Pro-ana doesn't mean what it sounds like

For many people in recovery, openly discussing what living with an eating disorder entails can be detrimental, so what most support groups allow their members to share is very limited. This kind of environment seems to help many people, so I think it's good that it exists. But I also think there should be a space for the two types of eating discorded people that it excludes: people who are not trying to recover and people who are but gain more from speaking about their experiences, including all the nasty details. That's who pro-ana forums were created for.

Pro-ana doesn't mean anti-recovery like the misleading name suggests; it means recovery-neutral, i.e. all people with eating disorders are welcome without exceptions. The term also works as a warning to people without eating disorders to stay away.

I don't feel like I gain anything from environments dedicated exclusively to providing moral support and encouraging you to go to therapy. I think I gain more from talking about a painful reality from a morally neutral perspective. I've been banned from mental illness forums before despite using content warnings. The moderators said I could be putting other members in danger. It's hurtful to be told that a forum dedicated to discussing a mental illness you have is not the right place for you, but I think it's fair. However, it would be a lot worse if no other groups were willing to have you.

The belief that all spaces that offer mental illness support should exclude people that don't want to recover is bizarre because not wanting to recover is a common symptom of mental illness, particularly for eating disorders.