Anorexia disease - causes, symptoms, treatment. Anorexia: causes and symptoms How does anorexia appear?
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Today, one of the serious diseases that worries specialists in various fields of activity, including medicine, psychology, and sociology, is anorexia.
The topic really worries many, making them worry about the future of their children and the mental health of society as a whole.
Today we will talk about this disease: what it is, what its first signs are, what parents who are faced with a similar problem should pay attention to.
Scale of the problem
Let's look at the statistics to see the scale of the problem:
- For every 100 girls from developed countries, two suffer from anorexia;
- in the USA, out of 5 million suffering girls, every 7th dies;
- 27% of girls aged 11-17 years in Germany are classified as anorexic;
- The risk of anorexia in a family where there is a patient increases 8 times.
There are no statistics for Russia and Ukraine, but the hasty adoption of Western standards signals a negative outlook.
What is anorexia
Anorexia is a type of eating disorder. It involves a conscious, sustainable, purposeful desire to lose weight.
The result of this is complete exhaustion of the body (cachexia), with possible death.
Anorexia is a very difficult phenomenon to define, in which physical and mental disorders are closely intertwined; many researchers have been trying to find the root cause of the disease for many years. This disease should not be confused with, there are differences between them.
It is important not to confuse concepts and not to generalize this disease with the desire of mentally healthy people to lose a couple of extra pounds in adequate ways.
The diagnosis of anorexia informs that the topic of losing weight occupies a dominant position in the worldview of an individual, all of whose activities are aimed at achieving the goal of “losing weight in any way.”
As a rule, there is no need to talk about achieving perfection; only death can “calm down” a potential patient if the necessary measures are not taken.
This disorder (condition, disease), understand it as you wish, is common among puberty girls.
However, cases of the disease have been reported in older women and men, which will be discussed below.
Case history, first mention of anorexia
Schematically, several characteristic stages in the study of anorexia can be distinguished:
- Late 19th – early 20th centuries. The phenomenon of schizophrenia attracted the attention of medicine and it was suggested that anorexia was one of the first signs of this disease.
- 1914 - anorexia was defined as an endocrine disease, and its close connection with Simmonds' disease (hormonal disruptions in brain structures) was determined.
- 30 - 40s of the 20th century. It was decided to consider anorexia as a psychiatric disease. However, there is still no clearly developed theory that would explain the reasons that trigger the mechanism for the development of the disease.
In recent years, the problem of anorexia in teenage girls has become increasingly common, and researchers report that the number of reported cases would be higher if patients with a mild form of the disease, which is no less dangerous, visited clinics.
It would be incorrect to say that anorexia is an exclusively female disease. By 1970, the literature described 246 specifically male cases.
In the male version, the nature of the disease is somewhat different.
In most cases, the patient has a schizophrenic relative, and the anorexia itself developing in the man’s body triggered the mechanism of schizophrenic illness, often with delusional ideas.
Consequences of the disease in men:
- decreased activity;
- autism (withdrawal);
- rude attitude towards loved ones;
- alcoholism;
- photograph symptom (patients stubbornly refuse to be photographed, even for a passport, because of their defect);
- disturbances in thinking are observed (there is an obvious inexplicable slipping from topic to topic).
Typically, in childhood, such boys were overweight and lagged behind their peers in physical development, for which the latter reproached them.
They were overly fixated on thoughts about their excess fatness and took action.
Predisposition to disease
Here we will consider at what age there is a greater predisposition to the disease in girls and women, the problems of anorexia in girls in adolescence.
In most cases, the disease affects girls who are going through puberty.
This puberty period covers the age from 12-16 years in girls and from 13-17(18) years in boys.
A feature of puberty, regardless of gender, is characterized by the fact that a teenager’s attention is focused on his appearance.
During this period, many physiological processes occur that disrupt the harmony of appearance.
At the same time, the psyche of this period directs the teenager’s thoughts into the sphere of self-knowledge, the development of self-esteem in connection with the opinions of others.
At this stage, adolescents are very sensitive to third-party assessments and statements in their direction from the reference group of people. That is, people who are of significant importance in the child’s perception, and whose opinion is very significant for them.
Accordingly, a careless joke can give rise to a teenager’s enormous worries about his own significance, reasonableness, and attractiveness.
Since girls are more susceptible to the topic of appearance, they are hostages of self-depleting ideas.
At the same time, the girl perceives slight excess weight either on an exaggerated scale or completely far-fetchedly, and as a result, painful thoughts fill all the hours that could be occupied with developmental activities.
The perception of her body changes dramatically - a girl weighing 38 kilograms “really” feels like 80 of herself.
Naturally, no arguments from loved ones can change this. A mirror reflecting what the girl thinks is an ugly body becomes her worst enemy.
Many researchers agree on the idea that the prerequisite for the development of thoughts about one’s own “ugliness” in a child is formed by parents in early childhood.
When food becomes the main instrument of reward/punishment, the girl develops the idea that food is a kind of trophy that she can reward herself with in the future.
However, social standards, which parents agree with, do not welcome “fat” people. The child cannot understand this duality and, feeling guilty, seeks ways to resolve this already intrapersonal conflict.
General risk factors
Considering anorexia as a disease that has worsened in the 21st century, several important socio-cultural points should be noted.
1. The influence of Western canons of beauty.
Mostly teenage girls, who have not decided on the image in which they want to present themselves to others, strive to find a suitable format.
Opening the magazine, looking up at the billboard, the teenager sees an emaciated, beautiful girl, whom many admire, and makes a decision.
Just who would have told her that the model is also a hostage to the life situation.
2. Accelerated emancipation of women.
The appearance of a girl who wants to occupy leadership positions in the future must still correspond to society’s formed ideas about a leader.
The female version of this image today includes: a fit, somewhat emaciated figure, appropriate condition of the skin of the face and hair, high-quality appropriate makeup, a consistent style of clothing and behavior.
3. Economic and cultural level of development of the country.
Anorexia is a disease of developed countries. The starving countries of Africa do not know such a problem, since the thoughts of these people are occupied with everyday issues:
- how to earn more money;
- how to feed yourself and your family.
