Well with me it isn't Anorexia, I'm not actually diagnosed but others who have done the same things I have were diagnosed with an EDNOS, so I basically just say I have an EDNOS. For me it started when I was about 8 years old and then I didn't want to start to have an eating disorder, I was an emotional eater and began binge-eating a lot, then I would feel ashamed and try not to eat so I would feel better. I never realized it was a problem though and then when I was about 12 I wanted to have an eating disorder, I thought not eating would solve all my problems and then I didn't realize that I was already dealing with one. And I would do the same routine as I always had before with binge-eating for a week, then not eating for a week but I'd feel like a disappointment when I couldn't last more than a week not eating. My point is, I had an eating disorder since I was 8 but I didn't know it, the only time I noticed an
ED was when I was around 12 and wanted one and would try to have Anorexia. It was horrible and in this last year I started to realize I did have an
ED and it was a problem to my health. I tried to get out of it on my own and I just couldn't, I'm getting better with the help of a therapist though now. So no, it only gets harder to stop the longer it progresses and I personally couldn't have done it on my own, but getting help is helping me to slowly get out of that mind set.