The Phenomenon Known As Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is a psychological disorder that mostly affects females who are in their adolescent years. In DSM IV, it has been categorized into two subgroups – the binge-eating/purging type and the restricting type.
Aside from the meeting the common diagnostic criteria of refusal to maintain a body weight of at least 85% of the expected weight, irrational fear of becoming fat, distorted self-perception and amenorrhea, people who belong to the binge-eating/purging type misuse enemas, laxatives and diuretics as well as induce vomiting after a period of eating a large amount of food. Restricting types, on the other hand, usually limit their food intake. They would usually indulge in long-term fasting in an effort to stave off gaining weight.
What makes Anorexia hard to diagnose is the fact that people who suffer from it are usually in some kind of a denial and would usually hide what they do. They can most easily get away with their body weight by claiming that they have very fast metabolism.
Eating Disorder Self Test. Take the EAT-26 self test to see if you might have eating disorder symptoms that might require professional evaluation. All answers are confidential.