And not to think that I should (should) conform to something or, even worse, refuse food that is already on the table. Such people are more down to earth and, probably, this is their salvation.
Determining risk factors
Now we move on to the more determining factors of anorexia: family microclimate and special personal characteristics that predispose a girl to this state of the body.
Childhood experiences in a person's life have a dominant influence throughout life.
Many researchers and practitioners agree that many mental illnesses are the result of a dysfunctional family situation, including schizophrenia, neurotic disorders, and depressive-manic predisposition.
Anorexia is no exception. Without insisting on the truth of the descriptions of family members of anorexic girls, through long studies of patients, the following characteristics of their parents were revealed.
The mother of such a girl is usually despotic, with her dominant position she deprives the child of all initiative and constantly suppresses his will.
Usually such women hide their desire for self-affirmation behind their hyper-concern. They, having not realized themselves in their time, try to make up for lost time at the expense of their family members.
At the same time, they have sufficient energy reserves and emotional strength, which has such a terrifying effect on the “victims”.
The spouses of such wives, respectively the fathers of the girls, play secondary roles.
They usually have passive characteristics:
- not active;
- lack of sociability;
- gloominess.
Some researchers define them as “tyrants.” However, there are also oppressive fathers, as part of this disease, who play an overly active role in the child’s life and his treatment system.
In conclusion of this subsection, it must be said that often a child, seeing a dysfunctional situation in the family, from childhood tries in every possible way to normalize the relationship between parents.
Often this method is “the child going into illness.” According to the logic of a child’s still immature consciousness, parents will become one team in saving their child, they will forget grievances and complaints against each other, help the child and ultimately become a happy family.
In some families that reject both their own feelings and the experiences of other family members, food for the child becomes the main means of communication with parents, in particular with the mother, where love and respect can be expressed through an empty plate. Sad.
It seems very cruel to bring a child to such a selfless decision, because experience shows that family problems only get worse.
Girls as the main risk factor
It’s time to analyze the main character – a girl with anorexia.
What special qualities do they possess, what disorders characterized their childhood, what social status do they generally occupy?
From a psychological point of view, such a girl is endowed with the following characteristics:
- obsessions with exaggerating one's own abilities;
- emotional immaturity;
- high degree of suggestibility;
- dependence on parents;
- hypersensitivity;
- touchiness;
- there is no desire for independence.
There is an opinion that anorexia is a “disease of excellent students.” Indeed, often such girls are very obedient, impetuous, and lack the spirit of rebellion.
According to the personal characteristics of girls susceptible to anorexia, they can be divided into three types:
- Too sensitive, with a predominance of anxious, suspicious thoughts;
- Girls with hysterical reactions;
- Purposeful, they always strive for “first place.”
Talk to your child, actively listen to his problems and experiences. Perhaps you can stop the disease at an early stage.
The first signs of anorexia
This subsection should attract the attention of those people with whom the girl is in constant contact: parents and close friends.
Only a close, caring look from one of them can prevent a teenager from developing the disease.
The first signs of anorexia:
- the girl spends more time in front of the mirror than usual;
- the topics of her daily conversations are limited to issues of calories and unattractiveness;
- frequent constipation and the desire to get rid of what you eat. This manifests itself in a long stay in the toilet;
- increased interest in the parameters of female models and an unhealthy desire to find the ideal diet;
- the nail plate becomes thinner, the teeth crumble and become sensitive;
- hair may fall out;
- the menstrual cycle fails;
- the emotional state is characterized by increased fatigue.
There is no need to sound the alarm if you find one of the listed signs; perhaps this indicates a completely different type of disease or a situational passing condition.
The first signs of the disease should be considered in their entirety.
Symptoms of the disease, how to diagnose
Many foreign and domestic psychiatrists and psychologists dealt with this issue and worked hard to reduce the symptoms to a single list.
We will present a generalized list of the most striking and significant symptoms.
They were developed primarily to avoid confusion, since anorexia is often seen as an addition to various other mental illnesses.
So, 5 main diagnostic symptoms of the disease:
- Refusal to eat;
- A loss 10% body weight;
- Amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), which lasts at least 3 months;
- No signs of diseases such as schizophrenia, depression, organic brain damage.
- The disease should appear no later than 35 years of age.
Stages of the disease
Domestic scientists distinguish 3 stages of the disease, which are presented in order of deepening of the disease in the girl’s body.
Stage 1 - dysmorphophobic (lasts 2-3 years).
At this stage, the girl has a clear conviction, a logically justified attitude that her body is full.
Characteristics of the stage:
- high sensitivity to the assessments of others;
- cutting food into small pieces, chewing it for a long time;
- Daytime fasting can be combined with nighttime overeating.
Stage 2 – dysmorphomanic.
At this stage, girls begin to take active steps to reduce their weight:
- they pretend to eat their food (in reality they spit it out, feed it to the dog, induce vomiting after eating the food, etc.);
- enthusiastically study recipes for various dishes, while overfeeding loved ones;
- during sleep they lie down in the most uncomfortable positions;
- dependence on appetite-reducing pills develops;
- drink a lot of coffee and smoke cigarettes to prevent sleep.
Stage 3 - cachectic.
The body is deeply exhausted:
- the skin loses elasticity and flakes;
- subcutaneous fat disappears;
- there is a failure in the perception of their body (having lost half of their previous weight, they continue to perceive themselves as full);
- deformation of the gastrointestinal tract;
- pressure and temperature decrease.
Possible social consequences
Anorexia deprives a girl of many social roles.
Due to her emaciated state, she is unable to communicate with children. Marital relationships and communication with parents become conflict-ridden, since no one understands her experiences, everyone only wants to put her in the hospital.
Study and work become inaccessible, since all thoughts are occupied only with the problem of weight.
Having been an excellent student in childhood, showing the best results, now she is incapable of creativity and abstract thinking.
