Anorexia nervosa (severe self-starvation) is a condition that must be treated. The root of anorexia is emotional and psychological and treatment approaches are primarily psychological. Physicians and psychologists do not agree on the causes of this disorder. Many factors seem to contribute to the development of anorexia.

In the beginning, it may be difficult to recognize the symptoms and signs of anorexia. A person with anorexia usually starts out with normal or sometimes above normal weight. The anorexic will start a diet thinking that he or she is overweight and needs to lose weight. This where the problem begins. An anorexic person becomes obsessed with the fact the he or she is overweight and suppresses hunger to the point of starvation. It may start with the fact that someone in the family is dealing with weight issues and is constantly dieting.

Although anorexia is most common among teenage or young adult women, it can also affect males. Anorexics can starve themselves to skeletal thinness. Anorexics will have a fear of becoming obese. They continue to think they are fat even though they have lost a tremendous amount of weight.

The causes of anorexia nervosa are unknown, except that it is thought to be psychological. The widespread emphasis on diets and the desire for thinness in our society contribute to its high incidence, and psychological factors play an important role in its development.

Here is a list of signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa taken from Prairie Public.org.

Extreme weight loss
Refusal to eat enough to maintain a healthy body weight
Persistent negative comments about body shape and size
Distorted body image and self-perception
Inability to recognize true body size/thinness
Excessive exercise
Continuing to diet although thin
Obsessive calorie and fat gram counting
Constant weighing
Refusing to eat in public/avoidance of eating situations
Denial of the problem
Claiming lack of hunger
Attributing life successes or failures to weight
Dressing in layers to hide weight loss
Thinning hair
Dry, yellow skin
Dry, brittle hair and nails
Complaints of being cold all the time
Refusal to eat solid food
Disguising lack of eating or reduced food intake by playing with food, picking at food, rearranging food on the plate, hiding food
Fine, downy hair that develops on face or body
Lack of menstrual period; loss of menses
Personality changes
Inability to accept compliments; frequent self-belittling comments
High expectations of perfection

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