Dear Prudence,
I have a lot of food intolerances. Growing up, I was constantly put down as a picky eater but screamed at for hogging the toilet (because the food made me sick). I have a select variety of food that I trust and have been buying it for myself since I was a teenager. That hasn’t stopped my sister from stealing my food and stuffing herself. She can literally put away a week’s worth of junk food in a sitting, then whining that there is “nothing” to eat in the house.
There are plenty of fruits and veggies, but my mother refuses to buy more junk for my sister. Even if I hide the food in my room, my sister will go in and stuff herself. When we fight over the theft, she whines and cries and our parents blame me. I can’t afford to move out. I can barely afford my bike repairs and college costs. Last time, my sister accused me of giving her an eating disorder, and I screamed she was starving me to be a fat stupid pig. Our mother told me to stop and I threw a toilet paper roll at her head. I screamed because they refused to take me seriously as a kid and I can’t afford to see a doctor now and I literally shit myself when I eat normal food. My father locked up my bike as punishment so I have a 40-minute walk to work and school. What should I do?
—Fed Up