A person, male or female, who suffers from anorexic behaviour, is frequently a perfectionist at heart, and highly sensitive to the criticism of others. In addition, they may be highly able, even gifted and talented, but have a tendency to expect too much of themselves and so drives him/herself very hard. Even if they appear very well organised, they are very anxious about achieving.
People with this condition have a pre-occupation with their weight and size and a real terror of gaining weight and eating in case they get ‘fat’ even when they are very underweight. Someone with anorexia does not ‘see’ themselves as others see them, instead seeing themselves as being ‘fat’ even when they are very small and emaciated. Most sufferers of anorexia have a distorted body image, a very low level of confidence and self esteem which has an affect on their eating condition.
Most anorexics have ‘rules’ that they have put in place, like the amount of calories they are ‘allowed’ in a day, what foods to avoid and how much to have. Some anorexics purge to remove food that they have eaten or take laxatives to speed up the digestion processor take up excessive exercise to be slimmer. All of these methods are dangerous as they can cause electrolyte imbalance and heart arrhythmia.
Anorexia often becomes a way of coping with life and demonstrating control of body weight and shape. However, ultimately the disorder itself becomes overwhelming, taking control, causing chemical changes in the body and affecting the brain. This causes distorted thinking and makes it almost impossible for the sufferer to make rational decisions.