Expert: Ginger - 9/8/2010

Question
I hate to eat.  When I eat I feel complete hatred of myself.  Officially my BMI classes me as underweight, but I don't look thin.  I thought with anorexia it would be obvious if someone is anorexic from just looking at them.  This is why I don't think I am anorexic.  How can I find out if I am anorexic or just self loathing?

Answer
Hi Rosie,

Thanks for your question! The thing about anorexia is that people who are suffering from it never, ever see themselves as thin, even if they look like skeletons to everyone else. So many people I've known who are indeed anorexic have said "I don't think I'm anorexic because I'm not thin enough." If your BMI classes you as underweight, then you're too thin, and you just can't see it. Also, eating disorders have to start somewhere- a person could be 300 pounds and still anorexic, because the disorder hasn't gotten to the point where they've lost most of their body fat.

Doctors use the DSM-IV (a book of mental disorders and the characteristics of them) to diagnose disorders like anorexia. In order to be diagnosed, you must fit most of the criteria. There are different criteria for bulimia.

Here's the criteria a person must fit in order to be diagnosed with anorexia:

http://www.medicalcriteria.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id...


and here's the criteria for bulimia:

http://www.medicalcriteria.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id...


There's also a disorder called "eating disorder not otherwise specified," which means a person fits some of the criteria for anorexia or bulimia but not all of them, or it could mean they're a mix of them both.


I hope this helps! If you feel you fit into one of the categories, please ask your doctor to refer you to a counselor. If you can work on it now, you have a great chance of being able to feel better about yourself and your body! Anorexia is a long, hard road that you don't want to go down, and the further you go, the harder it is to get back.

Good luck,
Ginger