For five months or so, I have been making myself throw up after every meal. A few weeks ago I threw up blood. I've also completely stopped eating. What's wrong with me?
Anonymous

This sounds most likely to be an eating disorder where the vomiting has started to have quite serious physical consequences. I'm guessing that underneath you're not feeling great about yourself or about life. Someone with an eating disorder usually feels like this and then starts to engage in behaviour such as food restriction, vomiting and excessive exercise, to lose weight or to make themself feel as though they can control their eating and weight. These thoughts and actions can then become an obsession, to the point of causing physical and mental harm. Repeated vomiting can cause the lining of the oesophagus to tear and bleed. Or the repeated flow of stomach acid upwards into the oesophagus can make it irritated and inflamed, and this may cause bleeding too. Excessive vomiting can also cause tooth decay, enlarged salivary glands and, more seriously, potassium imbalance in the body, which can lead to abnormal heart rhythms. Restricting food intake carries with it a whole lot of possible risks, including malnutrition, growth and puberty delay, loss of concentration, depression, and loss of periods and fertility problems. Try talking to your parents first or an adult you trust. If this seems too difficult, you could try Kids Help Line on 1800 55 1800. However, at some point you should see a doctor, and you can do this confidentially if you wish.