Anorexia

Anorexia is a complex mental illness which can cause people to reduce the amount of food they eat. Anorexia can have a big impact on your health, but there are ways to get support.

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What is anorexia?

Anorexia is an eating disorder and a serious mental health problem. People with anorexia often feel they look larger than they are, even when they're very underweight. They'll stop themselves eating so they can lose weight. 

There are many reasons and causes for someone to develop anorexia, and it is different for each person. Someone might have had a stressful or traumatic life event or things going on around them. Sometimes you won’t know the cause.

Anorexia can make people feel scared or uncomfortable when they think of food. People with anorexia may also take tablets to lose weight or exercise too much.

Stopping yourself from eating is very dangerous. Eventually people can die if they don’t eat. Anorexia could make it hard to realise you have a problem, even though you might be really ill. That’s why it’s really important for you or a friend to get help if you’re eating less and losing a lot of weight.

Things to remember:

  • anyone can be affected by anorexia
  • you don't need to be underweight to have anorexia
  • anorexia doesn’t have to control your life and you can recover
  • talking to someone you trust can really help
  • a doctor can support you
  • we're always here to help you find ways to cope.

recovering from anorexia

If you’re struggling with anorexia, it’s important to get support. Whether you’ve been diagnosed or not, you should speak to your GP or an adult you trust.

Things to try:

      • Make a plan
        Decide what you want to say to yourself when the urge comes to avoid eating. You could even write it down and carry it around with you. That way you can always remind yourself why you can beat anorexia.
      • Set small goals
        Make your goals about recovery, and set them with an adult you trust. For example, you might aim to just eat a little bit more each week.
      • Write things down 
        Especially your feelings about food. This can help you and people you trust make sense of what’s going on and help you start to recover.
      • Focus on healthy positives
        Make a list of things you like about yourself. It could be about your body, but it doesn’t have to be. You could write about your smile, hairstyle, taste in music, or football skills. Once you think of a few positive things, you’re more likely to be able to think of some more. It can really help improve the way you think about yourself.
      • Avoid social media
        Some communities will actually make your anorexia hard to cope with. Follow our guide on feeling good on social media, or try posting in a supportive community like the message boards.
      • Stay strong
         Remember that you're stronger than anorexia. You can beat it and people do recover.

Recovering from an eating disorder

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Get support if you're struggling

Getting support with anorexia

The first step to getting support is asking for help. You could start by speaking to an adult you trust, they could also help you to speak to your doctor.

Your doctor can help you understand what’s happening and may give you a diagnosis to help with your support. There are lots of treatments for anorexia, and your doctor can help you talk about them.

If you’re struggling to visit your doctor, you could try:

  • Using DocReady to prepare what to say.
  • Getting support from one of our counsellors
  • Sharing how you’re feeling on the message boards
  • Visiting Beat for specialist advice

Risks of anorexia

Even if you feel like you can't eat, stopping yourself from eating can cause a lot of damage to your body. The effects of anorexia can include:

  • losing your hair
  • problems with your heart 
  • girls stopping their periods  
  • finding it hard to concentrate or think properly 
  • your bones getting weaker 
  • having a weak immune system, which can make you more likely to get ill
  • your skin turning blue.

Eventually people can die if they don't eat properly. 

It’s important to eat so you can grow, have strong bones and stay healthy. Food also gives you energy to think, study, work and do physical things. You could speak to a doctor about a healthy eating plan and ways to feel better about eating.

Helping a friend with anorexia

Sometimes people with anorexia can be secretive. Your friend might pretend they don't have anorexia. They may even try to stop eating with you.

It’s important to include your friend and to keep doing the things you enjoy together. It can be helpful to let your friend know how much you think of them as a person.

You could:

  • compliment them on their personality rather than their physical appearance or weight
  • try not to make comments about other people’s weight when your friend is around
  • ask how they feel and let them know you're there if they want to talk.

If you know your friend is struggling with their eating, meal times can be really tough. It’s often better if you don’t try to make your friend eat a lot of food they wouldn’t normally eat. This can make them feel pressured and they might get even more secretive.