Anorexia nervosa
goodtoknow says: If you have this eating disorder you're not alone. About 4 people in every 1000 have anorexia nervosa. The most important thing is to recognise you have a problem and get help, and there's plenty available. Anorexia is not a 'slimming disease', it's a serious psychological disorder where you fear getting fat, think you're overweight and become obsessed with dieting. 90 percent of anorexics are women, often teenagers. If you're extremely underweight, obsessed with food, and your periods have stopped it's likely you have an eating disorder, so get help now.
For a full medical explanation of the causes, symptoms and treatments of anorexia nervosa from patient.co.uk, read on.
A person with anorexia nervosa deliberately loses weight. The weight loss may become severe and life-threatening. Treatment includes 'talking treatments' such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and sometimes medication and self help measures.
What is anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa (just called anorexia from now on) is an eating disorder. It means "loss of appetite due to your nerves". Anorexia is a serious condition which affects all sorts of people. Anorexia is very common – about 1 in 20 teenagers have it. However, it affects people of all ages and has become more common in boys and men in recent years.
People with anorexia often find that they do not allow themselves to feel full after eating. This means that they restrict the amount they eat and drink. People with anorexia are underweight. Sometimes, the weight becomes so low that it is dangerous to health.
- Read more: what are the symptoms of anorexia?
More help and advice
- Why normal conversation can influence anorexia
- Tips on battling anorexia
- In-depth info on bulimia
- How to give your child a good body image
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Rose, 3 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
i have suffered from anorexia from the age of 9-21. sometimes i think i have got through it, but i haven't :( it made it hard to diagnose my problem as i binge eat 1 week then practically starve myself for 2 weeks. i am not as tiny as some people out there but it is still a big problem for me. i constantly feel really fat. i am 21 years old, 5ft 4 and i weigh 7stone 8. i can't go on like this :( i have tried to kill myself so many times. i don't find that the doctors are any help at all, they just want to put me on anti depressants all the time. if anyone needs help getting over there anorexia then please talk to me, as im hoping with the support of someone else going through the same thing will not only help them but will help me. i am desperate, i have been going through this for 12 years.
taffy, 10 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
I was browsing this site as my 20 yr old has anorexia.Although I found it very helpful and informative I found it shocking to see adverts for weight loss on same page!!! Am I the only person to feel this? As many comments I have read are from anorexics, I feel its just wrong to advertise about weightloss.
beth, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
hi i am 13 years old and im not sure if i have an eating disorder. i am around 5ft 4 and 5ft 6 and i weigh around 7 stone to 8 stone. i do alot of exercise but i eat quite a bit. my mum is worried because she thinks i am too thin because u can see my hips, a bit of my spine and a bit of my ribs. but everytime i look in the mirror i think fat fat fat. i stopped eating as much because two girls said "every time u walk there is an earthquake" and it hit me bad i have now moved schools because the bullying never stopped and i cant get it out my head. i am going to a place called Lime trees about my eating but they're not that bothered about my weight because it is normal and i am just the right weight for my height. but people are always saying i am too thin. i need to talk to someone about it. email me if you have the same problem or are understanding and will help me xbethx
rowan hill, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
stay strong! yourll pull through.
nikki, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
frankie you have to eat
donna, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
i'm 26 and have been suffering with depression i not eaten for over a week i hate the sight of food and when i am mate to eat it really hurts my stomach so i am scared to eat but donnt know what to do about it.
frankie, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
hey, im 14 n 5 ft 11 inches, im an athlete nd exercise bout 3 -4 times a week. i weigh around 9 stone 2lbs, and iv lost a stone over christmas. evry time i luk at food i feel like im going to be sik. most days i dnt eat breakfast or lunch and only eat dinner wen my parents make me sit at the table, bt afta il go and throw it up agen. it makes me happy, i hate the feeling of being full. iv told a few or my m8s, they all say i need to get help n get better, bt i dnt see the problem, i no wot cn happen, i hav a guy mate hu is in a clinic becos he weighs 5 stone and almost died. it doesnt bother me tho, id rather die thin and happy, thn liv for a long time fat. and i am happy, i reli am, i no its hard 2 believe, bt i feel so smug wen i c fat ppl in the street n i thnk hw cu u let urself get tht far. i dont think thers a problem, bt i want to no if ther is, for real cos im scared and i duno wot 2 do cos my m8s r telling me tht i mite nt b able 2 hav kids n stuf n i mite die, bt i wont let it get tht far. is it wrong wot im doin? n i dont want my parents to no, bt if it is, hw do i get help?
charlie, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
hey, i have a problem with anorexia and im 14. im 6 3/4 stone and 1 stone under weight. my mum persuaded me to see a doctor and i did, but it didnt help. i still need help..and i cant tell my mum because she is all ready worried about me. please help me...
EMMA DAVIS, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
hello im emma davis i have had anorexia and still sometimes get down over my illness i have had help and think this website is really helpfull i wish i had gone on this site befor and maybe had help me bofor my illness had got worse. keep this site going xxemmaxx
kaura, about 1 year [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
hiii im making myself sick and fakeing ill of school. my mum dont know but she gonna find out. im pale all the time. please help
holly, 2 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
i'm 15 and 7stone 6lbs. My anorexia started in october 2007. I started going to the gym to lose weight because i was 9 stone and overweight. I ate healthily at first but then i started cutting out foods altogether. I have not ate chocolate, butter, crisps or anything i think is too fattening since 2007. This is because i have a fear of gaining weight. I will not let myself go over 7stone 7lbs. I am also obsessed by food. I check the fat and calorie content of everything i eat.-if i think the calorie/fat content is too high i do not eat it. And i enjoy watching other people eat fattening food because i think 'haha you're the one with the problem'. I go to the gym 5/6 times a week. My periods stopped in march last year and came back in november. But then i lost another half stone and so my periods stopped again in january 09. I have to make myself burn a certain amount of calories(800) before i allow myself to leave the gym. I really would like to eat a bar of chocolate or something but i cannot allow myself to.