Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder seen mainly in teenage girls and young women. Individuals suffering from this disorder tend to have a very unreal and distorted image of their self which forces them to believe that they are overweight even if they are not.

They use various techniques to avoid even the slightest of weight gain like eating very small quantities of food, refusing to eat foods that they believe have high calories, purging or using laxatives to expel food from their bodies etc. Psychological factors like stress, anxiety and social pressures are believed to be the main causes of anorexia.

It is very hard to identify people suffering from this disorder as they often give an impression to family and friends that nothing is actually wrong with them. But this deadly disorder results in serious physical conditions like cardiac diseases, brain damage, muscle atrophy, dehydration, Bradycardia etc.

There are various treatment and cure methodologies for anorexia addressing both physical and psychological issues.

1. Psychotherapy: psychotherapy uses various methods to help develop healthy thinking patterns and behavior. They help in overcoming various psychological issues like guilt, fear, low self esteem, anger, depression, shame, isolation etc
2. Medication: Medication is usually given to control severe cases of depression or anxiety and other severe physical conditions leading to the deterioration of health. Most of the people suffering from anorexia have severe cardiac diseases which result in most deaths.
3. Support Groups: There are various support groups that help in educating and advising on coping with the disorder. Apart from medication and therapy it becomes vital to have a strong connection with these groups to get support, inspiration and encouragement from other non-professional individuals to come out of this condition.
4. Hospitalization: hospitalization is opted mainly to control severe bouts of the disorder and other serious physical illnesses resulting from the disorder. But just hospitalization is not sufficient to cure the disorder. Apart from medical support the individual must be given proper psychological therapy and care.

Though Anorexia Nervosa seriously damages the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of a person, it can be cured with proper treatment and support.