Psychological Factors
A number of psychological factors may contribute to the development of this
disorder. The most common personality traits that are associated with this disorder
include perfectionism, obsessive behavior, low self-esteem, hyper sensitivity
etc. Patients who have this problem are known to have a very poor opinion about
their "body" and "looks" and are in continuous fear of being
fat and overweight. In majority of the cases such people have a very low self-esteem
and tend to over-estimate their body weight and dimensions.
Some of the patients might be perfectionists and feel the need to maintain
a so called perfect body by exercising complete control on their eating habits.
They setup very high personal standards for themselves and may develop an obsession
for weight loss.
Traumatic or emotionally upsetting events in a person's life history may also
contribute to anorexia. Such an event can cause a sudden transition in a person's
lifestyle and bring about behavioral changes. Physical or sexual abuse, over
controlling parents, family tensions etc. have a negative effect on a kid's
brain making him/her more prone to develop this disorder. As a result of abuse
the kid can have trouble coping with stress and may also develop a desire to
appear fragile and as non-threatening as possible.
Some teenage girls are terrified of becoming a woman and are not comfortable
with the physical changes that are associated with adulthood. By starving themselves
they find a way of delaying physical development of their bodies in a normal
manner.
