These sign are usually all present in the beginning, but progressively get worse. In advanced stages of anorexia one suffers from very dangerous and sometimes potentially fatal consequences. These can include, but are not restricted to, malnutrition from self-starvation, low blood pressure, extremely low body temperature, heart damage that can lead to a heart attack. There are many other things that may happen, some less serious than others, especially in the beginning, because this disease takes it's time to kill.
On the other hand, Bulimia Nervosa, "the most immediately dangerous of the three major eating disorders" can kill after just a short time, sometimes as short as a few months. This is because of the nature of the disease. Bulimia is characterized by the act of bingeing (an out of control urge to eat very large amounts of food at one time) and purging (puking or expelling of the binge foods). Its accurate definition states it as "a serious eating disorder that occurs chiefly in females, is characterized by compulsive overeating usually followed by self-induced vomiting or laxative or diuretic abuse, and is often accompanied by guilt and depression." The reason it is the most dangerous is precisely because of the loss of vitamins, minerals, and life-sustaining electrolytes in the process of purging. Bulimia may sometimes be just as hard to detect as anorexia due to the fact the binge eating is usually done in secret and also due to the fact many bulimics turn on the shower when purging to drown out any gagging sounds.
So, what causes these weird behaviors? Do young girls just wake up one day and say to themselves "I want to be fucked up in the head!"? The answer to that question is probably not. There are many, many factors that come into play with these horrific diseases. A lot of specialists in this field have cited the media as a main key to unlocking the secret of why girls, even at a very young age, feel the perpetual need to cut and whittle themselves into oblivion.
