PrettyThin

I have to admit, it's getting tiring. Not tiring in that it's annoying, but it literally takes a couple hours every day to do it.

I have always seen the value to offering feedback about what PrettyThin is all about, and helping people better understand the issues that surround it from a PT perspective rather than having their own unguided opinion. But it is time consuming.

Does it matter that people understand? I wonder that often. I think it's the purpose of PrettyThin; a purpose of my own in life, to better understand the things that make up our lives, make us unique, make us different. The world is full of misunderstandings and biases, opinions based on fear rather than understanding.

I don't know where I'm going with this. Maybe you have some thoughts to share?

James  |   on Facebook - only real profiles please

Click to see the larger image.

 I'm not saying that Buddha was "pro-ana" but it's interesting to reflect on.

You should see a Member's photo section up and running in a few minutes.

Stay Beautiful,
James :-)
Facebook

Hey everyone,
A lot of you contact me and share stories and ideas, gripes and concerns, and I try to make all of it come back to the site one way or another in hopes that it will do exactly what PrettyThin is intended to do: to enhance the lives of it's members. Some of you send me pictures and I want to add those onto the site as well. Here is one. If you have something to share, please do. It all comes back to PT.

Long overdue is bringing the member's photos back. How about we bring that back on Monday with some enhancements.

I just read the testimonials and it made me cry. Click PT and Me and tell me it doesn't do the same to you. I mean, this is something YOU created. Thank you, each and every one of you, for making PrettyThin. The thanks is ALL to you.

Remember when these were on sale? About FOREVER ago? Well, they're not back on sale yet, but for those who ordered them, they are just about out the door and to your mailbox. I have been making them on and off over the past three(ish) weeks and have to clip the ends, solder them so they don't unravel, put them in some packaging (which I'll figure out tomorrow), and then off to the post office on Friday, fingers crossed.

For those who want to buy them, here is the scoop. This is the Second Edition PrettyThin Unity Bracelet. The first edition consisted of 100 and sold out in four days. The second (current edition) is going to be limited at 200. The first 70+ were sold in three days, then I refunded a few after the madness of losing them all along my travels. Once I get these 70 out to those who have been patiently waiting, I will put the page back up for you to purchase one.

After THAT is done, I am putting out a set of t-shirts. I have been designing them on and off for some time and they will be available with both PrettyThin branding and without. Expect that in about two weeks.

Stay Beautiful,
James  |  www.facebook.com/xorrox

A week ago I posted in search of models and people in the fashion industry to contact me if they were willing to share their story. I am still catching up on those emails and thank all of you for reaching out and sharing your experiences with me. Feel free to keep them coming...

I'm posting again as a continuation of the same quest for knowledge and understanding.

I have a friend who runs five miles a day. Some may consider that a lot, some consider that normal, but for this particular friend of mine it's simply an obsession. You know how some people have to go home to let the dog out quickly before going out after work? This is what running is to this friend of mine. She has to go home after work and "do her miles" before coming back out.

She does not (as far as I'm aware) have an eating disorder, nor does she diet. She's not even a fitness freak or workout addict. But she has to get that run in. She is addicted to it and admits that she is.

I was wondering if anyone here has an addiction or obsession with working out. It doesn't have to be an obsession in the same way as my friend - everyone has their own, if they have one that is. And more curiously, did you develop an ED as a result of exercising or obsession with fitness, or did it go the other way around?

The reason I am asking these questions (for those who have a curiosity, much like I do about most things) is that it is very common for someone to say "oh yeah, people in the fashion industry are obsessed with their weight," but the picture they paint has no depth or color. The generalization is empty.

I find a world of generalizations to be empty. The world is full of it, from one country to the next and from one person to another; our understandings of life and one another being surface, like news clips that freak us out about one thing or another only to be forgotten the next week as something else flashes before us and grabs our attention for a few days, offering little growth but a lot of empty mental calories. Am I ranting? Sorry....but that's what this is all about.

What will happen with it all? In time, I hope it will amount to articles here on PrettyThin. So, for those who have shared, thank you for sharing.

Stay Beautiful, just as you are,
James  |  www.facebook.com/xorrox

I just read an article about Ann Ward and it sent me down a path of thoughts. Is anyone a member of PrettyThin who is a professional model? or in an industry or profession where you feel the way you look effects what you do?

I know that this is asking for a leap of faith, but if you're open to me asking you a few questions, please contact me. Your privacy will obviously be respected, so don't worry about your contacting me being publicized in any way.

Welcome to 2011 everyone!

