Eating Disorder Anorexia Nervosa

Eating Disorder Anorexia Nervosa

The eating disorder anorexia nervosa is the most often diagnosed form of eating disorder linked with teens and young adults. The eating disorder anorexia is often linked to low self esteem and issues with distorted body image. So if I suffer from anorexia and if you tell me that I have lost weight, I will not believe you at all.

Symptoms and Causes

Suffering from the eating disorder anorexia means seeing a different image in the mirror. No matter how skinny you are, you will end up seeing only layers of fat in the body. In cases where the person is mindful that he/she has lost weight, they will most certainly be unhappy about the weight that s lost. They will believe that they need to work harder to lose more and more weight even at a point where there s no excess weight to lose. These people often have very negative perceptions about the way they look and will live with low self esteem for extended periods of time.

When you suffer from the eating disorder anorexia, you will notice changes in the way body reacts to food. Therefore, it is a critical situation in which body patterns too get distorted alongside with mental perceptions.

The most common symptoms of the eating disorder anorexia are loss of weight within shorter periods of time, problems with menstruation, bone mass loss leading to conditions such as osteoporosis due to lack of proper nutrition, extra sensitivity to coldness, the stomach becoming bloated following meals, skin turning yellow, loss of hair and hair becoming thinner than usual, lanugo (according to the definition from about.com, lanugo is a soft, fine coat of hair that forms on the arms and other body parts of a person who has anorexia nervosa) and mental instability.

Physical Symptoms

The downside of the eating disorder anorexia is not unique to physical symptoms. Rather they spread across psychological and behavioral changes as well. Most anorexic people will follow some ritual while eating such as restricting eating for an X amount of number of bites etc. They will focus on what is written on the nutritional label than on whether they like to eat that particular food. Sometimes, people will develop hatred towards food that they once used to love. Most often these are chocolates, and sugar-coated foods. Excessive exercising is another practice that is most often seen among people suffering from the eating disorder anorexia. So if you encounter to note these symptoms in yourself, a friend or a loved one, seek medical help directly because there are easier styles to lose weight than agonize oneself!