DEAR ABBY: I am a 13-year-old girl and I hate my family. I have had an eating disorder for three years, and my parents haven't noticed. (It doesn't show because I'm regular-sized.) I think my parents hate me. They try to stuff me into a mannequin shell that doesn't fit. It's like I am a doll and not a person. I don't know what to do, and I am suicidal. But when I think about all the ambitions I have, I'm able to withstand another day, even though it is hard. Please help me. -- DEPRESSED TEEN IN WASHINGTON
DEAR TEEN: Because you feel your parents may not take you seriously, be brave and tell a trusted teacher or counselor at school everything you have written to me, including your thoughts of suicide. Eating disorders can be very serious, and they are not always obvious. Because your feelings of depression are so strong that you sometimes feel you can't go on, you need more help than an advice columnist can give you in a letter. Please don't wait, and please let me hear from you again.