The circle of acquaintances with anorexia has specific features. Basically, the girl refuses old friends and prefers to communicate with her friends due to, as it seems to us, misfortune.
There are entire groups on networks, entry to which is strictly limited. The main topic of discussion is calories, kilograms, etc.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: What is the relationship between anorexia and.
Treatment of the disease
Many experts are unanimous that a person with anorexia should be isolated from early life, placed in a hospital setting, with rare visits from relatives.
In almost every developed country there is a specialized clinic for such patients, where they are under the supervision of professionals of various qualifications (nutritionist, physiologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist, etc.).
Treatment within the hospital is carried out in two main stages:
1. The first stage is called “diagnostic”.
It lasts approximately 2-4 weeks. Its goal is to maximize weight restoration and eliminate mortal danger.
Here the emphasis is on psychotherapeutic influence: finding out the cause of the disease, understanding which methods of work are suitable for this particular patient.
During this period, the patient tries not to fix his attention only on food, his diet consists of high-calorie cocktails, he is given a free leisure schedule, and relaxation sessions are held before eating.
Ideally, correction work should be carried out in parallel with all family members.
It will be successful to use it, developed in Western countries and gaining momentum in our family therapy.
One of the areas of work in this case will be to develop in each family member a desire for emotional intimacy and to work with fear in this area.
Unfortunately, statistics show that for most patients, treatment does not have the desired effect. Many return to restrictive eating, and a small percentage of patients commit suicide.
The reason may lie in an incomplete course of treatment (many people can’t stand it and return to their previous lives).
There is evidence that therapy is more effective the earlier the disease began. Anorexia that began at a later age is more difficult for therapeutic correction.
Treatment at home
In addition to inpatient treatment in a hospital, it is possible at home in the initial stages to redirect the girl’s condition into a non-painful state.
What to pay attention to:
- first of all, the girl and her family need to realize that something has gone wrong; Knowing about your deviation at the initial stage, you can jointly consciously try to find the cause and devote all your efforts to making it less noticeable;
- area of interest. As a rule, when choosing this method of getting rid of excess weight as cleansing, a girl finds satisfaction of her needs in vomiting; it often becomes an end in itself. You need to find a suitable activity, directing energy in a direction that is interesting for the girl. Thus, devoting a lot of time to hobbies, she will gradually forget about vomiting, which previously brought her pleasure;
- disorders of this kind do not appear in a healthy family environment. Parents should be more attentive and understand that the child wants to convey something to you in this way of behavior;
- if there is a significant decrease in appetite, you can use high-calorie cocktails, as well as teas that will increase appetite;
- It will be useful to play sports. Your body will acquire greater resistance to stress, and in addition, it will help you acquire the desired shape in a healthy way;
- To relieve existing tension and anxiety, you can learn meditation and relaxation techniques yourself, using visual images.
And most importantly, despite external assessments, which may be caused by the offender’s momentary bad mood, the patient must understand that he is an individual.
He has specific external and internal traits and should not rush to conform himself to a social standard.
Health
It is generally accepted that anorexia is a psychological disorder consisting of voluntary refusal of food. However, this disease, which is far from clear, in some cases is characterized not only by loss of appetite, but also by an overly active addiction to physical exercise. In general, to everything that leads to weight loss. Since anorexia nervosa manifests itself in a conscious, often mentally unfounded desire to lose weight, it is no wonder that this disorder has a strong impact on the physical body of a person, leading to the development of many diseases and, sometimes, death.
DESCRIPTION
So, anorexia nervosa usually begins with the desire to maintain a strict diet and lose weight by all means. This phenomenon may be caused by some event in your personal life, for example, a break in a relationship with a loved one. In this case, the emerging desire to control your diet and follow some kind of healthy diet is displaced by the desire to completely control your partner’s feelings. Anorexia can also be caused by the death of a loved one, illness, or some other significant event. As a rule, this disease mainly affects girls and young women, but there are also known cases of male anorexia. It is also known that 60 percent of people suffering from anorexia have been sexually assaulted. In this case, anorexia can be considered a certain post-traumatic syndrome.
People suffering from anorexia are overcome by an obsession associated with refusing to eat, and most often associated with thoughts of losing weight. Such people may eventually stop eating enough to maintain a normal body weight. In addition to all, People suffering from anorexia may worry about their appearance, considering themselves too fat. However, as a rule, there are no reasons to think so. Moreover, some of these people simply look extremely thin and emaciated.
Refusal to eat by a person suffering from anorexia can take quite bizarre forms. For example, a person may refuse to eat in the presence of other people, or simply hide food in cabinets. There are even cases where people showed increased interest in preparing various dishes, but did not eat them themselves. There are also cases when a person completely refuses foods from certain groups, especially those that contain too much (in the opinion of the anorexic) fats and carbohydrates. Anorexics can also devote a lot of time to exhausting physical exercise, sometimes showing signs of so-called compulsive overeating (impulsive gluttony), which is then accompanied by vomiting. Some people specifically take emetics and even laxatives. Also many people take so-called diuretics, that is, diuretics. To cope with hunger pangs (those who have them!), anorexics can often take so-called suppressants, which include appetite suppressants.
People suffering from anorexia nervosa usually do not recognize or acknowledge that there is anything wrong with their eating habits. This phenomenon is especially common at the initial stage, when an anorexic person does not want to admit that he has any psychological disorder. Anorexia is in many ways similar to bad habits, such as drunkenness and drug addiction - it is extremely difficult to convince a person that he is an alcoholic or drug addict. A person suffering from anorexia has a dulled emotional perception of what is happening, and if such a person decides to lose weight and starts following a debilitating diet, it can be very difficult to stop. But we need to stop, because this psychological disorder is almost always associated with a deterioration in the physical condition of the body. Anorexia is a potentially extremely dangerous condition, and if not dealt with promptly, it could very well end in death.
