What you may not know is that these communities do exist. There’s no shortage of crime shows featuring episodes where antagonists manipulated discussions taking place on pro-suicide websites to egg people on to take their own lives. Participants in both communities anthropomorphize the diseases via these shortened names anorexia is sometimes referred to as a girl named Ana, as is bulimia’s Mia. Similarly, communities of bulimia nervosa communities exist, where the term pro-mia is used. For a mild sufferer, this could mean the difference between an early intervention and an accelerated path to the worst possible outcomes. Unfortunately, these communities can make these destructive behaviors worse by validating them and providing a sense of community acceptance.
