Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is actually a condition that stems from low self esteem and depression and can be considered an anxiety disorder. A person with this condition has the delusion that they are fat, even though they are rail thin. They continue to starve themselves. Singer Karen Carpenter suffered from this disease that eventually ended up killing her. After the starvation, the body can no longer take the strain and the heart gives out.

Anorexia is all about control, as are other eating disorders. A person suffering from this disorder usually feels things spinning out of control and looks for something she can control. Most of the people who suffer from anorexia are young women, college or high school aged. They usually start out a little overweight and someone makes a remark about it. This does not do much for their self esteem which is usually already fragile because they also suffer from depression. They diet a little because of the hurtful remark and lose some weight. Viola! They are in control of something! So they continue to diet.

Most psychiatrists will say that anorexia is a separate disorder, but it has roots in anxiety and depression as well. Anxiety and depression can usually be found in anyone with a mental disorder. They are pretty much the parents of all mental health issues, but different issues are more serious than others and the anxiety and depression manifest themselves differently.

According to Dr. John Bolton of Palos Park, Illinois, depression and anxiety usually are the result of low self esteem. A person who suffers from these disorders sees themselves as worthless. The feeling of low self esteem makes them feel powerless and causes depression. The constant need for some sort of control over their environment and feeling of being powerless to help themselves causes the anxiety. They are afraid most of the time and cling to a certain fear in order to feel safe. The fear, or phobia, is usually something that is imagined in their head and in many cases, does not even exist.

Sigmund Freud, who is considered the father of modern Psychiatry, felt that depression was the result of stifled creativity. Freud noted that many depressed individuals were also highly creative. There are those who agree with Freud’s theory and those who take issue.

Today, the feeling is that people who suffer from depression have a chemical imbalance in their brains that can be cured with artificial serotonin that is given in pill dosage. People who have anxiety are usually treated with tranquilizers by the medical community as well as therapy. Most doctors today subscribe to the theory that people with depression and anxiety have a physical illness that is due to a chemical imbalance in their brain. They also believe there may be a genetic link. Others disagree with this theory and believe it is the result of low self esteem or problems in childhood. Still others blame society and poverty for people feeling depressed.

In short, medical science has a lot of theories about why so many people suffer from anxiety and depression, but no clear cut answers. But there is one thing that you will rarely hear a doctor say, and that is I don’t know.