Am I anorexic?
Someone told me they thought I was anorexic. I’m not sure I know what that means. My boyfriend thinks I look great. I have a flat stomach and that is important to me.
Advice: Anorexia is technically called anorexia nervosa and it is defined as self-induced starvation resulting in extreme, often life-threatening weight loss. About one percent of the population suffers from this. Some studies have shown that when one girl in a group gets real thin, others begin doing the same kinds of behaviours to be thin also. Some people become obsessed with looking as “good” as their friends.
Some of the symptoms of anorexia are the stopping of the menstrual cycle, digestive problems, irregular heartbeats, low white blood cell count, kidney problems, low blood sugar, getting dizzy, dry skin and thinning hair. Anorexics have a distorted body image. Even when they are dangerously thin, they still think they are too fat. They tend to be obsessive with perfectionism, with food and recipes, with control, and with excessive exercise. They tend to have low self-esteem, be depressed, and irritable. This is a compulsive behaviour driven by emotion.
The anorexic often begins by feeling emotionally empty (love hunger), then feels the emotional pain of low self-esteem, then she looks for something to deaden the pain (starvation). The physical painful sensation of the starving body over rides the emotional pain. By focussing on “being too fat” the anorexic doesn’t have to deal with the deeper “love hunger”. The real issue is emotional pain and the distortion of her true physical self. The person needs to learn to love the body God has provided. The best place to start to find out of you might be anorexic is at the doctor’s office for a good physical and be sure and tell the doctor which of the above symptoms apply to you.
