Is there such thing as psychological bulimia/anorexia?

Question

She doesn't tell me...but I know that my 16-year-old daughter is extremely upset about her weight, she's 5'2 and 120 lbs. Her whole entire mood changes if she weighs herself, u can tell she gets disgusted with herself if she eats anything, she doesn't enjoy eating and thinks that it's gross, i know she doesn't make herself throw up...It doesn't matter how many times we tell her that she's beautiful and thin,she just doesn't listen. My husband is really worried and I want to help her before this turns into something serious, what can I do?

Answer 1

Bulimia and anorexia are both psychological disorders though there are physical symptoms. I consider anorexia to be more dangerous than bulimia. Patients with either of these two disorder are totally preoccupied with there body image. Patients with bulimia go on eating binges and then purge (voluntarily vomit) themselves, while anorexia avoid eating all together. Both disorders are a subset of depression/ anxiety disorders. Let me explain. I'll talk about anorexia but the same applies to bulimia. Some statistics, 99% of anorexics are female, anorexia usually develops during high school or college, anorexia occur more often among Whites than Blacks, anorexics usually come from middle or upper class families, anorexic are usually intelligent and well educated. The key to anorexia is depression and anxiety. For example, a teenager daughter's parents are in a terrrible divorce. The daughter finds herself alone and her parents are too involved with themselves to pay attention to her. She loves both parents. She feels she can't control anything and she feels helpless. This is the environment in which anorexia develops. She feels helpless so she tries to find some way to control her situation. She discovers she can control what she eats. Finally, there is something that she can control. Soon, she is totally preoccupied with her appearance, especially her weight. To treat anorexia, you need to use a two prong approach. You need to treat the physical manifestions but more importantly you have to treat the underlying cause, which is depression and anxiety. I strongly recommend that you find a psychiatrist whose specializes in mood disorder or anorexia and see if your daughter does in fact have anorexia. It will most likely be difficult to convince her to see a psychiatrist but you need to push her. Treatment will include both medication (e.g. antidepressants) and therapy. And, expect a long course of treatment. It is important to differentiate between anorexia and bulimia. Bulimia are usually normal weight and will go on an eating binge and then purge themselves. Anorexics are always exceedingly underweight, refuse to eat at all and are always excercising to burn the fat. In my example, I used a teenager daughter caught in a divorce but there are many other circumstances that can lead to anorexia, including: peer group pressure, being unpopular in school, being an overachiever and stressed with academics.

Answer 2

Eep. I don't know. But 5'2" and 120 lbs sounds like a very reasonable weight.
I'm 5'6" and 120, (I work out a lot and have always been pretty skinny) and some days I'm so hungry I could eat a whale. But some- key word here: SOME- days, especially after Tae kwon Do classes, I can barely make myself eat more than a few bites. Foods that I usually enjoy seems replusive to me. I don't know why this happens, but it does.
However, your daughter may just be unhappy with her image. I don't know what her idea of an "ideal" weight is, but if it stems from what she sees in media, you should point out to her that the pictures of models in magazines are AIRBRUSHED to look the way they do.
Maybe she wants to impress boys. I know several boys who aren't interested in super-skinny girls; they like skinny girls, but several others wouldn't mind a little bit of weight also. A lot of boys do NOT put first priority on looks; and I'm sure those are the boys she'd be better off with.
Maybe she wants to fit in with friends. However, if some people judge others by the way they look, then frankly, they are not worth her friendship.
So whichever these reasons, try telling her what I've said here, and add some stuff of your own, cuz I didn't cover it all here.
I guess it's normal to get a little crazy about your weight, but your daughter is overreacting. If it really bothers her, ask her if she'd like to take some kind of exercise class, like martial arts or yoga or sports. A lot of studies prove that people who are physically active feel much better about themselves. If your daughter sits at home all day watching TV or listening to her iPod or something like that, she probably has too much time to dwell on how she looks. If she occupies her time with something else, that will take her mind off her weight. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

It's very much psychological. My mom had to deal with my anorexia and the hardest part for her was that she couldn't fix it. We don't see ourselves the same as everyone else, we think we do, but I'm guessing we don't. I still struggle with that..anyway, it doesn't matter what anyone says, how many compliments you give, etc. we don't believe therefor it's almost like we can't even hear you when you say things like that. Please talk to your daughter about it, she may be dealing with choas or other stresses through her eating habits, or be dealing with body image, but regardless of the causes you have to start before she can't stop. The disease is suffocating almost...I see councelors. I fought help from the begging because I didn't see that what I was doing was a problem or realize that I needed help. I do now and it's just about too late. Don't let her manipulate, were very good at that. I wish you luck, I'm here if you need anything

Answer 4

That's a really tough question on a really touchy subject.. I'm not really sure what to tell you. But psychological anorexia does exist, because that's what I'm going through. It's not when you really starve yourself. It's just.. anorexic and bulimic people see themselves differently than other people. I think psychological anorexics and bulimics have the same problem, they just don't act upon it.

You should talk to your daughter. It may not seem like it's working, but she appreciates it.

Answer 5

counselling....please before it gets out of control. all anorexia is physchological. don't be heavy handed but talk to her and find someone whocan counsel her that she can relate to. it can be overwhelming for her and so destructive. just dont make her feel trapped into the counselling. good luck. maybe some articles on the subject might help her. don't ignore it for long though.

Answer 6

gyahh...hard question.

well, when i was a kid (around 14 or 15 i think) i used to hate eating and think it was gross. i actually STILL think that watching people eat or chew gum is one of the grossest things ever. part of it may have been because my parents were really sloppy eaters and used to make me go out to dinner with them. i dunno. my parents used to tell me i was really thin and it just didnt mean anything. with teenagers, it really only matters if guys or friends say it.

so...i dunno how to help you. sorry.

Answer 7

Can't help you.
I'm pro ana.