Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that affects way too many people, especially young teenage girls who are trying to liken themselves to their idols, such as movie stars or well known singers. The reason why this eating disorder is so popular with this age group is because this is the age when most girls are changing, are very sensitive with their appearance and many have low self-esteem that can often cause unhappiness with how they look. People with anorexia are desperate to keep their weight down because they don't want to be overweight. They want to be attractive and become obsessed with losing weight because they think they are still too fat. They don't seem to see what they actually look like in the mirror. Even when the condition becomes so bad that everyone is seeing a walking skeleton, the person who has the eating disorder continues to see a fat person in the mirror.

Anorexia can almost be considered a fat phobia and it is this fear that causes one to alter their eating habits to become less fat. This is a problem that does require therapy or counseling as soon as it might be suspected that someone may have anorexia. The patient will probably avoid eating in public, avoid eating food they have prepared for others, have excessive loss of weight and are constantly watching their calorie intake. When this person does not get the therapy or counseling they need, they can suffer serious permanent physical and mental health, and also have a chance of eventually dying from starving to death.

The longer the problem persists, the more difficult it will be to get help for the person. It is best for this individual to have a lot of support from family and friends who will encourage the person to seek professional help from the family therapist or family counselor as soon as they are aware there may be a problem. There are actually many different causes that would have a person develop this eating disorder. It could be guilt, unhappiness with their appearance and so on. A therapist can help the patient address why they might have developed the disorder in the first place. Counseling and therapy can help a patient to eventually lose the fake image they have of themselves and finally see what they are doing to their body, physically and mentally. The therapist will work with the patient to work through their guilt or unhappiness and eventually help the patient get rid of their eating disorder. This can take time and a lot of visits to the therapist. For something like this where it can take a long time to get over, the patient has the option of online therapy or online counseling as well. A simple search on the internet will bring up many sites of professional therapists and counselors who are willing to help their patients online. This way, the patient who is too concerned about their appearance can contact the professional online so the stress of meeting yet another person who the patient believes will be judgmental of their appearance will be eliminated.

In many cases, online therapy is an easier way for a person suffering anorexia can get help. Online counseling offers more confidentiality for the patient because others don't have to see they are getting help if the patient prefers to get the help secretly. Regardless of how they wish to seek help, the most important thing for any person with anorexia is that they seek the help they need as soon as possible.

Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling as well as works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolor, anxiety and substance abuse. Please contact Complete Counseling Solutions via email jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com or visit our website http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com for any further information. See All articles From Author Tags:

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Word Count Appx. : 638 | Article Views 417 Published 20-02-2008