 Stay Beautiful,
James
www.facebook.com/xorrox

Yesterday there were a couple forum topics from members stating how they couldn't take it any more. How they tried and wanted so much to be stronger, but didn't have the will or strength to carry on. When anyone sees a topic like this, what are they to think? What are they to do? With so many fake profiles on here it's often hard to know what's fake and what's real. But you can't ignore the messages. You can't read something like that and think "hmm....hope it's not real. Oh cool, a topic about sex!" (If you were in the forums at 3am like I was, then you know what I'm talking about).

Very often when a member writes about the possibility of taking their own life, I get emails that generally say "see? PrettyThin is killing people! How can you live with yourself!?" It's hard to take, wondering what if - what if this time, someone did take their lives?

My guiding principle is that PrettyThin is bigger than any one of us. It's here for all of us because we are here for each other. The action of one member cannot destroy such a thing - it never will - it never should.

I believe in personal responsibility. There is only one thing that we are all confined to - only one thing that we are all condemned to until the day we move on from this world - choice. We have to choose, from one moment to the next, the way we interact with the world. Maybe we have a choice as to how we see the world, and maybe we don't, but we have no option but to choose when it comes to what we do with our days; what we do with our lives.

I think what's important is that we continue to do what we do here: support one another. No matter what, we are all here for one another. We will have our moments of clarity and our moments of darkness, but like winds and seasons and the passing of time, we will shift from one moment to another, from light to dark and back to light once again. I hope those who have those darker moments stick with us, knowing we love them, that we care, and that the moments of clarity will return. And that they may fade again, only to return once more. And in that darkness just as in the moments of tranquility, you always have this community; you always have PrettyThin.

Stay Beautiful. Stay with us. We love you, just the way you are.

There was a recent forum topic which linked to an "open letter" to me regarding PrettyThin and how it encouraged eating disorders. As many of you know, the goal of PT has always been to be different than other pro-ana sites. I even stated once that I considered PrettyThin to be a pro-ana site, but not in the same way others might. That discussion brought to light, for me, that PT is different, and that it really does support those with an ED rather than supporting their ED itself. I hate to draw parallels, but it's like supporting someone who has cancer rather than giving them cancer or supporting the disease.

I found the discussion quite helpful, and have decided to make the link to the Recovery Section more predominant. I also will spend time focusing on the recovery section as part of the cleanup of the site.

I created a new topic within the forums which I think will help me better understand PrettyThin and the way people use it. This may be the first of a few topics which I post on the subject, mainly in an effort to better understand how I should go about making the changes that I do on the site. Don't worry - I am not going to make any major changes. I think any major change would just turn PT into some other site, and what would be the point of that? I have never kept PrettyThin open in hopes of getting more members or having a popular site. The goal has always been to give those who need a place to discuss the things which torment their minds and consume their days to do so.

I hope you join this discussion, and continue communicating with me about the things you think will improve the lives of the members of this community. It's called PT fuels my ED

Iowa...next stop, Texas :-)

Stay Beautiful,
James  |   www.facebook.com/xorrox

The year is almost over, and for me 2010 didn't only go by extremely quickly, but brought with it a lot of changes and challenges, adventures and experiences. I didn't really expect it to be what it was, but I'm happy that it turned out the way it did.

As the year comes to a close I know many of us are coming up with resolutions for the new year. For many I'm sure that the resolutions have something to do with their eating disorder, or the challenges they face every day. A lot of people have been sharing  with me and that has made me think a lot about the resolutions I am making for myself; about my place in this community where often I don't feel I belong. I'm writing not only because I can, but because I always worry about how decisions I make might impact the community.

For the most part, the things I do have very little effect, and usually that's a good thing. I think that this site and this community is what it is because of the members, because of you, and what you make of it. Sure, from time to time I stir up discussions about what this site means to me, about the concept of pro-ana or about my own misconceptions of eating disorders, but for the most part, it's you that are there for one another and you that make PrettyThin what it is.

For those of you who know me, you know I have been traveling for most of the last year. I plan on spending the coming year traveling as well and have already purchased my tickets to Europe. I realized as I traveled last year that I am not simply going around and seeing new things and having new experiences; I am taking all of those experiences and adventures with me. As the people I come across share their cultures and countries with me, I am sharing with them all the previously shared wonders of this world an stories of those who I have the fortune of crossing paths with. As I come to slowly understand a little bit of this amazing world, I am carrying that understanding along and sharing it with those who cannot get away the way I have.

So my New Years resolution is to continue understanding, and to continue sharing. To continue being corrected about my many misconceptions, and being helped to form new and better understandings of the things that surround me. One of those things is PrettyThin. And my goal is to be more available to those who ask me to be. I'm not quite sure how it will all come together, but it usually does, with the direction of you, the community. Some of you I'm sure I will run into this coming year as I move about, and I look forward to that. Many of you will hopefully benefit from what I do this coming year, and I look forward to that too.

That's enough from me...what is your new year going to bring?

Stay Beautiful,
James  |  www.facebook.com/xorrox