SAN DIEGO -- Anorexia Nervosa is considered one of the deadliest mental illnesses around. But instead of helping victims learn to overcome the eating disorder, dozens of Web sites actually promote, teach and support the disease.

EATING DISORDERS Warning Signs Causes Links To Other Conditions RESOURCES Teen Eating Disorder Solutions (888) 702-TEEN American Anorexia/Bulimia Association Eating Disorders Awareness & Prevention Support, Concern and Resources For Eating Disorders 10NEWS VIDEO Web Sites Glorifying Horrendous Disease

"There's a camaraderie there that people are seeking, in a very sad and tragic way," Dr. Trish Stanley said.

Neely Weir started suffering from the disease in 8th grade. Now recovered, Weir helps other teens and finds pro-anorexia sites disturbing.

"The pictures [on the Web sites] are just awful. Next to the pictures were congratulations or different verbiage that says it's okay to look like this. It can distort all reality," Weir told 10News.

Media attention and complaints forced Internet companies like Yahoo to stop including them in search engines. Despite that, people still find them.

Stanley heads Teen Eating Disorder Solutions in San Diego.

Stanley said that the Web sites -- some created by anorexic women -- are a form of escape for people in the grips of the disease.

"When people are significantly malnourished, they're brain starved, their perceptions become completely clouded and they don't really understand what they're talking about doesn't make sense," Stanley said.

Debbie Dinsmore also counsels teens and believes the Web sites are just an extension of how society as a whole promotes thinness.

"In some respects, they don't surprise me, because I think our society is so pro-anorexic in so many ways," Dinsmore said.

From models to movie stars, beauty, success, and being skinny go hand in hand. But according to Dinsmore, the Web sites take it one step further by promoting behaviors that can lead to death.

"Anorexia Nervosa kills more people than any other psychiatric illness, and it attacks beautiful young girls and young women."

Signs Of Eating Disorder:

• Dramatic weight loss in a relatively short period of time
• Wearing big or baggy clothes or dressing in layers to hide body shape and/or weight loss
• Obsession with weight and complaining of weight problems (even if "average" weight or thin)
• Obsession with calories and fat content of foods
• Obsession with continuous exercise
• Frequent trips to the bathroom immediately following meals (sometimes accompanied with water running in the bathroom for a long period of time to hide the sound of vomiting)
• Visible food restriction and self-starvation
• Visible binging and/or purging
• Use or hiding use of diet pills, laxatives, ipecac syrup or enemas
• Isolation. Fear of eating around and with others
• Unusual Food rituals such as shifting the food around on the plate to look eaten; cutting food into tiny pieces; making sure the fork avoids contact with the lips (using teeth to scrap food off the fork or spoon); chewing food and spitting it out, but not swallowing; dropping food into napkin on lap to later throw away
• Hiding food in strange places (closets, cabinets, suitcases, under the bed) to avoid eating (Anorexia) or to eat at a later time (Bulimia).
• Flushing uneaten food down the toilet (can cause sewage problems)
• Vague or secretive eating patterns
• Pre-occupied thoughts of food, weight and cooking
• Self-defeating statements after food consumption
• Hair loss. Pale or "gray" appearance to the skin
• Dizziness and headaches
• Frequent sore throats and/or swollen glands
• Low self-esteem, feeling worthless, often putting his or herself down and complaining of being "too stupid" or "too fat" and saying that he or she doesn't matter. Need for acceptance and approval from others
• Complaints of often feeling cold
• Low blood pressure
• Loss of menstrual cycle
• Constipation or incontinence
• Bruised or calluses knuckles; bloodshot or bleeding in the eyes; light bruising under the eyes and on the cheeks
• Perfectionist personality
• Loss of sexual desire or promiscuous relations
• Mood swings, depression, fatigue
• Insomnia or poor sleeping habits

Web Sites To Help Those Suffering From Eating Disorders:

• American Anorexia/Bulimia Association
• Eating Disorders Awareness & Prevention
• Support, Concern and Resources For Eating Disorders