How do you call under eating when it's not anorexia?

Question

Anorexia refers to the psy condition when people do not eat because they have a distorted body image.
But what is the name of the condition when someone does not want or cannot eat, and this is not related to his body image, i.e. has other psy reasons?
How do I find more info on non-anorexia related under eating?

Well, here is what I am trying to research: my friend separated from her bf, it was her decision, but has since lost her appetite. She is now too thin, and fully ackowledges she has to eat, but she can't: nothing will go down, aside from some milk and cookies or a banana.
She also started having panic attacks, and that wears her out totaly, as she is so thin.
So this is what I am trying to research, how to make her eat again, what could be the reasons (is separation good enough reason?) etc.
Only I keep coming up with anorexia nervosa pages...

Answer 1

Poor appetite

Answer 2

I'm not trying to put anyone else down for any of their answers but it seems like most of the answers that people are giving are just textbook. No Offense. I think first you have to find out if the person is not eating because they are trying to lose weight or because of other reasons. It could be a food phobia that doesn't even have anything to do with weight issues. Or he/she might not have an appetite. If it is because he/she is trying to lose weight then the only way of finding out about it is to talk to either a doctor or a sufferer of the eating disorders.
I personally have been battling eating disorders for about 10 years now. If a person isn't classified as anorexic then they may be bulimic. BUT IF THEY ARE NOT BINGING AND PURGING then they are not bulimic. Some people may cross over into both of these disorders. To be classified as anorexic the sufferer has to be thin enough that her mestruation stops at 15% underweight or more. Interesting that it doesn't specify that for men, huh. Maybe for them they have to be underweight by at least 15% like women but without the loss of a period. Anyways If you don't have these characteristics but also don't have the binging and purging characteristics of a bulimic then you have SOMETHING ELSE. EDNOS.
EDNOS is a eating disorder that doctors label you when they can't put you in one particular labeled group. A person with EDNOS has symptoms of somethings or even everything. EDNOS means- Eating Disorder None Otherwise Specified. I put a link in my source section for more info.

By the way, this was my diagnosis. I hope you received what you wanted from this answer.


Miss Pretty

Answer 3

Medically speaking, loss of appetite is termed "anorexia", no matter the severity. It's like you can't be just "a little pregnant". Some other terms you can research are food aversion, malnutrition, and appetite; loss of. There are many causes, from psy to medical conditions to side effects from medications. I hope you find the answers you're looking for.

Blessings

EDIT SINCE ADDL DETAILS...Your friend is suffering from depression and/or separation anxiety. And yes, that's enough to do it. She needs to talk to her family doc and ask about some mild antidepressants. If this is not enough, she may need to go to a psychiatrist. In the meantime, see if she can tolerate meal replacement shakes (slimfast, ensure, carnation instant breakfast). If they are too rich for her, she can add extra milk to thin it down a bit. She may want to take over the counter prenatal vitamins to boost her nutrition. This should be fine until she gets some medical support. Good luck to you both...I know how hard it can be. God Bless...

Answer 4

Anorexia refers to a lack of appetite. Anorexia Nervosa, is a condition where anxiety about gaining weight causes someone to eat too little. Ironically, popular culture has distorted the meaning of the word anorexia.

EDIT: You may want to research the term, chronic depression.

Answer 5

Anorexia nervousa is the psychological condition. The term anorexia simply means the inability to eat. The the medical field, we term someone who has no appetite as anorexic.

Hope this helps...

Answer 6

Bulimia is the other common eating disorder, along with binge-purge, but that is often due to the same body-image problem. There is no specific name for most under-eating disorders related to other forms of mental or physical illness, other than anorexia.

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/ken98-0047/default.asp

Answer 7

Well first of all, enter a good restaurant. Everything is ready to make business serving good meals to everybody. Chairs, furniture, waiters, light...etc. send a message to the customers heads saying you´re here to eat and have a good time too. Colors and atmosphere are important too.
If everything is right around the place you usually eat, your problem is not under eating. It could be a consequence of other problems in the office, club, family etc.

Answer 8

You have to tell us what the "other psy reasons" are for not eating. I think we can help you more fully if you do.

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Answer 9

its called... anorexia. anorexia has many causes. only one of which is distorted body image. i have studied cases where they believe anorexia is nothing more than a long, slow, passive attempt at suicide (just one example). it is more about self worth than anything. starving yourself is never good.

Try looking into depression... sounds like this could be the problem. search DSM IV. look up both. it is a tad confusing (there are like 2 or 3 types of depression), but you want to look up symptoms. If she displays 3 (i think) or more persisting symptoms, it may be time to see a doctor (psych). You are not going to get her to eat until she deals with the inner turmoil.

Answer 10

Malnourished.