Anonymous wrote:Since a PP mentioned the anorexia/autism story, I looked it up and immediately laughed out loud at this quote:
"The finding suggests the two conditions may share certain features, such as rigid attitudes and behaviors, a tendency to be very self-focused and a fascination with detail, the researchers said."
Ugh, you had to do a study to figure this out? It's pretty obvious that someone with anorexia would also have rigid attitudes and behaviors, be self-focused and be detail-focused.
The issue of scoring lower on empathy was surprising to me, but I wonder if that is related to the disease of anorexia and something that disappears if one recovers -- for example, someone with anorexia must REALLY care what others things of them, but at the same time, they may judge others harshly for not being able to control themselves, since they work so hard to control themselves.
I had anorexia in my late teens, but I have always considered myself a very empathetic person, and most people I know would agree. I know it's just anecdotal, but I feel like I ended up being anorexic in part because of my concern about others rather than lack of concern. I was very rigid at the time and judged others, but after having recovered, I feel like I am much more empathetic and always try to understand someone else's perspective and feel for them.
+1