Anorexia is when a person restricts the amount they eat and drink to lose weight, or to maintain a very low body weight (below the recommended healthy weight for their height and age). Someone with anorexia will intensely fear gaining weight or losing control over what they eat.
Someone with anorexia may also have a distorted view of their body, believing they are overweight even when they are very thin, and they may also obsessively exercise in their drive for thinness. They may feel that their weight or body image directly reflects on their value as a person, leading to, or adding to already, low self-esteem. This constant sense of self-dissatisfaction drives a need to ‘do better’ or to have greater control and maintains the disorder.
There are two sub-types of anorexia; restrictive and binge-purge. Someone with the binge-purge subtype of anorexia may have episodes of over-eating or ‘bingeing’ as well as prolonged periods of restricting food and drink. They may also engage in compensatory ‘purging’ behaviours in an attempt to rid themselves of any calories consumed. This may occur after a binging episode or in reaction to the anxiety and guilt associated with eating even small or ‘normal’ amounts of food.
Some symptoms of anorexia include:
- rapid or dramatic weight loss
- obsessions around dieting, food and calories
- low self-esteem and weight complaints
- visible food restriction or unusual rituals around eating
- loss of periods in females, or loss of sex drive in males
- dehydration, constipation, or complaints of abdominal pains
- dizziness and headaches
- poor circulation or feeling cold all the time
- difficult making decisions and concentrating
- poor sleep, and restlessness
Binge – Purge Explained
A binge is when a person rapidly consumes a large amount of food in a short amount of time, far more than a person would be expected to consume in the same time frame, under similar circumstances. Food choices for binges are typically high calorie or junk foods, but can also be whatever is available to the person, depending on their circumstances and finances. Binge episodes are often associated with feelings of being out of control, an inability to stop, and the sense of being in an altered mind state or ‘trance’. Binges often occur in secrecy and may be planned, for instance, when no one is around.
To purge is to engage in any behaviour that the person believes compensates for or gets rid of the calories they have consumed. This includes self-induced vomiting, taking laxatives, diet pills or water tablets (diuretics), or exercising vigorously. Purging behaviours are often ineffective, very dangerous, and can cause severe harm to the body.
