I know this is stupid. but i have a question about anorexia?

Question

i know very little about the illness. but one of my close friends has this eating disorder. shes in rehab now /=

i have some questions pleasee pleasee answer them.

1. Can you make yourself become anorexic. or are you born with it?

2. Does anorexia even make you loose weight deffinatly??

3 Will my friend going to rehab really help herr?

4. How long does it take to loose alot of weight if your anorexic- cuz shes been one for a while apparently.. and i didnt see weight loss immediatly. is that normal? or do you loose weight fast.

5. Her brother told me that she wore a rubber band on her wrist..and he said when he noticed that he told his mom. because he saw her snapping it alot...why did she do that?!?

6. and i want to know how much weight can you loose in a year- once again because i didnt see signs. i feel guilty. shes soo skinny. i just thought she was on a diet. in a year how much weight would an anorexic person loose? because she lost ALOTTT. im afraid its more than anorexica =x

please just answer my questions. im so confuseddd!

Answer 1

Anorexia starts as an extreme diet, and as the person losses weight and enters starvation, brain chemistry changes.  That's why anorexia is considered a mental illness.

No person is more or less likely to develop anorexia.  Google, "Minnesota Starvation Experiment," it has information about healthy men who "contracted" anorexia nervosa from dieting.

The rubber band thing:  You'll have to ask her.  She might have been "punishing herself" for thinking about food, or something like that.

Answer 2

1. Yes, you can make yourself anorexic.

2. Yes.

3. It's all up to her. If she wants help, then she'll do what's best for her.

4. It's just dropping all of the weight in a short period of time.

5. I think rubber bands are kind of related to cutting yourself. But less dangerous.

6. More than enough. When you become anorexic, your body loses all of the weight so that you're body isn't able to maintain a healthy cycle.

Your friend really needs help...