I think anorexia should be thought of as more a mental disorder than is commonly portrayed in the media. It is not sexy, glamorous, or chic. Just to note, many high fashion models are not anorexics, but of course some are. Most of the time, the model already had anorexic tendencies before they were "discovered", so I don't know about the argument that the industry "causes" it, but I rather believe it may "trigger" it. You can't learn how to do this stuff, it's sad when you see girls trying to induce it...
Those of us who have had eating disorders know, it is not only the "thin" component, if that even is the driving one at all. It's very much tied to obsessive-complusive disorders, it may have a body dysmorphic bent to it, but alot of the times there are people going through this who know they don't look good, but they cannot stop doing it.
Babette, I am glad you have been successful in your fight. I hope you continue to be. It really sucks though to deal with the aftermath. In my case, I just dropped about $7000 for dental work, all caused by this monster, and I'm still not done.
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Anyhow, my take on the actual question: How do Anorexics keep from fainting?
I think many of the extremely thin people we see in the media are not "real" anorexics, but they are "serial dieters/pill poppers". Many of them use drugs, such as DNP and Clenbuterol to achieve that look very quickly without having to do much work to get it. Please, please, do not go out and get these drugs. They can be deadly, and I secretly think that's the real reason behind some of these starlets going to the hospital for "exhaustion". Google their side-effects and then you'll know what I mean.
Caffeine, and other stimulants are commonly used to keep them pepped up, some of them drink quite a substantial amount of coffee to keep going.