Isolation

It's amazing how food can be a divisive and isolating thing. When you aren't able to eat, what most would consider, normal foods people then tend to think of you as strange or abnormal. People can give very different reactions, I've told very few people directly (many find out indirectly so don't know their immediate reactions). They usually fall into three categories:

1. They don't know what to do with the information and just don't say anything
2. They think you're strange or weird
3. They have had eating problems of their own and are fairly understanding

I've tended to speak most to two people who fell into the third category, my closet friend fell into the first and fortunately only a few people I didn't now fell into the second. I know it's difficult for people who have not experienced the problem to fully understand but I think for many people, myself included, our lives would have been a lot easier and we would probably be eating a greater variety of foods.