What Is Anorexia?

Anorexia is the decreased sense of appetite. It is frequently referred to with one of its subtypes, which is anorexia nervosa. There are many possible causes for a decreased appetite, some of which may be harmless while others pose significant risk for the person.

Common disorders that cause anorexia include dementia, severe depression, anorexia nervosa, dementia and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Some medications, antidepressants for example, can have anorexia as a side effect.

First of all it is necessary to know why you eat so little and have chosen to starve. Think about how you feel nowadays and how you would feel if you ate more. You will then notice that starvation gives you a feeling of security concerning yourself and you are afraid that eating more would take this away and you would become anxious and worried.

Compulsive eating and vomiting is used in the same way by some people. In psychology this is called using starvation as a defence mechanism i.e. you defend yourself against your internal worries by starvation. Starvation fills a similar function for you as alcohol does for the alcoholic and drugs for the drug addict. These are substances which reduce anxiety and create a false feeling of contentment.

By using starvation to repress unpleasant feelings you hinder yourself from acting on your internal needs and constructively understanding and learning to manage your problems. Psychotherapy helps us to be open for our internal thoughts and sensitive to all feelings in our inner world. Psychotherapy has a greater chance of success if you stop suppressing your feelings by starvation.

Starvation and underweight can also cause you to function badly in other areas such as work an family life.

If you terminate the starvation you will be compelled to deal with your feelings in a constructive way. You will discover that it is possible to understand and manage feeings and that there are better methods of management than suppression by starvation.