CAUSES
The reasons that lead to anorexia are very complex and not always clear. However, experts around the world admit that a wide range of factors play a role in the development of this disorder, among which we can distinguish psychological, social, biological, cultural and even hereditary factors. Some scientists have suggested that even genetic factors may underlie the disorder, but this version has not received support among other specialists due to the lack of clear evidence in its favor. However, research is still ongoing. So, all of the above factors, according to experts, can make a serious contribution to the emergence and development of anorexia nervosa in people susceptible to this disorder.
According to many researchers, a significant contribution to the spread of anorexia was made by the media, which actively advertised a certain image of a woman with an “ideal” figure. Young women all over the world are literally bombarded with a huge number of advertising images, the main characters of which are extremely thin girls who look more like concentration camp prisoners. This image put a lot of pressure on social stereotypes regarding beauty standards. However, some researchers believe that such an advertising image, nurtured by the media, is only a reflection of trends and moods in society.
As mentioned above, anorexia nervosa is more likely to manifest itself in those young people who have been influenced by any difficult life circumstances at a certain age level. The age group most susceptible to developing anorexia includes young people aged 16 to 24 years. It is assumed that such young people have experienced some kind of emotional or physical shock, manifested in a syndrome of increased anxiety. People suffering from anorexia often also suffer from extremely low self-esteem; many of them believe, for example, that they do not deserve love. These thoughts are reinforced by the desire to look beautiful and have a slim body, since, according to anorexics, this is what will help them feel like full members of society. An important factor that spurs the desire to lose weight in such people is the approval that they receive from relatives, friends and other people around them at the early stage of losing weight.
In some people, family members unwittingly influence the development of anorexia. It is known that people suffering from anorexia very often come from families in which high demands and expectations are placed on each family member. Such people are often characterized as perfectionists, ambitious careerists who strive to achieve the highest level of success in all aspects of their lives. In such families, people depend on the opinions of other family members, so there can be no talk of any independent development. Moreover, the child gets used to it and is afraid of growing up. Thus, refusal to eat and the desire to maintain the development of one’s body within the framework of the existing body may be the anorexic's subconscious desire to remain a teenager (or child) for as long as possible. Ideally - always. Basically, this is a problem for teenage girls who are terrified of the changes in their body that occur in connection with the development of sexuality. They try to stop the onset of these changes by trying to keep their body in a thin state. It is noteworthy that this phenomenon is typical both for families in which parents are overly protective of their child, and for families in which parents do not pay attention to him. For example, this phenomenon is often found in families in which parents devote all their free time to their careers and earning money. Or the other extreme: this phenomenon can be found in families in which parents are prone to drunkenness or drug addiction. And even in a family in which the cult of food is nurtured, and the parents are real gluttons, a child may refuse food so as not to associate his image with the image of his parents.
SYMPTOMS
If we talk about documented cases of anorexia, then This psychological disorder was accompanied by the following symptoms:
-- Unwillingness to maintain a body weight that is at least 85 percent of the normal weight typical for a person of a particular age and height.
-- Panic fear of gaining excess weight and looking fat, whereas in reality the person looks extremely thin and emaciated.
-- A distorted perception of the image of one’s own body, which seems normal, but in fact, is more like a skeleton.
-- Simply too little body weight, unnatural thinness and an exhausted body.
-- Menstrual irregularities in girls (absence of at least three cycles in a row) against the background of extreme thinness. It is necessary to take into account, however, that taking contraceptives can lead to such a violation.
As a rule, all of the above symptoms are mandatory accompaniments of anorexia nervosa. In addition, the following manifestations are possible:
-- Vomiting, laxative abuse in an attempt to control your weight.
-- Use of suppressive drugs to suppress appetite. The most active and most addictive drug is pseudoephedrine.
-- Strict restrictions in terms of food - including quantity.
-- Obsessive-compulsive manifestations (impulsive gluttony, etc.).
-- Torture by excessively intense physical exercise.
-- Inappropriate reaction to everything related to food.
-- Decreased sexual desire.
-- Denial of the presence of an obvious problem with excessive thinness and so on.
-- Refusal from normal daily activities.
-- Attempts to hide or disguise their condition by such actions as, for example, wearing large clothing, trying to hide food, artificially inducing vomiting, and so on.
-- Decline of conscious activity. Manifestation of drug and alcohol addiction.
Anorexia, among other things, is dangerous because it has a negative impact on all areas of a person’s life. Fasting can have the same effect as severe depression. A person feels extremely tired, suffers from absent-minded attention and loss of ability to concentrate, loses interest in everything that once interested him in life. All these manifestations lead to social and interpersonal conflict, from which not only the anorexic person himself suffers, but also his close circle.
The health consequences for a person suffering from anorexia can be, as mentioned above, extremely severe. Changes in health status are characterized by the following symptoms:
-- Abnormally decreased heart rate.
-- Dry skin that takes on a yellowish tint.
-- The appearance of hair in the form of a small fluff on the face and hands (a phenomenon called "lanugo", which is explained by the fact that the body thus tries to retain body heat).
-- Lack of energy and fatigue when doing even a little activity.
-- Intolerance to cold - especially in the arms and legs.
-- Low blood pressure and dizziness.
-- Problems with the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in constipation and abdominal pain.
-- Hormonal disorders.
-- Swelling of the joints.
-- Increased fragility of hair and nails.
In particularly severe cases serious complications are possible, which manifest themselves in the following symptoms:
-- Heart rhythm disturbances.
-- Weakening of kidney function.
-- Anemia.
-- Extremely low blood pressure.
-- The appearance of erosion of tooth enamel due to constant vomiting.
-- Decreased bone strength (osteoporosis).
These complications pose the greatest threat not only to the general health of the anorexic, but also to his life.
DISEASE DEVELOPMENT
As mentioned above, anorexia is most common in women (90 percent of cases), and usually appears during adolescence or very young adulthood. According to various information sources, the number of Russian girls suffering from anorexia is at least one percent, and a maximum of ten percent. But most experts agree on an average of five percent. For comparison, in the same United States of America, 0.5 percent of girls aged 13 to 19 suffer from anorexia nervosa.
