Can My Parents Force Me Inpatient If I'm over 18?

In the recent months I've lost some weight due to anxiety and partly because I started liking how thin I was. Tonight my dad and I got into a bit of a fight because he told me I am disgusting looking and that I am not making an effort to gain back the weight I lost.
He was clearly very angry and upset about this, which I found strange since he often says things about people being fat and obese and whatnot. He told me that he is "damn serious" that if I don't gain back the weight soon or if I drop below a certain weight (which I am very close to), he will absolutely stick me in an inpatient facility. I am shocked, because I know he is serious and I know he will do it if I don't gain weight fast.
Is it possible for my parents to force me to go Inpatient, because I'm almost 20?

Legally you can be forced into an institution if you are a danger to yourself or others. I don't know how it's proven that you are a danger to yourself; I think for suicide it has to be a clear danger, but with anorexia, I really don't know. If you have a therapist, I'd ask them if your parents could force you to... :\

If you are scared of this, I'd make up appearances that you are taking care of yourself very well and have no intentions of self-harm in any way, because that is what they'd use against you.

The type of "institution" he is talking about is an eating disorder clinic and I'm not sure how they would know I was a danger to myself unless I was literally like a skeleton or something.
The trouble I have, besides liking the weight I'm at, is that I geuinely do not enjoy eating for the most part and it is something I have to force myself to do. And if I happen to get anxious (which I'm getting better with, but still......), then I really do not want to eat.
If anything, I can forsee myself losing more weight in the upcoming weeks because my work schedule is going mad and the sheer stress of it is enough to kill any appetite I have.
Like, I'm not sure at what weight they decide "Yes, you are a danger and must be hospitalized" or if you have to have a certified ED to be hospitalized. I was never diagnosed with an ED and am not currently seeing a therapist nor can I see one because of my work schedule at the moment.

Your dad sounds like he has your interests at heart. He is giving you a wake up call that your life is going out of balance and you need to do something about it. He may not like fat but he is dead against skinny too. It is that dead bit he doesn't like. He is wondering who the project manager in your life is that decided you didn't need to eat. That is your sacred duty to get right. Your parents looked after you for many years and now it is your turn to do the job. He would be up on charges if he did to you what you are doing to yourself. Take Anny away from the controls and learn to tame her rather than listen to what she has to say. Love yourself enough to fight for a decent life that you can enjoy. Anny wont give it to you. Your dad might. He loves you.

I'm scared he will end up putting me away because it's so hard for me to eat.
I hate eating and just thinking about all the days I'll be working this month makes me want to cry because I don't have control over what I eat there. I work for my family's company and my dad will make certain he stuffs me full of food I hate and it's overwhelming me. I used to self harm and now it's really upsetting me because food and cutting were the only things I felt like I had control over.

I would be very thankful you have a dad who cares for you. He will step in if you fail to control the Anny in your life. You need to recognize you are over controlling your food intake. You get your head around that fact and make IT YOUR INTENTION TO eat better then you wont be an inpatient. Your dad is absolutely wonderful to take over control from you when you don't do what is right for your future. That is his job to do his best for you. We are in this life together. We all are holding hands and need to pull each other up when we see someone who might fall. That is what a family circle is for. If he has to force you to eat be thankful he cares. Now get rid of Anny. She is $#%^ liar and she is pulling your strings.

Hi Rawry,

On one hand it's good that your dad cares so much, on the other he's attempting to make you get better by using fear. It's a tough situation and I don't think either of you is happy about it.

I'm not sure if you can be forced into treatment at your age. It all depends on local laws. I do know that if your dad/parents take the issue to a judge to have you declared incompetent to make your own medical decisions, it's possible to be court ordered into treatment. They would have to make a pretty convincing case in order to have that happen.

Eating disorder clinics usually don't take involuntary patients. Look into the one he's thinking of and get some information so you can set your mind at ease.

In the meantime, consider how beneficial it will be for you to take some baby steps toward getting better. Keep working at it. Your dad will notice your good intentions and work and he probably will back off on the threats.

We're here for you. *hugz*

When I was seeing my first therapist (for Self injury) she had implied that if I wasn't better in a few months inpatient treatment might need to be looked at. That was for self harm, obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if my parents wanted to have me hospitalized and called her. I think if she saw me now, she would probably want me to either be in Partial or Inpatient because of various things she said months ago.

Also, I've been noticing I get headaches and dizzyness more, but I'm not sure if that's just the anxiety?

Ultimately the decision is yours. Do you believe getting more intensive treatment will help, and are you ready for that help? If there's something you're already willing to do in the name of recovery, now would be the time to start putting it into action.

Headaches & dizziness are symptoms of many things. It can be because of eating disorder complications, unwanted effects of medication, or another psychiatric problem such as anxiety. I really believe you need to see a physician about this to find out what's causing it.

I have a heart condition (MVP) that can cause dizziness, but I mainly think it's from the anxiety as I never had headaches or dizziness before I had my first panic attack.

I don't know that residential treatment would work for me right now, because there's so much I have to do in terms of working and I don't want to put the financial strain of paying for me to stay in a "funny farm" on my parents. I was seeing a therapist up until August but I had to stop because my work schedule was going to be so crazy and unpredictable I wouldn't be able to go.
I don't have a typical job in that I go to work on a certain day each week. My working days can change at any time and it wouldn't be practical right now to see a therapist.