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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/despite-social-media-bans-of-pro-ana-websites-pages-persist/

ANOREXIC 'LIFESTYLE' Thinly disguised

A secretive Internet culture pushes hot buttons for those who want to be thin as bones.
By JILL BURCUM
SCRIPPS HOWARD
She is tiny and fairy-like, with silky blond curls and sparkly skin. Her name is Ana, and while no one else can see or hear her, she is a very real presence in the life of Kasey Brixius, an 18-year-old Minnesota college freshman struggling with the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia, as well as compulsive overeating.
Best friend and bully, Ana tells Brixius when to eat and when to exercise. She applauds or mocks Brixius' grades and weight. And she demands obedience and devotion. Brixius regularly reads or recites the Ana Creed or Ana Psalm she found on the Internet.
"Ana is definitely a higher power, not higher than God, but higher than myself," said Brixius, who is from Hot Springs, S.D., and attends Minnesota State University, Mankato. "That's how it is for a lot of people."
In the secretive, Internet-driven subculture of those who embrace anorexia, there's a disturbing new twist: anorexia as religion, or something close to it.
On many Web sites, the deadly starvation disease, the most fatal of all mental health disorders, is developing a cult-like following complete with pro-anorexia commandments, psalms, prayers and moonlight rituals in which loyalty to the goddess Ana (short for anorexia) is sealed in blood.
Deeply troubling
Doctors and activists, who once worried about the pro-anorexia red-string bracelets sold on the Web, say the sites are even more dangerous now.
In some cases, they're augmenting treatment for the disease to combat what medical professionals call the "false spirituality" at the center of some patients' lives.
"It's pretty horrific. It's amazing how people will really follow this and think of it as religion," said Shannon O'Donnell, a psychologist at the St. Paul-based Emily Program, a nationally known outpatient treatment center for eating disorders.
Even Web masters of some much-maligned sites are concerned.
"It's getting really scary out there. To glorify and praise an eating disorder, that's just wrong," said Catrina Antrim, a Green Bay, Wis., woman who runs BlueDragonFly.org, which gained notoriety for selling red bracelets to show solidarity with others who starve themselves.
About 8 million people in the United States have an eating disorder, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Cruise the Internet, and it seems there's almost an equal number of sites offering encouragement to those desiring an emaciated body -- despite recent efforts by some Internet companies to shut down such sites.
"Keep sipping on that lemon-water, tea, or diet Pepsi while you work! Keeps the tummy sated so it won't growl at ya," reads one tip from a well-known pro-anorexia Web site.
"I love the pictures of Selma Blair" reads an entry in another site's "thinspiration" photo gallery showing extremely thin actresses. "She's the absolute vision of the real Ana. I would love to look like that once I'm thin as bones."
A comfort
Brixius, who developed anorexia in high school, said she spends about 90 minutes a day surfing some of the most popular sites.
"It's comforting," she said. "You can ask any questions you want, and there are dozens of people going through the same thing. It's not just about to make yourself throw up. It's about how to make yourself healthier."
Brixius also found the Ana prayer, commandments and creed on the sites.
One version of the creed reads: "I will devote myself to Ana. She will be with me wherever I go, keeping me in line. No one else matters; she is the only one who cares about me and who understands me. I will honor her and make her proud."
For those who want a more extreme devotion, directions are just a click away. One of the best-known pro-anorexia sites provides six pages of directions for a ritual involving an altar, offerings and signing your name in blood as a contract with the anorexia deity.
Dr. Joel Jahraus, a treatment specialist at St. Louis Park's Methodist Hospital, remembers one 13-year-old girl he saw at a clinic in Arizona.
At first, sullen silence greeted Jahraus' attempts to talk about the disease and the girl's health. The silence evolved into anger. Then the girl let loose with something that still shocks Dr. Jahraus two years later.
"She started saying an incantation ... like a hex, as if to scare me off," he said.
Backlash
As this story was being prepared for publication, a new wrinkle developed.
Anti-anorexia organizations began to petition the hosts of many pro-anorexia sites, asking that they be removed for various violations of terms of service, or just on moral grounds.
The result? 
An outcry on the pro-Ana blogs, where those who embrace starvation feel threatened all over again.
But now they don't get tips on hiding their obsession from "Anorexic Nation" and other sites. Now, the cult of Ana is finding itself on the run.
As soon as one site is closed, however, another blog is turned into a gathering spot. The culture of the Internet allows for not-so-secret gatherings. In this instance, those who gather are prepared to disappear and gather elsewhere.
The discussions reflect the moment-to-moment control problems associated with the illness.
Ana, they say, still demands their loyalty.