A Life With Anorexia

Welcome to my blog. Here I want to share with you my experiences with anorexia and how I deal with it as an "ex-anorexic" person. This blog is not to be intended to be triggering! In this blog I want to show how a life with anorexia looks like in perspective of a "healed" patient. Because not a lot of people know that anorexia is something that you have to deal with through your whole life and therefore, can be compared to an ex-alcoholic. I hope you will enjoy the journey through my life! ♥

What is anorexia nervosa ?

Anorexia has become a popular disease during the last years. This disease is not only a common female disease but also many men suffer from it. Even though it is often equated with the media influence, the huge diet interest displayed my the celebrities and also, as only being a trend, this disease is not supposed to be underestimated. As I don't feel comfortable with telling you what anorexia defines as I personally think that especially the causes vary from every individual.

WebMD says:

"Anorexia nervosa, also called anorexia, is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder that is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. The disorder is diagnosed when a person weighs at least 15% less than his or her normal/ideal body weight. Extreme weight loss in people with anorexia nervosa can lead to dangerous health problems and even death.

The term anorexia literally means "loss of appetite." However, this definition is misleading as people with anorexia nervosa are often hungry but refuse food anyway. People with anorexia nervosa have intense fears of becoming fat and see themselves as fat even when they are very slender. These individuals may try to correct this perceived "flaw" by strictly limiting food intake and exercising excessively in order to lose weight."

Some of the symptoms are:

"Anorexic food behavior signs and symptoms

• Dieting despite being thin – Following a severely restricted diet. Eating only certain low-calorie foods. Banning “bad” foods such as carbohydrates and fats.

• Obsession with calories, fat grams, and nutrition – Reading food labels, measuring and weighing portions, keeping a food diary, reading diet books.

• Pretending to eat or lying about eating – Hiding, playing with, or throwing away food to avoid eating. Making excuses to get out of meals (“I had a huge lunch” or “My stomach isn’t feeling good.”).

• Preoccupation with food – Constantly thinking about food. Cooking for others, collecting recipes, reading food magazines.

• Strange or secretive food rituals – Refusing to eat around others or in public places. Eating in rigid, ritualistic ways (e.g. cutting food “just so”, chewing food and spitting it out, using a specific plate).

Anorexic appearance and body image signs and symptoms

• Dramatic weight loss – Rapid, drastic weight loss with no medical cause.

• Feeling fat, despite being underweight 

• Fixation on body image – Obsessed with weight, body shape, or clothing size. Frequent weigh-ins and concern over tiny fluctuations in weight.

• Denial that you’re too thin 

Purging signs and symptoms

• Using diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics – Abusing water pills, herbal appetite suppressants, prescription stimulants, ipecac syrup, and other drugs for weight loss.

• Compulsive exercising – Following a punishing exercise regimen aimed at burning calories. Exercising through injuries, illness, and bad weather. Working out extra hard after bingeing or eating something “bad.”

I think that's enough information for today. To be anorexic you don't have to show all these symptoms. If you show any signs of these, please contact a doctor and/or your trusted person. In the next posts, I will tell you my personal story with anorexia and how much it can be releaded to the above mentioned, scientific symptoms.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment below!

All the best,