She is trapped in a bind created by her own mind. If she acknowledges her tormented inner world she is terrified of what people will think of her. She draws the trap tighter around herself. Often, she knows she is doing this and her terror terrifies her as well. Her intelligence may tell her that this kind of thinking and behavior doesn't make sense, but it seems more powerful than any healing action she might dare.
Many anorexic women find benefits to being riddled with anxiety.
Their anxiety can eliminate any recognition of hunger for food. It's easier to starve. But then they can panic over that too. Too much starvation might affect their appearance so that others know something is wrong. Often the anorexic woman knows she is in some kind of cycle where she recognizes a pattern to her feelings of weakness and anxiety.