ANOREXIA
Anorexia Nervosa

Commonly Expressed Behaviors:

• Eating very little
• Limiting intake to very low-calorie, low-fat foods such as carrots, celery, diet soda, water, etc.
• Laxative abuse (and/or diuretics, enemas)
• Excessive exercise
• Self-mutilation
• Vomiting after eating even small amounts of food

Other Signs:

• Deliberately underweight or emaciated
• Eating rituals
• Dressing rituals
• Dressing to show off thinness or dressing to hide
• Pleasure at negative or concerned comments about appearance
• High achiever / perfectionistic tendencies
• Loss of menstruation (amenorrhea)
• Facial hair or increase in body hair (hirsutism, lanugo)
• Hair loss
• Always cold
• Overwhelming fear of body fat and food
• Distorted body image (see "fat" all over, even when dying from starvation)
• Preoccupation with self
• Depression
• Denial of physical hunger (both to self and to others)
• Angry / defensive when questioned about behavior and denies existence of a problem (some will at first seem compliant, but ultimately will not change and will attempt to deceive you)
• Low expectation of changing behavior, often doesn't want