Anorexia Nervosa
You are afraid to gain weight. The way you see yourself is distorted and you seek to retain control of your weight and emotions. The constant and wide-reaching search for control may cause severe malnutrition, which is potentially fatal.
“Anorexia Nervosa” is the most fatal mental illness among young women in Denmark. Around 75,000 people in Denmark have an eating disorder. 5,000 suffer from Anorexia Nervosa, also known as Anorexia, which often affects girls and women.
The reasons for the illness are many but some symptoms are always the same. Many victims experience anxiety, sorrow, loneliness, low self-esteem and depression. Keeping track of one's weight and over exercising is a way to control and suppress difficult emotions.
All information in this portrait project is based on interviews with the participants, conversations with the staff at various Anorexia treatment institutions and data from The Danish National Association for Eating Disorders and Self-Harm.