They can only force you into the hospital if your blood shows that you are so anemic that you will die without treatment.......ED treatment is mostly a if you want it sort of thing from my experience with it. I was 43 when I first dealt with the anorexia that came after I lost my career. Ended up in an ED treatment center for 6 weeks inpatient....my pdoc arranged it because he thought it would help me.....he didn't fully understand that my anorexia wasn't what they considered to be the normal body image issues......I always loose weight when I get stressed & the longer or more serious the stress the more weight I loose. For about a year after that treatment center, I was landing in the medical hospital almost monthly from passing our & needing IV nutrition through a central line. It was a horrible existence actually. I didn't exactly refuse treatment that first time, but it was pretty much useless because of where I was emotionally.....they didn't help with treatment of that.

Second time I dealt with anorexia was 7 years ago (52 years old) while going through a trauma with the home care person when my mother was dying of cancer.....again, it was stress & the trauma which caused PTSD issues.....but there was no treatment that could help me. I ended up in the medical hospital because again, I was so sick & my blood work was at a level that was critical. Even then they won't force you to go into the hospital.....but if you end up passing out somewhere where they call for emergency help.....that's where you will end up is in the medical hospital.....they they will try to get you help from there.

I know it's hard to want help but it's better than death which really is the alternative.