The pop singer with the voice of an angel, Karen Anne Carpenter (1950-1983) was born on this day in New Haven, Connecticut. She was just 32 when she died of a heart attack as a result of her battle with anorexia nervosa. Her tragic death shed important light on this terrible eating disorder.

Anorexia is a mental disorder with serious physical complications. People with it often deny they have a problem, even though they have a skewed body image and an intense fear of becoming "fat."

This fear fuels obsessive exercising and the refusal to eat food, even when starving. Experts say the sickness is caused by low self-esteem, social pressures, or the need for admiration.

"How thin is too thin?," asked People magazine in October 1999, while looking at our culture's obsession with thinness and pointing to celebrities Jennifer Aniston, Heather Locklear, Helen Hunt, and others as examples. Thin stars and models could be dangerous idols for the one out of 200 American girls between the ages of 12-18 who will develop some form of anorexia.

Because many factors contribute to an eating disorder, treatment and recovery may take some time. The first step is recognizing the problem and seeing a doctor for physical evaluation and a comprehensive treatment plan.

If you have a problem, please get help. There are many useful website available. Good places to start are EDCC, Monte Nido, and edreferral which provide information and treatment resources for all forms of eating disorders.

Psychologist Carl Jung once explained the magic... and mystery... of human existence: "When you look inside yourself, you see the universe and all its stars in infinity. The result is an infinite mystery within yourself as great as the one without."

Honor the invisible and untouched magic inside.