Most of us have heard at least one story of an emaciated teen age girl who starves herself because she’s convinced she’s fat. But despite anorexia’s TV – talk show familiarity, misconceptions about it abound. As a result, many sufferers can often go moths or even years before someone notices that they’re sick and steers them toward help. Some teenage girls go through this kind of disorder at different times of their lives. This kind of illness brings about many changes – physically to emotional to psychological. The nature of the disease is such that an anorexic person can almost never bring herself to consciously acknowledge that she’s ill. This is why it’s important for family, friends A study of anorexic boys by Taipale and his colleagues lead them to conclude that psycho dynamically the future anorexic boy adapted well to the development days of infancy and childhood. (Kolb and Brodie, 1989)
Anorexia affects both body and the mind. It may start as dieting, but it gets out of control. You think about food, dieting, and weight all the time. You have a distorted body image. Other people say you are too thin, but when you look in the mirror, you see a fat person. Anorexia usually starts in the teen years. If not treated early, anorexia can become a lifetime long problem. Untreated anorexia can lead to starvation and serious health problems, such as bone thinning, kidney damage, and heart problems. Some people die from these problems. People who have anorexia often strongly deny that they have a problem. They do not see or believe that they do. It is usually up to their loved ones to get help for them. If you are worried about someone, you can look for a certain signs. People who have anorexia: • Weight much less than is healthy or normal. • Are very afraid of gaining weight. • Refuse to stay at a normal weight. • Think they are overweight even when they are very thin. Their lives become focused on controlling their weight. They may: • Obsess about food, weight, and dieting. • Strictly limit their food intake. For example, they may limit themselves to just a few hundred calories a day or refuse to eat
