So, instead of being in situations that may stir up feelings, they avoid pleasurable situations and begin to restrict in many areas of their lives. The restricting mentality becomes convoluted with rigid eating habits, starvation and selective about food, obsessive exercise and compulsive thoughts about calorie and fat intake. Additionally, a persistent concern with body image and checking behaviors, such as constantly looking in the mirror, feeling for a flat stomach and wearing loosely fitting clothes, become paramount in the anorexic s life and begin to replace human relationships. The anorectic becomes isolated and inward. The causes of anorexia are not cut and dry.
Many factors can contribute to the development of anorexia.
There are psychological, sociocultural, interpersonal and biological aspects to consider. Cultural pressures that place excessive value on thinness and obtaining the perfect body. Whether these imbalances existed prior to the disordered eating is hard to tell. If you or someone you know suffers from any disordered eating or related behaviors, please use the resource list to enlist professional help. Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that can lead to death.