Experts consider anorexia a chronic disease that has a very ambiguous course. Some researchers have noted numerous cases of self-healing without any treatment. Most often, relief occurs after using some combination of measures to treat anorexia. Repeated relapse is often observed, consisting of weight fluctuations. Unfortunately, there are cases when severely manifested complications of the disease end in death.
As is the case with many other diseases, doctors report more favorably on the progress of treatment in cases where the disorder is noticed early in its development and adequate treatment for anorexia is offered before it becomes advanced. People with mild cases of anorexia who do not require hospitalization generally have the best chance of coping with the condition. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of people with this disorder recover quite successfully, thanks to generally accepted treatment methods.
However, anorexia very often demonstrates resistance to many types of treatment, and also tends to reappear some time after the first small successes in treatment. Approximately 50 percent of people with anorexia return to their normal weight, but nearly half continue to suffer from other symptoms and problems such as depression, increased levels of anxiety, problems with social adjustment and communication with loved ones. Some of the unfortunate people fall into extreme states. For example, there have been cases of bulimia, a mental disorder manifested in increased appetite associated with a feeling of extreme hunger. Usually such manifestations end in overeating and even attempts to artificially induce vomiting.
RISK FACTORS
Anorexia nervosa very often begins with a normal diet, gradually manifesting itself in a manic desire to control one’s own body weight. For example, if a person initially denied himself dessert for dinner for some time, then he may begin to deny himself the whole dinner. Of course, this sign cannot be used to determine which women on a diet belong to the risk group for anorexia. However, there are observations demonstrating that, for example, sudden weight loss (from one to one and a half kilograms per week) is more likely to lead to the development of anorexia nervosa. Smoother weight loss associated with the consumption of a certain amount of calories per day (more than 1400 calories), to a lesser extent threatens with serious eating disorders and even more so with anorexia.
As mentioned above, anorexia can begin unexpectedly after some event has occurred in a person’s life, which turned into severe stress for him. But in some cases, even seemingly harmless events can cause particularly susceptible people to refuse to eat. Such changes in the behavior of adolescents or a young girl (less often a guy) can be considered signs that the individual may belong to a risk group. That is why special attention should be paid to how the behavior of such young people will change in the future and whether such changes will lead to a psychological disorder such as anorexia.
WHEN DO YOU NEED A DOCTOR'S HELP?
As mentioned above, some cases of anorexia may go away, as it were, on their own. However, it is necessary to seek medical help without delaying this decision, if you see a friend or loved one exhibiting the following symptoms:
-- If there is significant weight loss in a short period of time.
-- If there are constant refusals to eat.
-- If there is an excessive craving for various debilitating diets.
-- Despite the pronounced thinness a person complains of being overweight.
-- Constantly cuts back on her diet, worrying about extra calories.
-- Every time after meals he takes laxatives, diuretics, diet pills and emetics.
-- Feels dizzy, faints, and expresses extreme feelings of apathy.
-- Constantly complains of changing heart rhythm.
-- Observed unhealthy hyperactivity and sleep problems.
-- If he denies the existence of a problem, despite its obviousness.
-- If there are mental complications, manifested, for example, in depression.
DIAGNOSIS
Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to diagnose the presence of this disorder in a person suffering from anorexia for the simple reason that anorexic person does not want to admit the presence of the disease (or is unable to do so) and goes to all sorts of tricks to hide the problem. Leaving aside the group of girls who clearly suffer from problems associated with anorexia, a huge group of adolescents and young women show signs of the disorder, which, according to experts, can easily result in full-blown anorexia. That is why you should pay special attention to these warning signs. Anorexia nervosa should be identified at a stage when a girl just starts to lose weight and continues to actively complain about being overweight. It doesn’t matter how much weight this person has lost. Sometimes simple blood and urine tests are enough to determine other possible causes of sudden weight loss.
Diagnosing anorexia is also complicated by the fact that there is some analogy between this disease and another mental disorder - bulimia nervosa. As mentioned above, bulimia nervosa is a condition characterized by actual binge eating followed by an inadequate strategy to prevent excess weight gain. In other words, a person takes emetics and laxatives, and can also exhaust himself with excessively intense physical training. Many girls suffering from anorexia exhibit the same symptoms as with bulimia at different periods in the development of the disease, that is, the person begins to eat a lot, while taking emetics and laxatives. Usually, the reason why an anorexic can lose control of himself and indulge in gluttony is extremely simple– a person begins to feel intense hunger. After this, as a rule, awareness of what happened occurs, followed by the use of emetics and laxatives.
TREATMENT
The main goal that a specialist should set for himself when trying to cure a person with anorexia is detection of psychological personal and interpersonal factors underlying this disease. The weight lost by a sick person should be restored in an extremely careful and humane manner. It is very important that weight restoration be the primary point of recovery that doctors will observe; only then, as weight is restored, the girl suffering from anorexia should be returned to a normal diet. Understanding the underlying problems early on can help stop the disorder from progressing further. In general, Anorexia treatment is most effective when it consists of multifunctional activities, including psychotherapy, nutritional advice and constant medical supervision.
Many experts consider a very important point in the fight against anorexia to be the development of individual programs for the treatment of this disorder, which would take into account all the needs of the individual suffering from this disease. Correct treatment must also take into account the stage of the disease and the patient’s personal desire to participate in treatment. If the anorexic person is severely malnourished, hospitalization may be recommended. Typically, this occurs when the anorexic has lost approximately 25 percent of healthy body weight, or when fasting has led to some physical complications in the body. Hospitalization may also be prescribed in cases where outpatient treatment has not brought any positive results. Also, admission to the hospital is carried out if a person suffering from anorexia tried to commit suicide, or has demonstrated any other obvious mental health complications. In this case, as a rule, stricter control and monitoring of the patient is prescribed.
Undoubtedly, the first step in curing anorexia should be individual psychotherapy - methods of influencing the psyche of an anorexic with words for therapeutic purposes. An additional and very important measure is the development of a special diet. If a person receives treatment at home, then a very important point in treatment is the support of family and friends. To do this, specialists must develop methods of psychotherapy with the involvement of family members of the patient. Collective psychotherapy can be very useful when treatment takes place in a group of people suffering from a similar problem. This treatment is also less expensive.
