question on e.d.-anorexic?

Question

how can they loose so much weight when its said that if you eat less your body goes into starvation mode and wouldnt they look fat any ways because after loosing all the weight they wouldnt have anything to fill in the lack of fat there for being flabby or hanging ? also is it possible to relaps? -worried about someone so please answer thank you

Answer 1

There has been a significant amount of work into psychological factors that suggests how biases in thinking and perception helps maintain or contributes to risk for developing anorexia.

Anorexic eating behaviour is thought to originate from feelings of fatness and unattractiveness[7] and is maintained by various cognitive biases that alter how the affected individual evaluates and thinks about their body, food and eating.

One of the most well-know findings is that people with anorexia tend to over-estimate the size or fatness of their own bodies. A recent review of research in this area suggests that this is not a perceptual problem, but one of how the perceptual information is evaluated by the affected person.[8] Recent research suggests people with anorexia may lack a type of overconfidence bias in which the majority of people feel themselves more attractive than others would rate them. In contrast, people with anorexia seem to more accurately judge their own attractiveness compared to unaffected people, meaning that they potentially lack this self-esteem boosting bias.[9]

People with anorexia have been found to have certain personality traits that are thought to predispose them to develop eating disorders. High levels of obsessionality (being subject to intrusive thoughts about food and weight-related issues), restraint (being able to fight temptation), and clinical levels of perfectionism (the pathological pursuit of personal high-standards and the need for control) have been cited as commonly reported factors in research studies.[10]

It is often the case that other psychological difficulties and mental illnesses exist alongside anorexia nervosa in the sufferer. Clinical depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse and personality disorder are the most likely conditions to be comorbid with anorexia, and high-levels of anxiety and depression are likely to be present regardless of whether they fulfill diagnostic criteria for a specific syndrome.[11]

Research into the neuropsychology of anorexia has indicated that many of the findings are inconsistent across studies and that it is hard to differentiate the effects of starvation on the brain from any long-standing characteristics. Nevertheless, one reasonably reliable finding is that those with anorexia have poor cognitive flexibility[12] (the ability to change past patterns of thinking, particularly linked to the function of the frontal lobes and executive system).

Other studies have suggested that there are some attention and memory biases that may maintain anorexia.[13] Attentional biases seem to focus particularly on body and body-shape related concepts, making them more salient for those affected by the condition, and some limited studies have found that those with anorexia may be more likely to recall related material than unrelated material.

Answer 2

First of all, it is VERY EASY to relapse, it is almost impossible to not relapse if you don't get help. Also your body becomes lighter because it needs energy to function. Even though the metabolism becomes slow, it still needs energy to just keep a person alive so it uses up fat, muscle tissue, bone densidy. Also since most anorexics aren't that old, their skin is still elasticy so they can fit back so it doesn't look flabby, also, some might also have flabby skin but you don't always see it because people with ed are very sensitive aboutt their body and wear really baggy clothes.

Answer 3

You should be worried.
Anorexia is a disease where a person has a distorted view of their weight. They see themselves as fat, even if they are skin and bones. This person needs professional help. And yes, they can relaspe. It is only after getting help and changing the behavior can they be free of this killer.
Here is a site that can give you more information:
http://www.reachout.com.au/default.asp?ti=75