I was just talking to a friend the other day about how people don’t take eating disorders seriously if the person doesn’t “look sick,” ie. looks like the stereotypical, low-weight, image of an eating disorder.
Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes and they are all just as serious and life-threatening.
My friend and I specifically talked about how purging can completely mess up one’s electrolytes in an extremely short amount of time and cause sudden death and that has nothing to do with weight-loss.
My thoughts are with Libby’s family and friends. 
Here is an exerpt from the original post from “The ‘Dirty Laundry’ Project” facebook page.
“This beautiful girl is Libby Rose. She lived in the U.K. Last week she received her GCSE exam results. She did amazingly well. A*s, As & Bs. She also has Bulimia.
She died yesterday.
She was 16. Her heart stopped beating. Just stopped. No signs. No warning. She was having a great week. And she just died….
…She LOOKS “normal”.. She doesn’t LOOK ill. She doesn’t LOOK at risk. She was a happy, smiley, much loved girl.
You cannot judge someone’s health on how they LOOK. That cost this amazing girl her life.”
This issue of comparing eating disorders to each other is a common issue amongts those who experience them, and is only made worse by the rest of society and medical professionals doing the exact same thing. A common theme I’ve heard from others who have struggled when talking about treatment is that they aren’t “sick enough” and the number of health professionals who have suggested the same when a patient comes to them with a concern is shocking and infuriating. There is no glamour in having an eating disorder, and there should also be no shame in it.
This was posted on Beating Eating Disorders Facebook page less than a month before news of Libby’s death.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, there is help!
In Canada contact the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) at nedic.ca or toll-free at 1-866-633-4220.
In the USA contact the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) at nationaleatingdisorders.org or toll-free at 1-800-931-2237.