Dietary control and regular medical care are essential to complement all of the above forms of psychotherapy. Returning to a normal diet will bring the desired results faster if it is carried out with the active participation of the patient. The anorexic is gradually taught to consume an adequate amount of calories. Since we are talking about changing a behavioral response related to nutrition, the carrot method, so to speak, can be very effective, that is, a certain reward system that plays a major role in the mechanisms for reinforcing behavior. However, specialists should be extremely careful when developing such a reward system. Although it is very important to praise and reward a sick person for his achievements on the road to recovery, such rewards can lead to relapse of the disease, since it is not always possible to successfully and quickly cope with the task of restoring healthy body weight. Many experts advise in special cases the use of certain antidepressants and relaxants, which can also lead to a positive effect.
PREVENTION MEASURES
As you know, the most effective measures to treat any disease are measures to prevent its occurrence. Unfortunately, There are no clearly approved measures to prevent anorexia, but there are some recommendations from specialists that can reduce a person's risk of developing this mental disorder.
-- Parents, teachers and educators can help the child focus on an adequate self-image and on creating a positive image of his personality.
-- Parents need to focus their attention on carrying out certain educational work, which will help the child not to take any flaws in his own appearance and extra pounds too seriously.
-- Parents should under no circumstances judge their child for having extra pounds, or in any way focus attention on the disadvantages of excess weight, if the child has one.
-- Parents should conduct preventive conversations with their children, which will focus on the disadvantages of intensive fasting. Instead, you should pay attention to improving the child’s diet.
-- Parents should take an interest in the child’s life in order to notice in time suspicious changes in his eating habits, or the emergence of a desire to adhere to a strict diet.
-- Ideally, of course, a child should be protected from the information flow advertising the anorexic image of a modern teenager, which falls on him from TV screens, computers and from the pages of modern fashion magazines.
Nowadays, there are very high demands on the appearance of boys and girls. Women, of course, pay particular attention to their appearance. They are very demanding of their appearance, sometimes they want the almost impossible. The standard of modern beauty is an ideal, slim, fit, sexy figure. This idea is imposed on us by television programs, videos on the Internet, and photographs in magazines.
Images of thin models impose on many women the idea that thinness and beauty are equivalent concepts. Women who are unhappy with their figure are willing to go to great lengths to achieve the desired result. But some of them get too carried away with this idea and go too far. Therefore, when losing weight, you need to understand that there is such a disease as, which in its symptoms is practically no different from the behavior of an ordinary woman who is simply losing weight.
Very few women are naturally deprived of an ideal body, such is nature. For this reason, many representatives of the fairer sex are trying to get rid of extra pounds, folds, and centimeters. They are ready to use various tools in this fight, which are not always harmless. Teas and diet pills, fasting, exhausting physical activity can be used, all this can have a very disastrous result. In this article we will tell you in detail how to distinguish normal weight loss from anorexia, as well as the reasons for which this disease occurs and what symptoms it manifests.
What is anorexia?
Anorexia is a disease in which normal eating behavior is disrupted, which is expressed in too much attention to one’s weight and in the desire to almost completely limit oneself from eating food. Women who suffer from anorexia are so afraid of gaining excess weight that they are ready to drive themselves to the point of exhaustion.
Alas, this disease mainly occurs in young girls, and sometimes in teenagers. This is explained by the fact that they are the ones who are most susceptible to environmental influences. Girls with anorexia so deplete their body with various diets, or even refusing food, that their weight drops fifteen to twenty percent below what it should be. In some cases, weight may decrease even more. But even under such circumstances that the girl’s weight is greatly reduced and her general well-being suffers, the girl, looking at herself in the mirror, sees herself still very fat. She continues to make every effort to get rid of the “extra weight” that she needs, on the contrary.
This disease is very, very dangerous for young girls, as their body is not yet fully formed and continues to grow and develop. As a result of trying to lose weight, others see not a healthy, beautiful girl, but a ghost with bruises under her eyes, pale skin and many concomitant diseases. When the body intensively grows and develops, various functional systems of the body are formed - endocrine, nervous, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular; it needs many nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. A teenager, instead of giving all this to the body in the right quantities, torments it with starvation, this brings irreparable harm to the young, developing body.
Anorexic symptoms
Most often, girls and women who develop anorexia refuse to admit that they have this disease. It is very important for close friends to detect the signs of anorexia in a timely manner. If this does not happen, then the obsession with getting rid of excess weight will bring very disastrous results - the girl’s health is under great threat, and in some cases, her life. The most important and first sign of anorexia in a woman is a significant obvious weight loss, sometimes in a very short period of time. But, unfortunately, this symptom becomes visible only when the exhaustion of the body approaches a dangerously critical point. It may simply seem to many that the girl decided to get rid of excess weight in a very harmless way.
Another manifestation of anorexia is a significant reduction in the portion of food that a woman eats and loss of appetite. These signs should never be ignored. Some girls may refuse to eat at all, while finding many different excuses, which sometimes look very plausible - she’s tired, her stomach hurts, she’s eaten recently. But despite this, a person who suffers from anorexia can happily talk about different diets, food, weight loss methods, and calories. In addition, women with anorexia can spend a long time in the kitchen, while preparing a wide variety of dishes. They themselves do not want to use them.
It may seem to many that anorexics are not interested in food at all. But this is not really true - they think about food almost all the time. But as soon as it comes to putting these thoughts into practice, this desire instantly disappears somewhere. The patient's general condition worsens as the disease progresses. This manifests itself in various symptoms of disrupted functioning of many systems in the body.
- The condition of nails and hair is deteriorating. Hair becomes dull, loses its shine, and splits severely. And no hair balms, even the best ones, help improve the condition of your hair. This process is due to the fact that the body does not have enough minerals and vitamins that are needed to maintain hair in excellent condition. The same applies to nails, they become brittle and thin, sometimes peeling.
