Remuda Ranch

Anorexia Symptoms

For most people, anorexia is extremely difficult to understand. It is not a diet gone too far or a game played by a young girl to get attention from friends or a member of the family. Anorexia is a psychiatric disorder, not unlike depression or anxiety. Very simply defined, anorexia is self starvation. Those with this disorder literally starve themselves to a state of severe emaciation, or even death. And the thing is … once they start, it is very difficult to end the behaviors and go back to normal eating. This disease impacts everything: work, home, health, friendships … life.

Anorexia symptoms are physical, biological and behavioral. Because dieting is a key part of anorexia, many of the most common symptoms surround food and dieting. A female with anorexia diets obsessively, when she is not overweight. In fact, she may have experienced a recent rapid weight loss -- 15% or more below her normal body weight. Yet, she will constantly complain that she feels "fat," when this is clearly not a reality. Frequent weighing, even several times in one day, is fairly standard. Though dieting is always on her mind, so is the topic of food. It is not unusual for those with anorexia to have an extreme preoccupation with food, calories, nutrition, and/or cooking. As an extension of this, it is not unusual for a person with this disorder to talk about food a great deal.

A girl or woman with anorexia almost never eats, yet she typically denies being hungry. Of course, this is not true at all. When she actually does consume food, it is not unusual for her to engage in strange food-related behaviors. These include cutting food into little tiny pieces, only eating one food at a time, or placing unusual condiments on food items. Episodes of binge eating can also occur, simply due to a loss of control. Remember, these individuals are hungry, so when they finally give in and eat, it is sometimes very difficult to stop.

Not eating is hard enough on the body, but the problem is, she may also exercise to an extreme degree. As a result of low nutrition and high levels of exercising, she will probably experience amenorrhea, which means loss of her menstrual period. Strangely, though the hair on her head may fall out, she may undergo unusual hair growth on her arms and legs; basically, this is an effort by the body to make itself warm.

Although she may try to convey that she is at the top of the world, depression is often a symptom of anorexia, as is slowness of thought and memory difficulties. Most people feel this way due to the brain’s inability to function without adequate nutrition.

If someone you know has anorexia, please encourage them to get help. There is a great deal of good information on the internet or in copyrighted articles. Inpatient treatment is often required to fully recover from anorexia. Since 1990, Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders has treated nearly 8,000 women and girls. Remuda offers three distinct programs for children, adolescent girls and adults. Remuda has an unparalleled recovery rate of 95% over one, five and ten years.

Recovery from an eating disorder is possible and is happening every day at Remuda. Please contact us at 1-800-445-1900.