Pro-Anorexia Websites and a Unique Invention

Medical news issues are like buses it appears, and luckily for me, as it means that I have plenty to write about aside from my own doings! The latest story is the appearance to the media of pro-anorexia websites, on which anorexics tout the disease as a desirable condition and offer advice about how to attain an unhealthily low BMI. Disgusting, was my natural reaction. But the problem is complicated. Anorexia, the fear of gaining weight accompanied by a decrease in food intake, is a mental illness. A vast number of mentally ill patients lack what the medical profession calls "insight", the realisation that one is actually ill. Just like a schizophrenic may honestly believe that voices are controlling him, anorexics believe that their bodies are overweight, despite the opposite being blatantly true. And if an outspoken, computer literate person were to become anorexic and lack insight, then the appearance of these websites can be easily explained. I don't think that there is any malicious intent here, the people in charge of these sites are genuinely ill themselves and punishment in these cases would not be fitting. A better plan would be to further raise the profile of anorexia as a cureable illness, and to teach parents and friends how to spot the subtle signs of it's incidence. As for the sites themselves, they should be closed down and their clientelle should be followed up as thoroughly as possible for consultation, if possible. Anorexia kills often, and almost always carries many unpleasant symptoms.
As for me, I woke up with a cracking headache, thanks to my vindaloo/champagne/JD special yesterday night. I think I was slurring something about being deserving of a Nobel Prize because I had invented (in theory) the mint flavoured oral contraceptive pill. The best ever method of birth control, and a bonus that makes birth control more likely to become useful....
I drove the 130 miles from sunny Weston-super-Mare back to Southampton late this evening in my new Punto, in fact it was the first time that I'd driven to my Uni city in the 3 years of me being here. 3 hours of boredom, if I hadn't had torrential rain and Pete Tong to keep me entertained, I might well have dozed off...