So lately my girlfriend has been going through some issues with eating disorders and, although she has agreed to go to a hospital and get some help, I know that it's not going to go away as easily as spending some time in rehab. I'm worried that she'll never really feel like a beautiful person and she'll have to suffer with gaining and losing weight dramatically her whole life. Not only that, but she has schizophrenia and has to take medication for it. We both live in different states and I can never really monitor if she's really taking them or not...

I'm just really worried about her and want to know if there's anything I can do to help her through this. It's been an issue for a long while, before her and I started dating, and I know it won't be easy, but I really love her and want to see her get better. It's all I've been able to think about for a few months and it sucks for me too because it's causing issues with me as well.

I guess the point is that I wanna know if anyone else who's been through this kind of thing has any advice? Like, what did the people close to you do when they were trying to help you get better? Any and all help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello K-san.
I'll disclaim by saying that no I've never been in a relationship with someone with an eating disorder or schizophrenia, although I have with someone with depression.
So take my advice with a grain of salt.
1. Do your research.
Get on the internet and read everything that you can about eating disorders (especially the one your girlfriend has). Learn about how they work, how they are connected to or might be influenced by schizophrenia, what sorts of therapies are used to rehabilitate them etc etc. It is especially crucial for you to find out how people with eating disorders THINK. I guarantee that her mind and her 'logic' will be different to yours, so get ready to understand her.
Remember that if you are working with her doctor/psychiatrist and thinking what they are thinking, your girlfriend will get double the help!

2. Don't go through this by yourself.
Speak to other people. Are your parents supportive people? Are your friends understanding? If you are going to carry this burden and fight with her, you'll also need people to carry you and fight with you.

3. Pat yourself on the back.
You are a good boyfriend. You may feel useless and helpless sometimes, but trust me, you are neither useless nor helpless. You may be all she has. You might be the final rock in the middle of her stormy sea for her to cling onto. It may feel heavy - and as you said, it may cause issue for you too. Give yourself a mental break. Don't be hard on yourself and think this is all your responsibility. Love her as who she is. Be open and tell her how beautiful she is. Tell her even when she doesn't ask about it.

4. Form an army
Does she have other friends who know about this? If you can, try and surround her with people who know about her issue and care about her so that wherever she goes, she won't feel alone in her problem. You're too far away from her to be with her wherever she goes, but when you aren't there, others can fill in. Encourage her to talk to people whom she trusts about this. Encourage her to get them to keep an eye out for her. Maybe even talk to them yourself.

5. Don't be superman, be you.
This is kind of a summation of everything else I said.
Accept that you will not be able to heal her.
The keys to recovery lie within her and can only be found by her. You cannot be the key. You can only be with her while she goes on this journey to mend herself. You are the person who cheers her on and picks her up when she falls down, but you can't run her marathon for her. So don't tire yourself out, or else you'll have nothing left to give.

Good luck.

Sorry.
I assumed you were a guy, but reading other posts imply that you're actually a lady.
Very, very sorry.

>>2 This. The only thing I can think to add is listening. Sometimes she may not want encouragement, compliments, or direction. She may just want to have someone listen. It may be hard hearing some of the things she says, but it is often 10x harder on the teller to hold that in. Like Saika said, you cannot heal her, but you can stand beside her and give her a hand whenever she needs it. Whether or not she takes that hand is her choice. I hope for both of your sakes she gets better.