Anorexia Nervosa

Day 1: 8:00 AM run 2 miles. 9:00 AM take diet pills. 10:00 AM weight in. 11:00 AM eat 1 cup of Special K cereal= 100 calories. 12:00 to 4:00PM work, no food intake. 4:00 to 6:00PM workout. 6:15PM eat 1 cup of lettuce, no dressing=75 calories and 4 celery sticks= 80 calories. 7:00 to 9:00PM Pilates workout. 9:15PM weigh in. 9:30PM bed. Total calories for the day=225 Total fat=0 grams. This is not a schedule for a marathon runner or an Olympic athlete. This is a daily ritual for an Anorexic. Seems extreme right? Well, every aspect from food to workouts is closely analyzed in an anorexic’s mind. Food and exercise control their life and their goal for weight loss is taken to the extreme; extreme enough that their life is at risk.

Many people believe that people who suffer from anorexia do it to themselves on purpose and it is all in their head. In one aspect they are right yes it is in their head, it is a physiological problem, but it also is a life threatening disease. Something that I want you to understand is that people die from this disease; it is called “Slow Suicide” for a reason. Many people think that this disease only affects girls, but that is another myth. Although it is more common in girls, boys are affected as well. This disease usually starts in the early teen years, the same time as puberty hits, attraction to the opposite sex manifests, and the media more readily affects their lives. Young teens see the super thin models and toned celebrities and want to look like them. So they start dieting and exercising. Nothing wrong with that right? Well no, but when the dieting and exercising takes over their lives, it is now a problem. In people with anorexia weight loss becomes a sign for control and the drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control or fears related to one’s body. The cycle of restrictive eating, often accompanied by other behaviors such as excessive exercising or the overuse of diet pills and/or laxatives in order to reduce body weight is pushed to the point of starvation. This cycle becomes an obsession and, in this way, is similar to an addiction.

You now know what anorexia is so what are the symptoms? Symptoms range from psychological to physical. Some psychological symptoms include: depression, irritability, strive for perfection in all aspects of their life, and a strong desire to be thin while they hate their current body. The physical symptoms are more severe. Their extreme weight loss affects their heart, for example, low blood pressure. Since they reduce their food intake the rate their food is absorbed is slowed leading to abdominal pain and constipation. The body’s endocrine system (glands) is greatly affected by anorexia, thyroid function is reduced to preserve the body meaning that your body is struggling to survive, a woman may lose her menstrual cycle, and a major hormone imbalance may occur. Bone density is lessened leading to frequent fractures and electrolyte imbalances due to laxatives can cause death. All of these symptoms can be deadly.

I want you to realize that this disease is not something you can catch from a virus or someone is born with. This disease is deadly, but it can be prevented. Look for these signs in your friends or yourself and get help. Yes it is wonderful to be thin, but having a thin body is not worth your life. The last situation anyone wants to be in is sitting in a hospital bed with a feeding tube because you are starving yourself. I know what many of you’re a thinking, “Why don’t people with anorexia just start eating again?” I know that is concept may seem easy to you, but to someone suffering from this disease it is the hardest thing in the world. Their mind will not let them get better, their stomach has been without food for so long that when food is let it they throw it back up, and they feel as if that one bite will ruin their body they have worked so hard to have. Anorexia is like being addicted to a drug, it runs your life, you feel as if you cannot live without it, and you cannot get better without help.

I have been criticized my whole life about my weight, when I was overweight people made fun of me, when I was underweight people called me anorexic and even now it still is a daily struggle for me. When I started dieting and exercising to lose weight I would have never guessed that I would lose control, but I did. I was very heavy growing up and into my teen years so I though being thin was amazing, but every goal reached can come with a consequence. I suffered from a case of anorexia, not something I am proud of, but it was a learning experience that changed my life. Eating food use to be an addiction for me, but then not eating was an addiction. I would hide food so I did not have to eat it, weigh myself every day, exercise constantly, and would take in less than 300 calories a day. My family had no idea what was going on, but my friends did. They would take me aside all the time to try a get me help, but it wasn’t until one day I looked in the mirror and saw someone I did not know. I was pale, always sick, very underweight, and my hair was falling out. Then I decided to get help. My weight will be a life struggle for me and it goes both ways, I have to watch what I eat because I am prone to being overweight, and I have to watch the way I deal with my weight so I do not lose control again. Anorexia is scary and life changing. What I ask of you is to watch what you say to others because the reason for my experience sparked from the jokes and names I have been called all my life. Realize that words hurt and you could secretly be killing someone and not even know it. Understand that the next girl or guy you call fat or anorexic is suffering from a disease! And your hate words only make their lives worse. Words push people to their breaking points, I broke and many others out there have too and the sad part is some are not here to tell their story.