"PLEASE HELP" - anonymous survey on Anorexia & Bulemia for college paper

Dear readers,

I'm currently doing a research paper on Anorexia & Bulemia. Yet, one the most vital aspect of the paper comes from the surveys that I have to conduct. I have realized that it is very difficult getting a one on one survey done, therefore I would like to ask if any of you could please take a minute or two to help me out. The survey is completely confidential and if any one of you would like I could email the final copy of my paper to you so you could read it for yourselves. Anyways, thank again very much, here are the questions:
1. What is your definition of beauty?

2. Do you watch TV, if so what is your favorite TV show?

3. What is the most important thing for you in your life?

4. Do you have any hobbies, if so what kind?

5. Who is your idol/role model?

6. What would you change about yourself if you could?

7. Do you think that today’s media portrays the ideal image of a woman as being thin and beautiful? If so, why or why not?

well i suppose that if it is confidential i will reply. just to let you know, i am no longer anorexic/ bulimic, i overcame it about five months ago. so i will put my views of when i was in the eating disorder and now that i am fully recovered. also if this is any help: i had the disorder between the ages of 11 and 13. i am now 14.

while i was anorexic/ bulimic:
1. to be as thin and in shape as possible. beyonce (the singer) was so beautiful and i hated myself for not looking like her. so i punished myself, i felt like i was ugly and the only way that people would love me was if i was beautiful.

2. That 70's show it is very funny. (what does this have to do with eating disorders?? just wondering)

3. to be thin and beautiful.

4. running (which became very hard when i wasn't eating enough for energy) riding my dirt bike, hanging with friends, purging (not a hobby, but i did it enough that it could have been), watching movies, swimming competitively ( also difficult with no food), and reading.

5. beyonce, britney spears, models, people who i wanted to look like.

6.to be thinner, better looking.

7. yes! they practically make it seem like you HAVE to be thin. think about it even in disney movies the girl is super perfect and beautiful same with barbies. it is practically engrained into a woman's mind that that is the way a woman is supposed to look.

now that i am recovered:

1. i believe that beauty is being healthy. i don't think that you need to necessarily be thin, but you shouldn't be overweight either. i eat what i want but still exercise. actually now that i have gained 20 lbs. (i am now 5' 6" and 118 lbs. and during my eating disorder i was 5' 6"
and 98 lbs.) guys have been paying alot more attention to me. before when i was super thin no boys even looked my way, yet now (not to brag) i have guys coming up to me at least twice a week asking me to do something with them. my love life has definitely upped!

2. still that 70's show.

3. family, friends, to help others like me (i plan to be a psychologist)

4. same except for the purging thing. also i have a lot more energy now to run and swim.

5. actually now i dont have a role model, i am happy with the way my life is going and dont want to mold it around everyone else's. (people always tell me that i look like mandy moore if that counts)

6. i procrastinate too much with school work and chores, i put play before work. need to work on that.

7. still the same opinion as before.

well i hope that i could help email me if you have any further questions. my email address is sassybarrett@yahoo.com

this may help even more...this was over the summer when i was still recovering

when i was eleven i stopped eating to lose weight. then about a year ago ( i am now 13) i started abusing laxitives and purging. i was in basket ball, swimming, and track through out the year and i would go to practice on an empty stomach. so i would burn about 500 calories with no food in me. my friends started getting really worried that i had stopped bringing lunch to school (the most i would have would be a diet coke...i think that the caffine made me more awake) i would read magazine articles about girls with eating disorders and actually take tips about how they hid their disorders. i was memorizing the nutrition facts so my family and friends wouldn't see me checking. i was 5' 6" and weighed about 98 lbs.
i got so sickly that it was difficult to be in sports. my stomach was taking a beating from all of the laxitives that were going into me and my throat was being eatin away from all of the stomach acid. i just hated who i was. my mom finally realized there was something wrong and monitored my eating habits for about three months. i am now to a normal weight 5'6" and 113 lbs. but when i look into the mirror i see this ugly overweight girl staring back at me.
i have started doing the things that i was doing when i first became anorexic. i feel as though if i am not thin no one will love me. i hate the way i look...i don't even think that i am worthy as a person. i have a 25 inch waist!! the "perfect" waist is 24 inches! i wish that i was perfect....everyone around me is!!

Hi Lianca.. welcome. Did you think to ask DocJohn if this was okay to do here? I don't really know.. there's a general resistance to research and surveys and all like this... but like Isaid, I don't know. Maybe have them respond to you in a PM?

Several of us who don't mind expressing our answers have done exactly as you suggested by using the PM. Most of us know about that method of keeping ourselves more personal...

Thank you for suggesting the use of PM for anyone who doesn't know the capability is available.

Thank you, your answers provide great help towards my paper. If you wish to receive a copy of it, please let me know - I will be finishing it around mid Dec. thanks once more. Lianca