which has been medically assessed to be malnourished and unhealthy, which shows a serious underlying problem in his judgement and ability to look out for his own health. I hope you and your boyfriend can move upwards from here, but don’t blame yourself for an illness neither of you can control. My advice would be to talk to him, and keep talking to him until the rational part of him wants to get better. It probably won’t be soon and it will be an uphill battle but treatment has to start with wanting to stay alive, unfortunately. However you also have to take into account that he is already endangering himself and so more drastic measures may have to be taken and that’s the way of the illness, unfortunately. Good luck and I’m sorry your in a really shitty situation”
NTA. Anorexia is a serious illness with lifelong consequences.
Saving a loved one’s life: NTA, you did the right thing!
NTA, you did what you had to to save him. ❤️
Supportive comment and advice for helping boyfriend with anorexia ❤️
Compassionate move: NTA saves ‘skeleton’ boyfriend from mental illness
Supporting a partner with mental illness: NTA, prioritize self-care
NTA – Personal trainer explains the effects of appetite suppression medication
NTA. Concerned partner seeks medical help for ‘skeleton’ boyfriend
NTA. Concerned commenter urges boyfriend to quit adderall for health
NAH. Boyfriend’s anger stems from feeling betrayed by secret doctor visit.
NTA. Violating trust to save a life shows love and care ❤️
![Image credit: [deleted] | [deleted]](https://static.diply.com/38b5ac94-f80d-4b7e-b4d0-6b34edf8431e.png)
NTA shows concern for ‘skeleton’ boyfriend, sparks emotional plea ❤️
NTA helps ‘skeleton’ boyfriend, concerns over sudden weight loss.
Saving his life: Woman’s tough love for dangerously underweight boyfriend
Caring partner takes charge of boyfriend’s health amid controversy.
NTA: A loving partner scared for her ‘skeleton’ boyfriend.
