becoming anorexic?

Question

why do people say "you can't decide to become anorexic".
i know it's a mental disorder, and some people get depressed so stop eating (maybe a death in the family or something).
but most girls think they are fat, therefore they starve themselves. and they do "decide" to stop eating, so i think it is a decision.
this just bugs me a lot. when girls ask "how do i become anorexic" they get told "it's not a choice"
well i disagree, in most cases it IS a choice.
what do you think? i just want opinions, what do you think?

Answer 1

It's a choice that arose from severe low self-esteem, which is somewhat of a mental problems. When you FIRST throw up it is choice, but after that first time it's an addiction. You would get more response in the pshcholgy section.

Answer 2

Well, I think it starts out as a choice. I mean, most anorexic girls probably made a conscious decision at one point to stop eating for whatever reason. The mental disorder part of it is continuing that behavior and continuing to believe they look fat when they are actually less than 85 lbs. and you can see their skeletal frame. For example, I know lots of girls who, at one point or another in their lives, tried to stop eating for a while to control their weight, but the ones who did not actually have the mental health issues that go along with anorexia nervosa were able to quickly see why it is not a good idea to starve yourself, and got on healthy diets instead. That's what I think, anyway.

Answer 3

I know this really isn't the answer you're looking for exactly but read it anyway. Last year my sister almsot died from an eating disorder. Luckily she is stable in hospital currently and I'm not sure when she will be let out. She was starving herself for about two years ASWELL as being severely bulimic. It's not a nice thing if you can't control it. It can lead to horrible illnesses like depression and emotional disregulation. If you really want to lose weight I suggest you do this diet I'm doing - Weekdays - 700 cal Weekends - 1000 cal It works for a few months as long as you excercise like twice a week. But make sure the calories you're putting in are relatively healthy on weekdays as in not like a gallon of icecream but instead some strawberries or an orange. Hope this helped.

Answer 4

I think a lot of people say you can't decide to become anorexic because it's really not as easy as that. It really takes A LOT of self controll and negitive thinking wich is part of the disorder? To want to be anorexic is part of having an eating disorder which can be seen as a mental health issue. Does that make since?

Answer 5

You are partially correct. Most girls do think they are overweight. That's our fault as a society---they think they have to be a size 0 to be normal.
But most of these girls are not anorexic. With anorexia, it is a mental health issue. Where you actually look at yourself---no matter how thin you are----and see a fat person. You can get down to 75 lbs. and you'll still see fat. THAT'S anorexia.
Those other girls make a choice to stop eating to get down to a smaller size---most don't make it to 0. They start eating again...doesn't mean they don't have an eating disorder if they don't stop. You don't have to be anorexic or bulimic to have an eating disorder. But you do have to have the mental illness to actually be anorexic.

Answer 6

I suffered from anorexia/bulimia from the age of 16 till I was 19 years old. I must admit it was my choice, but it was the wrong choice.
It escalated so much, I ended up swallowing 60 pills in order to commit suicide for nothing I 'd do made me feel any better about myself. I ended up in the hospital for two weeks and almost developed an ulcer. What did I gain from it?...Mm mm. Nothing.
But I did learn a lesson: "beauty lies in the eye of the beholder," and I also learned that no matter what I do, how many surgeries I get, there will always be someone prettier than me. So I don't sweat it anymore. I am 33 years old now, and I am happy with my looks. And my mental health is much better.

Good Luck

Answer 7

Dont mix things :
"Self starvation" is not a disorder . It is a decision.
"Anorexia" is a disorder : (it could be mental as well as physiological) , and it does not involve a decision to not to eat. Usually it involves an effort to keep eating and stay alive.
One thing people don't know about anorexia, is that the patient TRIES and TRIES , and sometimes ingurgitates food, that is rejected by the body.
I hope you make the difference now.
Self starvation can go from deciding not to eat, (and its a decision, not a state of rejection) to deciding to vomit your food.
Deciding to vomit your food is a step forward into the anorexia process by a mental self dstructive process. Still people can yet be prevented to do so.
In some physiological diseases, the stomach refuses any external supply of material.

Answer 8

I guess by that they mean the women who do choose to become anorexic are already prone to having a certain type of addictive personality or control issues...Because otherwise every woman who wanted to be thin in the world would stop eating...I dont have the attention span for it ...I would forget that Im anorexic

Answer 9

I think it's half and half. The mental disorder comes from being depressed or seeing themselves as fat even though they are thin in the mirror.
The choice part comes from actually deciding to do something about it.

Answer 10

I guess in some ways its a choice but there are alot of girls who have severe mental issues along with it. but in your case I think you mean the annoying skinny girls who constantly say they are fat and pretend to be anorexic for attention. yes, they are annoying.