A coworker was telling me about a friend of hers who’s mother is growing more and more concerned. It seems the friend has been growing more and more “fanatical” about her vegetarionism. Now, I know vegetarianism isn’t a mental disorder, don’t get upset until you hear the whole story. But, IMO, the friend’s behavior does seem to go beyond the pale.
At first, if given a dish with meat, she would avoid the meat and was OK with eating the vegetables. I don’t know all the steps it took, but gradually she got to the point she’s at now, where she wants to rent a house, but is demanding that the owner first replace the stove because meat had been cooked on it in the past.
This progression sounded somewhat obsessive to me, and I was reminded of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
Obviously, there’s a lot more information needed to really understand what’s going on, but I’m not really in a position to ask my friend for more details. But, this does concern me enough that I don’t want a person who may be suffereing from OCD to not at least get the suggestion to talk to a professional about it.
And please, let’s not let this discussion degenerate into a debate on vegetarianism. Whether you feel vegetarianism is valid or not has as much do with OCD as whether washing your hands is valid or not. People can become obsessed with both good and bad things.
The question is whether or not I am justified in thinking that this person’s behavior might be more of a disorder than a choice.
Could be a number of disorders, with OCD being low on the list. It’s impossible to tell from the one fact presented. It could even be normal if the kitchen is old, and the stove is impregnated with decades of cooking odors, grease and crud. I’ve insisted that certain appliances be replaced before taking a rental in the past, and didn’t get diagnosed as mentally ill. (Not then anyway :D)
Sorry, I won’t speculate based on one data point. Even educated guesses need more info. And I’m not really interested in diagnosing by proxy either. If the people around her are worried about it, they should encourage her to seek help, at least to see if there is a problem that needs addressing.
Having gone through the process of becoming a vegetarian myself- first avoiding the meat on my plate, then preferring vegetarian dishes, to finally insisting on them-that part of the story seems perfectly normal.
Personally, I would prefer that meat not be cooked in my pans, but I understand that a good scrubbing would generally take care of any residue. Cast iron pans, which absorb cooking oils, would be more of a problem for me.
The issue with the stove could indicate that she is becoming obsessive. On the other hand, she might be using her vegetarianism as an excuse to get a better stove out of her landlord.
I would look at other behaviors. Will she eat in a restaurant where she knows that meat is being served? Will she shop in a grocery store? What about the refrigerator? It presumably once held meat. What about food from her mother’s fridge? Is that tainted?
Man, I had a great post, with links and everything…then the board hampsters got to it. Anyway, IANAD, but I remember reading an article in the newspaper a few months back about a reformed health food nut named Dr. Stephen Bratman. He wrote a book about health food obsession called Health Food Junkie. He calls it “Orthorexia Nervosa.” Do a google search for either Bratman or Orthorexia and you’ll get a ton of information.
I don’t know how well accepted this is by the medical community, but I have definitely seen some cases in my life. I’m mostly vegan myself. I believe it’s a healthy diet that is better for the environment than most others. But I also believe, and this is a quote from a diet guru who helped Bratman’s “recovery”, “It is better to eat pizza with friends than to eat sprouts alone.” If you want me to I can try to dig up more information - the super evangelical types to which Bratman refers give the rest of us veggies a bad name.