I am anorexia nervosa
People use my name to label any underweight person
But the truth is you can’t always tell that a person is struggling because of me
Perfectly healthy-looking people could be cursed by me
Overweight people could be cursed by me
I make you feel like you will never be beautiful enough
I will make you count all your calories
I will make you step on the scale multiple times a day
I will strip you down to your bare bones
And you still will not be enough
I’m not talking about for the people around you
You will just never be enough for yourself
Explained
Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder that results from body image issues in which people will limit the amount of calories they eat and restrict the types of food they can eat. What’s more, those with anorexia work out excessively in fear of gaining weight. Being anorexic can lead to low amounts of energy due to the lack of calories they are taking in. Other physical effects include: dizziness, cold dry skin, weak nails, muscle weakness, and compromised immune system. In the long run however, this disorder can have damaging psychological effects, ruining a person’s ability to maintain relationships and have motivation for their future. In the most severe cases, anorexia has been fatal. Like most other mental disorders, anorexia can be treated with counseling and therapy to help regain self-confidence and help initiate changes in behavior. However, this disorder also does have a physical effect, so it may be important to seek medical treatment to create an adequate meal and exercise plan.
Anorexia affects 0.3-0.4% of women and 0.1% of men sometime in their lifetime. This disorder can affect anyone at any age but it is most common in teenage girls following puberty. Usually, those with anorexia also have some sort of anxiety related disorder, which causes them to fear how people view them, which in turn leads to their eating disorder. [5]