Symptoms of Anorexia
Anorexia, in medical terminology, is simply a decrease in a person’s appetite. This could be caused by any number of conditions, and is in itself a symptom of these conditions. Cancer, AIDS, kidney failure, and digestive problems such as colitis often have a decrease in appetite as one of their symptoms. Certain drugs also suppress the appetite, and if they are being taken to treat some other condition, this side effect should be considered. In addition, anorexia may be psychological causes – emotional trauma such as loss of a loved one can cause a loss of appetite for a long period of time, and so can clinical depression.
In colloquial usage however, anorexia is usually taken to mean only anorexia nervosa, a disorder in which the sufferer has an extreme, irrational fear of gaining weight. As a result, the person may refuse food, work out excessively, or even resort to medications that are meant for other serious disorders, such as diuretics or anti obesity medication. Anorexia nervosa is a psychological disorder rather than a physical one, although its results are very clearly seen in the state of the sufferer’s body. No matter how thin they are, anorexia sufferers feel that they are overweight and need to lose weight. As a result, if not somehow stopped, there are chances that the person will continue to lose weight, to the point of death.
This extremely low body weight (taking into account the person’s age, height, gender, and physical structure of course) is the main symptom of anorexia nervosa. Of course this symptom by itself does not necessarily correlate to a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. There are a number of factors that can cause a person to be underweight, many of them being the conditions that cause simple anorexia or appetite loss. The presence or absence of behavioral and psychological symptoms is therefore an important consideration in the diagnosis.
A person suffering from anorexia nervosa will be obsessive about what they eat and how much they eat. They will constantly count calories and will often refuse food entirely. Many anorexia nervosa sufferers refuse to eat in public. No matter how thin they are, they will insist that they are either normal, or even overweight. They will also check their weight or look at themselves in the mirror with excessive frequency. Sufferers also usually have low self esteem, along with psychological problems such as depression and irritability, and may even have memory loss and hallucinations.
