What is anorexia?

Question

Recently I've heard "I used to be anorexic" or "I was anorexic for a few months" a lot.

The way I understand it, anorexia nervosa is a mental health condition found in people who don't feel a sense of control over their lives and want to exert it over their bodies.

It can also be a schizophrenic condition where the person quite literally sees him/herself as bigger than their reality.

Personally I suffer from OCD and in my anxiety groups I met a number of diagnosed anorexics. I don't think it's something you can just "have" for a couple of months and then it clears up like a cold or flu.

Are people being diagnosed with it or just kind of saying "I was pressured by society into thinking I'm fat, so I stopped eating, lost some weight, realized how dumb that is, and started eating again"?

I guess I just feel like that is a natural thought process that could définitely end up with people losing too much weight. But a pathology is an UNnatural thought process that physically harms you. People die of anorexia.

At the height of my anxiety I didn't leave the house and was vomiting so much that I lost 90lbs in 3 months. That's not something that just goes away.

Answer

Id say there are different levels same as how there's different levels of depression or anxiety. Some have a minir case and recovery is easy others have a terrible time and may never get better. I dont really think its anyones place to be like well i have it worse so your mental illness is invalid.

Answer

People tend to do this with any mental illness, not just anorexia. People say things like "I'm so OCD/bipolar/etc". You're right that a person who has an eating disorder doesn't just overcome it, especially not within a matter of weeks or months. It's kind of like being an alcoholic in the sense that you'll always "have" it, you just learn healthier thought patterns and ways to cope with stress. Someone crash dieting for a few days to fit into a bikini wouldn't be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa by a mental health professional, unless of course they met further diagnostic criteria.

Answer

What a slap in the face to anyone who is a recovered anorexic. There is a such thing as "used to be."  I am not bound by this disease, it does not define me, and it is not something I will perminatly have.

Answer

Anorexia is a mental illness just like depression and bi polar all of which can be over come to an extent, I'm on meds for bi polar and depression and kicked my anorexia around two years ago and I'm now recovering but I don't think I'll ever fully recover from anorexia because yes I went from being forced fed in a mental institution to eating on my own but I do still have a few weeks or months where I freak if I think I've ate too much I'm 5"6 and 7 stone now but no you can't just have it one day and not the next

Answer

I always say I had an eating disorder. I really thought I was fat, I would panic and stop eating when I would near 120. I am 5'8.5" and was at 110-115 normally. I would not say anorexia though, it was not severe enough in my mind and not consistent. I finally overcame this for the most part, I still have thoughts and fears about my body being fat and weighing too much. I would play it off as if I am happy with my weight and body and do not care how I look. Right now I am content, I am 7 months pp and happy with myself.