Anorexia nervosa

Symptoms of anorexia nervosa include believing you're fat when you're a healthy weight or underweight, eating very little or missing meals.

Anorexia nervosa is usually treated with talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and specialist support with weight and nutrition.

Signs and symptoms of anorexia include:

• if you're under 18, your weight and height being lower than the minimum expected for your age
• if you're an adult, having an unusually low body mass index (BMI)
• missing meals or eating very little
• thinking about food a lot and being very careful about what you eat, such as avoiding eating any foods you see as fattening
• believing you're fat when you're a healthy weight or underweight
• your periods stopping (in women who have not reached menopause) or not starting (in younger women and girls)
• physical problems, such as feeling lightheaded or dizzy, hair loss or dry skin

Some people with anorexia may also make themselves sick or do an extreme amount of exercise.

Some use medicines to reduce their hunger (appetite suppressants), help them poo (laxatives) or make them pee (diuretics) to try to stop themselves gaining weight from any food they do eat.

You can recover from anorexia, but it may take time and recovery will be different for everyone.

Your treatment plan will be tailored to you and should consider any other support you might need, such as for depression or anxiety.

If you're over 18, you should be offered a type of talking therapy to help you manage your feelings about food and eating so that you are able to eat enough to be healthy.

Talking therapies that are commonly used to treat anorexia in adults include:

• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• Maudsley anorexia nervosa treatment for adults (MANTRA)
• specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM)

If you're under 18, you should be offered family therapy. You may also be offered another type of talking therapy, such as CBT or adolescent-focused psychotherapy.

Find out how to get mental health support for children and young people.