Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder which is most common among teenage girls, although boys can also have anorexia too.
Symptoms of anorexia nervosa
If you have anorexia, then you may experience these symptoms:
- An obsessive fear of gaining weight, causing you to control your eating and eat less and less.
- Controlling body weight by extreme measures like making yourself vomit, purging, starving yourself on purpose, excessive exercising and other methods, such as diet pills.
- A distorted body image - even if you are thin and wasting away, you still see yourself as heavy.
- Physical effects from starving. Without enough nourisment to sustain you, your internal organs will begin to fail and you could die.
- Low self-esteem, depression, mood swings, deteriorating relationships with others.
- Growth of more body hair - this is a symptom of a lack of fat - your body will grow more hair to insulate itself and this can lead to even further unhappiness with your body image.
The risks of having anorexia
Anorexia has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition. About 10% of people diagnosed with anorexia eventually die from related factors caused by starving including strain on the heart, low levels of essential hormones and low bone mineral density.
More information
You can find more information on anorexia and other eating disorders on these sites, as well as support for treatment:
Related External Links:
- The Beat
Telephone: 0845 634 7650
Text: 07786 20 18 20
Information for young people about eating disorders, how to get help and how to help someone you know with an eating disorder. - YoungMinds: Eating Disorders
YoungMinds is the national charity committed to improving the mental health of all children and young people.