Anorexia, an eating disorder that is more prevalent with people who come from higher socio-economic backgrounds, can have dangerous repercussions on both the psychological and physiological aspects of a person’s personality. Given the fact that 90 percent of people who are anorexics are women, here are the symptoms that are related to anorexia, according to the collective finding of various eating disorder treatment centers:
1. Underweight and weak: The person becomes underweight and weak due to anorexia. The person becomes a pale shadow of herself, the skin looks brittle, the hair is not lustrous and there can be dark circles under the eyes.
2. Irritable mood and social withdrawal: The lady who is suffering from anorexia is given to social withdrawal, can be moody and irritable.
3. Lack of focus: She is not able to concentrate or focus on the job at hand
4. Inability to sleep: She is not able to sleep properly and becomes tired easily.
5. Obsessive compulsive disorder for food related matters: The person thinks too much about food and eats little. She is always thinking about calories and looks for areas to cut corners when it comes for food. For instance, she may go out of her way to prepare calorie free food and even go to the extent of manipulatively prepare calorie rich food for others so that they are not able to match her body type.
6. Addiction to alcohol or drugs: Anorexic people tend to get stressed out faster and since they do not like to eat food to soothe their agitated nerves, they go for other harmful alternatives for quick relief, like drugs and alcohol. Things like indulging in unprotected sex, shopping addiction and over exercising are also common traits for people who have anorexia.
It is not easy to diagnose anorexia according to eating disorder treatment centers. Women who have anorexia tend to cleverly hide their problem and give an impression that they are fit though their appearance belies their statements.. In many cases, diagnosis is hardly done until there re other medical complications. After seeing a marked weight loss and possible episodes of fainting, the person is brought to the hospital where doctors perform tests on her and conclude that she is severely malnourished and anorexic. Health professionals will do prepare questionnaires for anorexia for screening this disorder. » Read more: Treating Anorexia at an Eating Disorder Treatment Center