Anorexia Nervosa, commonly known as anorexia, is an eating disorder that includes abnormally low body weight, an extreme fear of gaining weight, and misconceptions about gaining weight. Individuals suffering from anorexia tend to go about any lengths to control weight gain and maintain their body shapes even at the cost of their daily lives.
Anorexia is not only about dieting. It is a dangerous, and even life-threatening technique to deal with emotional issues. While you suffer from anorexia, you frequently associate skinniness with personality. Anorexia, like other eating disorders, has the potential to take over your life, and be extremely difficult to overcome. However, with therapy, you may rediscover your identity, reintroduce healthier eating habits, and cure some of anorexia's significant problems.
Symptoms of Anorexia
Binge eating
Purging
Having a distorted image of yourself.
Characterized by mental and behavioral disorders such as an inaccurate sense of body weight, and a profound fear of getting fat or becoming obese.
Frequently conceal their skinniness, food patterns, or health issues.
Drastically restrict their food intake to avoid gaining weight, or to maintain their current weight loss.
Limit their calorie intake by vomiting after meals or abusing laxatives, diet supplements, diuretics, or enemas.
Over-exercising
Regardless of how much weight is dropped, the individual is still afraid of gaining weight.
Causes of Anorexia
Psychological
Some anorexics may have obsessive-compulsive personality characteristics that make it easier to stick to rigid diets, and forego meals even when they are hungry. In addition, they may experience significant levels of worry, and resort to restricted eating to cope.
Biological
The exact genes and hormones involved in the former are not clear yet, some genetic changes are responsible for the same. People having a genetic tendency towards perfectionism may get affected.
Environmental
Thinness is valued in modern Western society. Being slim is frequently associated with success and worth. Peer pressure, particularly among young girls, may contribute to the desire to be skinny.
There is no control over preventing ourselves or someone else from developing this disorder as the exact cause is still unknown. Yet one can prevent the severity of this disorder, if diagnosed.
Treatment
Therapy
Family-Based Therapy- It works best for teenagers. Developing this disorder hinders their decision-making when it comes to food, so, parents can help them to eat in healthy patterns to restore the weight loss.
Individual Therapy- It works best for adults. Cognitive behavior therapy has helped adults to change their thinking patterns about eating habits which enhance them to gain healthy weight and feel good about themselves.
Helping yourself
Make changes in lifestyle like avoiding negative behavior
Learn the beauty of accepting yourself
Consult a health care provider and communicate openly
Read self-help books
Feel free to have emotional support from people around you
Helping someone else in need
Discuss their concerns without judging them
Find an appropriate mental health professional for them
Avoid triggering their sensitive points
Give emotional support
Be their active partners in activities they wish to do
Medication
There are no such medicines proven to have worked for anorexia, but medicines like anti-depressants and psychiatric medication are used by people to cure the side effects of anorexia, which are anxiety and depression.
Takeaway Message
The moments where recovery feels the most painful are often the ones you are making the progress because it indicates that you are actively challenging your demons. Keep on pushing forward even when the eating disorder’s voice screams at you. Things tend to scream when dying. Anorexia nervosa, like most other eating disorders, worsens if left untreated. The earlier the disease is identified and cured, the stronger the prognosis. The assistance of family members and other loved ones can help guarantee that the individual obtains the necessary care.
Reference
Comments