- Very high fatigue. The patient develops severe weakness and gets tired quickly. The girl is just waking up and is already starting to feel tired. This happens not because of strong physical activity, but because the body does not receive the necessary energy, and it begins to take it from its internal resources, which are limited. If the cases of the disease are severe, the girl may become very drowsy, she may begin to faint regularly.
- Disappearance of menstruation or. The mechanism by which this symptom occurs is not entirely clear; it is most likely influenced by the lack of nutrients that the body needs. For this reason, hormonal levels fail. Amenorrhea is a serious disorder, which indicates that the girl needs urgent medical attention.
- The condition of the skin changes. In patients with anorexia, the face becomes pale and blue circles appear under the eyes. The reason for this is iron deficiency anemia, which is mandatory for this disorder. Anorexia very often causes kidney problems. The skin of the sick girl's legs and arms acquires a characteristic bluish tint. It occurs due to poor microcirculation of the skin. For this reason, a woman is often cold; her body can often be covered with a layer of short and thin hair. The body thus tries to maintain heat and protect itself from hyperemia.
- Various diseases develop. The body lacks essential minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and nutrients. This is a kind of stress for the body, and it is very difficult to predict exactly how it will react to this. Many women experience problems with the gastrointestinal tract, develop osteoporosis, and disrupt the functioning of the endocrine and nervous systems.
Causes of anorexia
Many people are interested in the reasons for this disease. An important fact is that there are several types of anorexia: mental, nervous and primary. Primary anorexia in women occurs due to various physiological and organic pathologies. This may be neurological disorders, malignant tumors, hormonal dysfunction and other diseases. Mental anorexia occurs due to various psychiatric pathologies. These could be delusions, depression, schizophrenia, catatonic stupor. But when most people use the term “anorexia,” they still mean anorexia nervosa. There are many reasons why anorexia nervosa occurs. These include family characteristics, problems communicating with others, and personal difficulties. Basically, the wide range of problems that cause anorexia include:
- Dysfunctional family. Such a family has an unhealthy mental climate. All family members become irritated with each other or hide their emotions greatly. One family member or several of its members most often have various types of addiction - drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling addiction, and so on. Everyone thinks exclusively for themselves and does not take into account each other's needs. A child in such a family is left to his own devices, or is under the authoritarian control of his parents. In such conditions, most often one of the family members, usually a teenage girl, suffers from anorexia.
- Too low self-esteem and impaired perception of one's own body. All girls with anorexia consider themselves fat and ugly. Even if a girl has very little weight, and her bones stick out, it still seems to her that she is very fat and has a lot of extra pounds. But, most likely, this opinion is not the result of anorexia; the real reason is that in life such girls consider themselves passive, uninteresting, weak, stupid and ugly. They want to achieve at least something in life, that is, to have a beautiful figure, in their opinion.
- Negative atmosphere around eating. The source of such a reason lies, as a rule, in early childhood. Many parents consider it necessary to feed their baby, despite his reluctance to eat. They forcefully begin to push food into the child, and the child, in turn, develops a gag reflex and develops a negative attitude towards eating food. For this reason, anorexia can occur already in early childhood, and sometimes it can hide and make itself felt in adolescence or adulthood, if there is the influence of additional factors.
- Unmet need for acceptance and love. In this case, the disease occurs because the girl strives to please other people. Very often this can happen to those girls who suffered from excess weight. When they begin to lose weight, they begin to notice how other people begin to show sympathy and be drawn to them. This fact reinforces the positive result of losing weight in a person, and they quickly continue in the same spirit. Very soon the disease begins to become pathological.
- Perfectionism. Obsessiveness and fixation in behavior. With long-term weight loss, this trait has very serious consequences. Even if it begins as a completely normal and healthy process, then a very high desire for perfection can provoke a girl to become fixated on this idea, on the idea of losing weight. She will constantly seem not beautiful enough for herself. And in order to appear beautiful to yourself and others, you need to eat less and less (according to people with anorexia).
- Fighting some obstacles. Some doctors believe that the basis of the disease anorexia is the girl’s desire to overcome some difficulties; the difficulties are their own constant appetite. By refusing to eat, the girl believes that she has overcome this difficulty and it brings her pleasure. This process brings the girl victory over herself and has an important meaning in her life. This is why it is so difficult for girls suffering from anorexia to give up such pathological behavior.
Girls, if your figure does not suit you in some way, and you are planning to get rid of extra pounds with the help of some effective diet, then before that, think carefully about whether it is worth it? Are you ready to risk your own health for the sake of invented beauty?
If you still decide to improve and correct your body and overcome extra pounds, then do it wisely, do not forget about the limits in such a struggle. Assess the current situation soberly, because the line between anorexia and ordinary harmless weight loss is very, very thin. It is very easy to cross, so if your friends or relatives have any doubts about your health, it is better to once again seek advice from a specialist. If nature has not blessed you with an ideal figure, then this is not a reason to fall into despair.
You need to know that you can be attractive, charming, beautiful and attract attention without an ideal appearance. Much more important than a flat stomach is charisma and self-confidence! Be healthy and love yourself for who you are!
In the article we discuss anorexia. You will learn what this disease is, what symptoms and stages it has. We will tell you what causes the development of this pathology and consider medicinal, psychological and psychiatric methods of treating the disease. By following our advice, you will learn how to prevent it and follow a special diet. Let us highlight the topic of the features of treatment of childhood and adolescent anorexia.
Anorexia is a dangerous disease that often has psychological causes.
Anorexia is a degree of exhaustion of the body, while the patient himself does not recognize the presence of the disease and considers himself to be overly fat. Signs of anorexia include an obsession with losing weight and a fear of gaining weight. Most often, girls and women aged 14 to 25 years are susceptible to this disease.
Nowadays, this pathology is quite common. Most often this is due to a distorted perception of the beauty of the body. In an attempt to become like emaciated fashion models, girls torture themselves with diets.
