The Little Mix star spoke out about her struggle with Anorexia nervosa and how it resulted her being hospitalised. Do we really know about the disorder well enough? Jade has been battling the illness since she was 13 and opened up about the condition in the band’s new book; Our World.
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa, often known as just anorexia, is a life threateningmental health condition.It causes you to eat less and pay attention to what you are putting inside your body. Sufferers will act this way in order to gain whatthey believe isa perfect figure.
Those with anorexia aim to keep their weight at a certain level, which is normally as low as possible. This is achieved by not eating, vomiting or an excessive amount of exercise. The majority of sufferers are girls and women, however more boys are developing the mental disorder in their late teenage years.
What are the symptoms?
What tends to happen is the sufferer will hide the fact they are not eating by stating they have already eaten or are just not hungry. The main symptom that you will notice is the sudden drop in weight. If you suspect someone has the condition they are likely to be skipping mealsand increasing the amount of exercise they do. This may mean they start to spend less time with you.
Another symptom that may be a bit more difficult to notice is low self-esteem or a negative body image. They will constantly feel unimpressed by their body and will possibly wear baggy clothes to hide their figure. Due to trying to sustain a certain weight they will also weigh themselves frequently and count calories constantly.
Other physical symptoms you might notice include; headaches, light-headedness, fatigue,feeling coldand problems sleeping.
What caused Jade's condition?
In Jade’s case she had to be admitted to the hospital after being a worrying weight ofsix stone. According to Jade the condition started due to a mixture of problems including; bullying, problems at home and losing a close family member.
“Anorexia is a self-destructive thing and you become stubborn, so when people are trying to tell you something you get it into your head that they're against you and you're not going to listen” The Little Mix singer states she would have died if she carried on with the same habits. If you are worried about someone suffering from this mental disorder be there for them and help them get the treatment they deserve.
