Recognizing the Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa

Each year, thousands of women suffer from one form of harmful eating disorder or another. The causes of them are many including depression, broken family relationships, and even the media's obsession about weight. No matter what the cause, eating disorders can be extremely dangerous and can often lead to death.

One of the most common eating disorders is called anorexia nervosa. In short, it leads women to lose extreme amounts of weight until they are basically a skeleton with skin around it. This disease has claimed the lives of many women and it is important to be aware of the symptoms so that if you see them exhibited in either yourself, your friends, or members of your family you seek help immediately to help stave off this harmful eating disorder. Below are some of the most common symptoms of anorexia nervosa and if you begin to notice these and others it is important to seek professional help immediately.

- Refusal to maintain a normal healthy weight
- Denial of low body weight or weight loss
- Experiences loss of menstruation due to weight loss or excessive exercise
- Obsession with dieting and exercise
- Binge eating and/or vomiting after meals
- unusual fear of weight gain
- avoidance of regular meals or food altogether
- sudden and severe weight loss
- extreme exhaustion and lack of strength
- increased use or excessive use of diet aids or diuretics
- avoidance of full-length mirrors
- constant tape measuring of body parts

The above represent some of the most common symptoms of anorexia nervosa but depending on the severity of the disorder in particular individual, you may only notice one or only a few of these symptoms at a time and this may lead you to not experiencing the potential severity of the problem. It is very common for eating disorders to sneak up on people as they can sometimes come on very slowly so that the symptoms are not incredibly obvious. The fact of the matter is, you should try to be aware of these symptoms and if you notice them increasing in severity and you have any suspicion at all that an eating disorder might exist, you should seek the help of a medical professional who has experience in dealing with eating disorders. All too often, family members and friends try to confront others when they suspect an eating disorder is present. This can oftentimes be a mistake as the ones suffering from it will usually deny the existence of the eating disorder and in turn push away from the person who is trying to help. This could lead to them going into a sort of seclusion where they refuse to visit with others at all while suffering from this harmful disease.

By being aware of the above list of symptoms, you can be more helpful in helping to diagnose the problem of eating disorders in others as well as yourself and if it is noticed, you should take action immediately as advised.

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