As a result, athletes who have a difficult time with rigidly controlled dieting are resorting to self-starvation, induced vomiting, and laxatives. There are as many stories as there are people who have eating disorders. But there are some common threads in their experiences like social pressure. There are exceptions, but it usually starts early in the teen years and may be an attempt to return to prepubescence because the fear of becoming an adult is too much to face. In the short run eating disorders may seem to work.
People often do lose weight.
Unfortunately they may become so obsessed with the behavior and hiding it from others that they are able to escape only after a lengthy and difficult struggle. So much time is lost and energy expended thinking about the problem and how to deal with it. Self-concept is often in the garbage can. It is hard to seek help even when you know it is available and that there are many who would want to be of assistance. After one has become addicted to an eating disorder it is a really big change to come back to a normal lifestyle.