 Tanning addiction is a rare syndrome where an individual appears to have a physical addiction to sunbathing or the use of tanning beds. The mechanism of the addiction is unknown at this time.
Medical evidence
In 2005, a group of dermatologists published a study showing that frequent tanners experience a loss of control over their tanning schedule, displaying a pattern of addiction similar to smokers and alcoholics.
Biochemical evidence indicates that tanning addicts are addicted to an opioid release experienced during tanning. When frequent tanners took an endorphin blocker in a 2006 study, they experienced severe withdrawal symptoms, while infrequent tanners experienced no withdrawal symptoms under the same conditions.
Tanorexia
Tanorexia is the term often used to describe a condition in which a person participates in excessive outdoor sun tanning or excessive use of other skin tanning methods (such as tanning beds) to achieve a darker skin complexion because they perceive themselves as unacceptably pale. The syndrome is different than tanning addiction, although both may fit into the same syndrome and can be considered a subset of tanning addiction.
Although the term "tanorexia" has been commonly used by the media and several doctors to describe the syndrome, both the word and syndrome have not been widely accepted by the medical community, and is considered a slang by many. The term was coined after the medical condition anorexia nervosa, a disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. It can be likened to the common practice of adding the suffix "-oholic" (from the term alcoholic) to the end of any action or food someone enjoys extensively and often (e.g. "choco-holic," "golf-oholic," "shop-oholic," etc.).
Serious cases of tanorexia can be considered dangerous because many of the more popular methods of tanning (such as those mentioned above) require prolonged exposure to UV radiation, which is known to be a cause of many negative side effects, including skin cancer.
Extreme instances may be an indication of Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental disorder in which one is extremely critical of his or her physique or self-image to an obsessive and compulsive degree. As it is with anorexia, a person with BDD is said to show signs of a characteristic called distorted body image. In layman's terms, anorexia sufferers commonly believe they are overweight, many times claiming they see themselves as "fat," when in reality, they are nutritionally underweight and physically much thinner than the average person. In the same way, a sufferer of "tanorexia" may believe him or herself to have a much lighter--even a pale--complexion when he or she is actually quite dark-skinned.
Symptoms of tanorexia
Although the syndrome has not been officially described by the medical community, reported symptoms may include: intense anxiety if a session of tanning is missed, competition among peers to see which can get the darkest tan, and chronic frustration about the color of one's skin, with the affected person being convinced his or her complexion is constantly lighter than it actually is.
Endorphin
Endorphins are endogenous opioid polypeptide compounds. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, excitement, and orgasm; and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural fever relievers", whose effects may be enhanced by other medications.
The term "endorphin" implies a pharmacological activity (analogous to the activity of the corticosteroid category of biochemicals) as opposed to a specific chemical formulation. It consists of two parts: endo- and -orphin; these are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean "a morphine-like substance originating from within the body."
The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress, supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. However, this term does not occur in the medical literature.
Anorexia
The term anorexia is of Greek origin: a(prefix of negation), n(link between two vowels) and orexis(appetite) thus meaning a lack of desire to eat. A person who is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa is most commonly referred to with the adjectival form anorexic. The noun form, "anorectic" is generally not used in this context and usually refers to drugs that suppress appetite.
"Anorexia nervosa" is frequently shortened to "anorexia" in both the popular media and television reports. This is technically incorrect, as the term "anorexia" used separately refers to the medical symptom of reduced appetite (which therefore is distinguishable from anorexia nervosa in being non-psychiatric).
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