When you think of people who may be susceptible to an eating disorder like anorexia, you may only think of teenage girls. It would make sense if you only thought of teenage girls as being affected by this eating disorder, but it wouldn't be 100% accurate. There are a number of people who suffer from this disorder and it is becoming more apparent that a piece of this puzzle exists in adult anorexia.

Before I move on, I want to stress that the onset of adult anorexia, where no prior symptoms have been present, is very rare; but that doesn't mean it is not in existence. We must be careful with a disorder like anorexia; that we don't pigeon-hole only one "type" of person who may suffer from this problem. Keeping our views narrow-minded could cost a life, if a person is dismissed as having these symptoms, but not fitting into the well-known mold.

The thing about anorexia is that it is more about "gaining control" of an aspect of one's life much more than it is about food. Because of the immaturity of a teenager's mind and the lack of control they have on their own lives on a daily basis, it would make sense that they would turn to controlling what they ate as a way of gaining some kind of control. Unfortunately, it is often the case that once a person has dabbled with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia, the path set in motion could very well turn into a disaster. The frailty of an immature mind could be easily convinced that what they see in the mirror is not their reality and that by starving themselves; they are in control of their day to day lives.

The disease of anorexia nervosa is cunning, baffling and powerful and once it has a hold of a mind, it is hard to let go of. There is recovery, and statistics show that once an anorexic, even for an adult anorexia sufferer... once a course of action has been taken and a road to recovery has been laid down, full recovery is now a choice not a fantasy.

When anorexia is prevalent in adults, it is almost always something that has been lying dormant in one's life. Any kind of trauma or unexpected life change could kick into gear those old feelings of needing to gain control.



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