They may weigh themselves several times a day or spend a great deal of time looking at their figure in the mirror. Even though they are very thin, people who suffer from this disorder actually think they are overweight.

When they look in the mirror, they do not see themselves as others do. All they are concerned about is losing more weight or the never ending fear of weight gain. Although doctors do not know what causes anorexia nervosa, patients who are afflicted with this disorder often have similar personality and behavioral traits.

Many times they are perfectionists who are very critical of themselves. A person who suffers from anorexia may feel an overwhelming need to be in control of everything around them. Some patients are even under the illusion that if they lose weight they will be happier and life in general will be better. Exercising several times a day or for long periods of time is not uncommon for people with anorexia. They will do anything to achieve what they feel is the perfect body.

A few or several of the following symptoms may be present in people who suffer from anorexia: weight loss, loss of appetite or refusal to eat, over exercising, hair loss or change in appearance of the hair, overwhelming fear of weight gain, unusual eating habits such as refusing to eat around others or chewing food excessively, and constant dieting or the use of weight loss supplements.

treating anorexia is somewhat similar to treating a person who suffers from alcoholism. In order for the person to receive treatment and recover, they have to actually want to change.

If the person does not admit they have a problem or does not believe that there is anything wrong with them, often they will not respond well to any type of medical treatment or counseling therapy.

This is especially a problem in people with anorexia since they do not see themselves as being too thin. Many times they will resist treatment or help. People who have suffered from anorexia for a long period of time will need extensive treatment and follow up counseling.

While getting the person back to a healthy weight is the ultimate goal, doctors must also treat the underlying cause. They need to try and understand what feelings or problems caused the disorder to occur in the first place.

Changing a person’s way of thinking is essential in preventing a reoccurrence of the disorder. Prompt treatment is especially important for a person suffering from anorexia. The longer the disorder persists, the harder it is for the person to physically recover.

Although only a small percentage of the population suffers from anorexia, it has a fairly high fatality rate when left untreated. Patients who refuse to eat are usually kept under hospital care and receive feedings through a tube until they are able to eat on their own again.

The sufferer will also have a greatly distorted vision of there own body, they will always see themselves as being overweight even when they are no more than barely skin and bones.

Both types of anorexia may also include depression as a symptom and as a result of there denial of the problem it is often friends and relatives who are the first to notice and bring up the fact that they do indeed have an illness.

Anorexia is thought be a “women’s problem” but while it is true that it does affect more women than men; men do suffer from anorexia too. The disease most commonly occurs in young women between the age of 15 and 18 and often the onset usually occurs during adolescence, it can also occur in later life but this is rare.

Binge/purging Anorexia

The anorexic suffering from bingeing anorexia will have the tendency to induce vomiting once they have eaten. The sufferer will eat and once digested they will immediately be overcome with a sense of guilt for the actions and will force themselves to be sick to rid themselves of the food.

This can lead to serious problems with the digestive system and in particular the oesophagus which due to the acid could burst or rupture. Another form of purging is with the use of laxatives many anorexics think that the use of laxatives can actually help lose weight but they are wrong as laxatives only work at the lower end of the bowel.

Restrictive Anorexia

The second type of anorexia is called restrictive, as the name suggests the sufferer will restrict the amount of food taken into the body, with this type of anorexia the sufferer won’t eat binge on food and then vomit, they just don’t eat.

The will have the same overall thoughts and feelings about how there body looks and will have the same fear that they are overweight, the same sense of worthlessness and they can be affected greatly by depression which goes hand in hand with anorexia.

The sufferer may also exercise sometimes to the extreme in the attempt to rid them selves of the fat they see themselves as having.