Anorexia

Anorexia

Anorexia nervosa is a complex eating disorder with three key features:

• refusal to maintain a healthy body weight

• an intense fear of gaining weight

• a distorted body image

Symptoms

Dieting despite being thin, Obsession with calories, fat grams, and nutrition, Pretending to eat or lying about eating, Strange or secretive food rituals, Dramatic weight loss , Feeling fat, despite being underweight, Fixation on body image, Harshly critical of appearance, Denial that you’re too thin, Using diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics, Compulsive exercising.

Causes:

There are no simple answers to the causes of anorexia and other eating disorders. Anorexia is a complex condition that arises from a combination of many social, emotional, and biological factors. Although our culture’s idealization of thinness plays a powerful role, there are many other contributing factors, including your family environment, emotional difficulties, low self-esteem, and traumatic experiences you may have gone through in the past.

Way to prevent:

There is no known way to prevent anorexia nervosa. Early treatment may be the best way to prevent the disorder from progressing. Knowing the early signs and seeking treatment right away can help prevent complications of anorexia.

Treatment:

Since anorexia involves both mind and body, a team approach to treatment is often best. Those who may be involved in anorexia treatment include medical doctors, psychologists, counselors, and dieticians. The participation and support of family members also makes a big difference in treatment success. Having a team around you that you can trust and rely on will make recovery easier.

Treating anorexia involves three steps:

• Getting back to a healthy weight

• Starting to eat more food

• Changing how you think about yourself and food

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