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Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that most commonly affects teenage girls and young women. However, it can also occur in adults, both male and female. People with anorexia nervosa are extremely conscious and obsessive about their weight.
They may weigh themselves several times a day or spend a great deal of time looking at their figure in the mirror. Even though they are very thin, people who suffer from this disorder actually think they are overweight.
When they look in the mirror, they do not see themselves as others do. All they are concerned about is losing more weight or the never ending fear of weight gain. Although doctors do not know what causes anorexia nervosa, patients who are afflicted with this disorder often have similar personality and behavioral traits.
There are two different types of Anorexia that people suffer from; the first is restricting anorexia and the second, binge eating/purging anorexia. The underlying characteristics for both types are basically the same; with both types of anorexia the sufferer will have a total fear of weight gain.
The sufferer will also have a greatly distorted vision of there own body, they will always see themselves as being overweight even when they are no more than barely skin and bones.
Both types of anorexia may also include depression as a symptom and as a result of there denial of the problem it is often friends and relatives who are the first to notice and bring up the fact that they do indeed have an illness.
Anorexia is thought be a “women’s problem” but while it is true that it does affect more women than men; men do suffer from anorexia too. The disease most commonly occurs in young women between the age of 15 and 18 and often the onset usually occurs during adolescence, it can also occur in later life but this is rare.
Early diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa plays an important role in the complete recovery of the disease. The earlier it is caught the chances of a full recovery with no lasting damage are increased greatly. If you think a family member or a friend may have anorexia it is crucial you talk with them and try to get them to see that they are in fact ill and need medical help.
The next step in treating anorexia is to make an appointment to see our doctor, he or she will ask a series of questions about your lifestyle, your eating habits and any problems that you may be faced with.
Your Doctor will also question you about your family and any other important relationships you might have such as boyfriends, it is important that you are open and honest in your answers as these help your doctor decide which course of action is the best for you.
If you are concerned about somebody you love being affected by anorexia, you need to take action right away. Anorexia is a very serious disorder, and getting help in the early stages is one of the best ways to get on the road to recovery.
If you think that a loved one is suffering from this disorder, there are a couple of signs that may be able to confirm your suspicions. There are many distinct signs that go along with this disease, and if you see a couple of them present in a loved one, there is a good chance that they may be suffering from this disorder.
The most obvious sign of anorexia is low body weight. To go along with this, you should keep a close eye on your loved ones eating habits. It is not enough to simply think that a low body weight means that they are anorexic. But if you have also noticed that they have stopped eating a lot of their normal meals, and that they are constantly making excuses about why they can’t eat, then you need to start getting concerned.
Gradually over a period of perhaps weeks or months you have seen a change in your child, at first it was hardly noticeably perhaps a change in there mood or there habits were the first sign that something was amiss. The change probably didn’t give you cause to worry too much, being a teenage girl isn’t the easiest of times for either the child or the family.
Boyfriends arise on the scene at this age as does every teenager’s nightmare, acne, falling out with friends; school work and exams all play a significant part in this stage of a teenager’s life. It has happened to us all and will continue happening throughout time.
Gradually though the changes have gotten worse, your child isn’t the happy smiling young lady blossoming into womanhood you expected her to be. The changes happening to her body aren’t the ones you thought you would see, along with the terrible teenage years you now have a much more serious problem to contend with. Your budding teenage daughter is losing weight rapidly; the jeans that once hugged her hips are now falling way below them. Her cheeks which were always fresh and rosy red have now begun taking on a sallow look, her skin perhaps a little ashen or clammy.
Anorexia is a very serious eating disorder that occurs mainly in young women from the age of 15 to 18, it is defined as the loss of extreme weight through dieting, the person suffering from anorexia will eat very little often actually making themselves sick after eating or use laxatives in striving towards losing weight.
It is a psychological disorder which once taken a serious hold on the person that person will actually convince themselves they are fat, no matter how much weight they lose, they will still see themselves as being overweight.
About every 4 in 10 people who have deep seated anorexia and suffer from this illness will actually make a full recovery and others do improve, 3 out of 10 will however continue to suffer from major long term illness.
If not recognised and help sought 15 percent of anorexia suffers will die from the disease within 20 years of its appearance.
In order to fully understand anorexia and the individuals who suffer from this debilitating disorder, we first need to clear up some common misconceptions and myths frequently associated with the illness.
First of all anorexia is not limited to teenage girls. Although it is more common among them than any other age group, anorexia can affect both men and women regardless of their age. Young girls in their teenage years may be more susceptible to the disease simply because of all of the changes they are undergoing both physically and mentally.
Many women suffer from a lack of self esteem and anorexia may help them feel like they are more in control of their lives. In today’s very appearance conscious society, women are often very aware of their weight. In people with anorexia, their concern about their weight is overwhelming. Secondly, men who suffer from anorexia or any other eating disorder are not always gay. A person’s sexual orientation does not cause anorexia.
Depression is an illness which can affect any of us at any time in our lives and it is often one of the symptoms the sufferer of anorexia nervosa has to contend with. Depression can bring on a number of different symptoms and you may have a few of them but it is very rare that all are felt at the same time.
Usually symptoms of depression show themselves together and if you have been ill for several weeks and have had symptoms of depression then it’s highly unlikely you will develop any more symptoms from the ones you now suffer.
The anorexic suffering from depression usually feels symptoms of worthlessness, hopelessness and self-hatred.
Depression and anorexia go together like black and white, it can be what triggered your eating disorder in the first place or you may have gone into depression as result of the effects anorexia has had on you.
There are several different treatment options available for the anorexic, the most important and first step on the road to recovering from anorexia is the moment the sufferer admits they do in fact have a problem. This is the hardest and most crucial one but one that’s necessary on order to make any progress towards establishing regular and “normal” eating habits.
The road to total recovery can be a long one and it’s not always an easy one, it’s not just a simple case of starting to eat properly and putting on weight, the anorexic also has to have a clear understanding of what happened to them.
They will have change the deep rooted feelings they have and the way they think not only about food but also what they think of themselves too.
No Wonder Pill
There is no magic wonder pill we can pop into our mouths three or four times a day to cure anorexia, in fact there has been very little good research written about the various treatment options available for anorexia.
There are several options available as potential treatment for the anorexic sufferer, entering a clinic to attend a course is one of them. Your doctor can help you find one in your area or there are several to be found online. Such clinics have on board staff that has been trained in every aspect of caring for the anorexic and understand what you and your body are going through.
In fact many of the staff may have gone through eating disorders them selves so they understand the feelings and thoughts that are generally associated with anorexia. treatment at clinics of this type is usually tailored to fit the individual themselves as everyone is different in the way anorexia affects them.
Anorexics will all have the same symptoms as the base of there illness but the physiological aspect of the illness will vary from person to person.
At these types of centres specialising in anorexia and eating disorders they have a varied selection of personnel at hand to assist you in your recovery including doctors, psychiatrists, dieticians and counsellors, all of which are there to help both the sufferer and there family.
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