Bingeing and purging, come later in the progression of whatever disorders underlie Anorexia. The major psychological features seem to be the fear of maturing and the fear of losing control.
Dealing with stress, of divorced parents, death, and school are the top causes why teenagers develop Anorexia. They think that becoming anorexic will take away all their uncertainty and guide them through the problem (Wolhart, 1988).
Diagnosing Anorexia is not that easy unless you really know the person. Some of the pattern that would exist would be these: the person's way of either eating or not eating is out of control, other people are affected in a negative way by the person's change of habits and behavior. He or she is unhappy, nervous, depressed, guilty, and or lonely, most of their health is in danger. Warning signs of Anorexia Nervosa are; significant abnormal weight loss, with no medical cause, denial of hunger, including claims of, "feeling full- or "feeling fat- only after a few bites. Other warning signs; extreme fear of weight gain; disruption or half of menstruation changes in personality or behavior. Those are the key warning signs of Anorexia Nervosa (Moe, 1991).
Bulimia.
The term is from the Greek, meaning "insatiable appetite."" Bulimia is often characterized by episodes of compulsive overeating or binges, immediately followed by self-induced vomiting to prevent weight gain from the overeating. Laxatives and diuretics are also used to prevent weight gain. Bulimia is now considered a separate disorder, although some bulimics develop Anorexia Nervosa. The bulimic is well aware of the loss of control of eating. About twenty percent of bulimics also abuse alcohol or drugs too. Bulimia is a two-part pattern of binges and purging that happens repeatedly. Bingeing is eating many calorie rich foods, high in sugar, and in fat. Purging comes in forms of vomiting, using overdoses of laxatives and diuretics, or fasting.