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Anorexia Facts
Anorexia is a disorder (or illness) which stems from low self esteem and an inability to cope safely with worries and problems. It involves lowering your food intake by skipping meals and cutting down the types and amounts of food you eat; some people over-exercise as well. You may believe that if you lose weight your life would be happier, people will like you more, you will be more successful or even perhaps that you may be noticed less.
You may try to find ways of punishing yourself if you don’t lose enough weight or eat something you would not usually eat. Losing weight is not the answer. It is important that you try and focus on who you are, and what may have caused you to feel the way you do. Try to change the way you feel about yourself and aim to find safer ways of coping.
“I thought about food and calories all the time. I tried to avoid foods containing lots of fat or carbohydrates and only had ‘safe’ foods which I felt were OK to eat.”
