Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms In Karen Carpenter
What Is Anorexia Nervosa? How Did It Take Karen's Life?

Anorexia nervosa symptoms are sprinkled throughout Karen Carpenter's short life. Friends and family noticed early signs of an eating disorder and were aware of her excessive weight loss, but they felt helpless as to how to deal with it. In the 1970's many people were asking themselves, What is anorexia nervosa? because back then, the illness was barely heard of.

Karen Carpenter was seen as a chubby kid. Growing up, her brother often called her "fatso" and she would retort back with more name-calling.

Those who were close to the family report that she seemed to take the teasing all in stride. There were no indications that she was deeply bothered by any of it.

It's very common for people with anorexia nervosa to hide their feelings. We often appear happy and charming on the outside, but on the inside, we are tormented souls - wading in a pool of unexpressed, conflicted and confusing emotions.

Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms - Extreme Dieting, Laxative Abuse

Anorexia nervosa symptoms are usually pretty evident when you become aware of a person's extreme dieting habits or emaciated appearance. Laxative abuse is also a common symptom, but this is something that anorexics tend to keep hidden.

For Karen Carpenter, the concept of dieting began when she was 17 years old. Her doctor recommended the Stillman Diet, where her goal was to lose some of that childhood chubbiness.

She was successful, and remained at a healthy weight for more than five years.

With the stress of a full-time career, lots of international travel, plus tense family and marital relationships, Karen faced exhaustion and burn-out. She began dieting more ferociously, frequently disappearing to the restroom after meals.

Friends would find laxatives in various places around Karen's kitchen, and even in her shoes. This really is classic anorexic behavior. To quote a line from the book, Little Girl Blue, "The signs were there. The treatment wasn't".

Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms - The Anorexia Personality

There are several traits that are consistently common in the anorexia personality. Among them are extreme emotional sensitivity, child-like qualities, perfectionism, and obsessive behaviors.

Karen Carpenter displayed most (if not all) of these anorexia nervosa symptoms throughout her life.

She was quite notorious for her stuffed animal and Mickey Mouse collections, which she meticulously arranged on her bed and around her bedroom.

The clothes in her closet were sorted by type, and hung exactly the same distance apart.

Karen was also a people-pleaser who demanded perfection of herself - especially with regards to her music. During times of conflict, she would become visibly upset and occasionally inconsolable.

Each of these reactions and behaviors are typical anorexia nervosa symptoms. Individually they may not seem like much, but when you look at the big picture, it becomes more obvious.

It's so tragic that we didn't have the proper treatment programs in place back then. Based on all the warning signs of anorexia in Karen's life, she probably could have done well had she been able to reap the benefits of intense inpatient treatment.

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