What are the causes of anorexia

Are there any ATS members with medical history who could explain to us the causes of Anorexia, I did a little research of my own so that people might not think I'm just being a lazy bum.

Anorexia is an eating disorder which is regarded as a mental illness, the main causes described are mentally related, for example obsessive fear of gaining weight going hand in hand with a distorted self image.

I have seen Anorexia play out live and it is really disturbing, if you try to stop an Anorexic individual from starving him/herself they would start screaming, their fury, their anger, their illogical behaviour is just beyond belief.

I can't seem to figure it out. Just the other day when I was involved in trying to stop one Anorexic girl from vomiting the food she just ate just minutes ago, she started screaming, she called us all crazy and it made me wonder.

What is she thinking? Obviously they are reluctant to speak about it, but I did hear that she said something is taking control over her, but can't confirm it. What does that mean? What is taking over her?

That forced me to think about the "whisperer" AKA "Shaitan". This is an Islamic belief where "Shaitan" whispers in your ears (just an imagery), giving you the wrong perception. That anger, how can it be explained? That fury, those screams. What was she thinking?

We were only asking her to not vomit the food for at least 30 minutes so that at least some of it is absorbed and transformed, so I guess when she said its taking over, she meant it is getting worse. In the past she did wait 30 minutes, as advised by us, but now it is getting worse.

It is really depressing for me because I can't seem to help her, and no professional has been able to help her.

The worst part is, she is loosing weight fast and could lead to "comorbidity", worse, she might pass away because supposedly this mental illness has the highest mortality rate compared to other psychiatric disorders.

So what do you guys think? Is it really Shaitain, Jin, Devil, Lucifer, Iblis.. which is distorts an Anorexic individual's judgement explaining the complete irrational and illogical behaviour, the sudden burst of anger, the sudden fury or is it something else?

I'm completely lost and any professional, or non professional opinion would be great. Also it would be great to hear the stories of others who have been involved with Anorexic individuals, to share their story, maybe that will help me.

It is low self confidence and usually some form of verbal/physical abuse that cause eating disorders of any sort.

Originally posted by mnmcandiez
It is low self confidence and usually some form of verbal/physical abuse that cause eating disorders of any sort.

Do you think a confidence building class would help, or do you think it will take more than that?

The screams and sudden burst of anger is still a mystery though, the illogical behaviour. Depression is one of the symptoms of Anorexia I guess, but still makes me wonder.

Thanks for the answer, if confidence building class does work, I'll definitely give the advise.

I've some in the family.

Their issue so the shrinks say is control. They go nuts controlling what they can because they fear what they can't.

Their anorexia comes with a crazy amount of exorcise too. Like 8 hours a day at the gym.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by confreak


with anorexia you have to get them to start eating and LIKING EATING food again...breakfast lunch dinner...don't make it unpleasant...give them the foods they enjoy the most...just make sure they eat...if it's to the point of bulimia then it probably has to do with how they feel about themselves...may I ask how much this supposed anorexic weighs and how old this person is? male/female?


just so you know...some bulimics become almost addicted to throwing up the food...you gotta break it just like an addiction I suppose (but not really)...I suppose it's their self image or the feeling of food in their stomach...i really don't know...I do know that some people come to be almost addicted to the feeling though



things like this are never that easy though...hate to say it

My mom specialized in treating anorexics. She always explained to me that current thought is that it is linked to feeling over dominated or controlled by others (or just the mother, depending, as the mother is the first representation of "others" or "not I"). Controlling their hunger, controlling what they eat and don't, gives them a sense of dominating and mastering themself.

I see sometimes girls with anorexia that have a mother or other friends or family that try to forcefully make them eat, plan and watch their diet, without having a clue that they are actually making it worse! The more the loved ones try to take over, the more they will become set on taking back their soveriegnty over their self.

A very tricky problem when it comes to treatment, obviously.....

I've also noticed that, from the ones I have observed, some may actually have a mother or people in their lives who are very dominating with them, but some do not really- they just are very easily influenced, weak willed, and end up being pushed and pulled around by others without others even wanting that.
So it comes down to, whether it is true for anyone else or not, they feel they don't have enough control over themself and what happens to them and seek to attain it through refusing to take in any more of the "not I" out there.

reply to post by coquine


I actually advised to the parents to stop forcing her, and to stop criticising her is well. This was my first thought, because I believed that she was being resilient because she probably felt over whelmed by the pressure and by the control.

Thanks for the advise, just would like to ask, do you think the solution is to just leave her to it? Let her come to realization?

reply to post by confreak



Criticism and insisting on modifying the behavior (whether to eat, or not to purge) can cause panic or guilt and actually exasperate the behavior. As people have already stated, many psychologists believe the issue of control is strongly correlated to eating disorders.

But turning one's head I also don't feel will likely solve the problem. Although you can't force someone to get help (unless their health is significantly at risk/impaired) you can suggest options. The more the issue is exposed, in a compassionate manner, the more you can begin to understand what may be at the core of the disorder. The cause can be extremely individualized. I've seen some go through intense in-patient treatments and to this day never resolve the issue. Then I have seen miraculous recoveries with out-patient cognitive-therapy and/or pharmacological treatment. There is a world of knowledge out there regarding anorexia and bulimia. Some great novels/memoirs/documentaries.