The danger of the pathology lies in the rapid decrease in body weight. In this case, the body is deprived of the substances necessary for normal functioning, and this in turn leads to disruptions in the functioning of all organs and systems.
The consequences of anorexia include disruptions in the menstrual cycle, arrhythmia, digestive disorders, general weakness of the body, fainting, osteoporosis, weakening and hair loss. In extreme cases, death can occur.
You learned what anorexia is and how dangerous the disease is. Now let's take a closer look at the causes of this pathology.
Causes of anorexia
Depending on the reasons that caused the pathology, several types of the disease are distinguished. One of the most common is anorexia nervosa; it is triggered by psychological or mental disorders.
The second no less common form of the disease is medicinal. This pathology develops as a result of taking special medications that reduce body weight. They act by eliminating the feeling of hunger. At the same time, some of them are addictive, so it can be extremely difficult to stop taking them on your own, which leads to excessive depletion of the body.
Among the reasons for the formation of anorexia is a panicky fear of gaining excess weight. This fear is based on disturbances in the perception of one’s own body, which most often manifest themselves in adolescence, when girls begin to experience hormonal changes and more rounded hips and breasts appear.
Anorexia often develops in children and adolescents when parents force them to eat
In adolescence, the cause of anorexia is often pathological self-doubt and low self-esteem. Against the background of overprotection on the part of the parents, this turns into the impossibility of a calm reaction to any slightest criticism regarding the child’s appearance.
It is often possible to encounter the development of this pathology while expecting a baby. This is due to the fear of gaining excess weight and not returning to previous shape after childbirth.
Anorexia and pregnancy are incompatible concepts. During the period of bearing a child, the body requires a greater amount of nutrients, which, due to pathology, cease to be supplied at all, and the fetus has nowhere to take building material for growth and development.
Anorexia during pregnancy can lead to various pathologies of fetal development. These include gestational diabetes and miscarriage.
You learned what anorexia is and how it appears. Now let's look at the main symptoms and stages of development of the disease.
Symptoms and stages of anorexia
The first signs of how anorexia begins are quite difficult to determine. This is due to the fact that at the initial stage of the disease there is no pronounced thinness, and some signs can be observed in healthy people. However, with a detailed examination and careful attention to a loved one, you can notice changes in behavior.
There are behavioral and physiological symptoms of anorexia. And if physiological ones appear in later stages of the disease, then changes in behavior can be noticed immediately.
A person suffering from degree 1 anorexia first of all begins to express dissatisfaction with his own appearance, in particular his figure and weight. Such people begin to get carried away with all kinds of diets, regardless of their health status, they can strictly limit themselves in food, and cause vomiting after eating.
Physical signs of anorexia in women include irregularities in the menstrual cycle up to the complete cessation of menstruation. Digestive system disorders appear: bloating, pain, intestinal obstruction.
At stage 1 of anorexia, weight loss begins. Along with this, dizziness, a sharp deterioration in well-being and loss of strength appear. A loss of 20% of the total weight is an alarming signal and an indication for immediate medical attention.
You can only tell at what weight anorexia begins by calculating your body mass index. This indicator is individual for everyone. To determine it, it is necessary to divide the patient’s weight by the squared height in meters. The resulting numerical indicator should not go beyond 18.5 to 25 units. Modern medicine has established a critical BMI of 17.5 - this is the threshold for the development of anorexia. Look at the weight and height ratio in the table for anorexia.
Healthy conditionheight (m)/weight (kg) | Anorexiaheight (m)/weight (kg) |
1,55/53 | 150/34 |
1,58/54 | 153/35 |
160/56 | 154/36 |
163/58 | 155/37 |
165/60 | 158/38 |
168/62 | 160/40 |
170/64 | 163/41 |
173/65 | 165/42 |
175/67 | 168/43 |
178/69 | 170/44 |
There are 4 stages of anorexia. They develop gradually, following one after another. Let's take a closer look at them.
Typically, the first stage of anorexia lasts from 2 to 4 years. This preparatory period is characterized by the formation of a critical opinion regarding one’s appearance. In this case, the positive opinion of others is not taken into account, but a carelessly expressed remark or criticism is perceived quite painfully and can serve as an impetus for the transition to the second stage of the disease.
If at the initial stage of anorexia the patient only has thoughts about improving his appearance, in particular his figure, then starting from the second stage he begins to take active action. A passion for dieting and strict restriction of food appears.
With degree 2 anorexia, visible and quite significant weight loss occurs - from 20% of the total body weight. This entails hormonal imbalances and disruption of the functioning of most organs and systems.
The cachectic stage or grade 3 anorexia is characterized by a worsening of the patient’s condition. At this time, somatohormonal disorders predominate: menstrual flow stops, the subcutaneous fat layer disappears, and degenerative conditions of the skin and muscles form.
With stage 3 anorexia, the heartbeat slows down, the pulse becomes weak, blood circulation is impaired and blood pressure decreases. The patient is constantly freezing, and the skin becomes bluish.
At the same time, the condition of hair, nails and teeth deteriorates significantly. They become more brittle and lifeless, bleeding and sore gums appear.
At this stage of the disease, medical intervention is necessary. It is impossible to cope with anorexia on your own without psychological help and medications.
The last stage of the disease is characterized by the return of obsessive thoughts regarding one’s appearance. Since after treatment the weight begins to return to normal, panic states appear about excess body weight. The last stage of anorexia can last up to 2 years. All this time the patient must be under close supervision, otherwise he will go on another hunger strike.
Depending on the stage of the disease, constant weight loss occurs. Look at the relationship between weight loss and stages of anorexia in the table.
Stages of anorexia | Weight loss from body weight | BMI | Health Risk | |
1 | from 5% | less than 18.5 | absent | |
2 | from 10% | less than 17.5 | high | |
3 | from 20% | less than 16 | very tall | |
4 | from 50% | less than 14 | critical |
You learned the stages, symptoms and causes of anorexia. Now we will talk about methods of drug, psychological and psychiatric treatment of the disease.
Anorexia Treatment Methods
The success of treating anorexia lies in an integrated approach and the patient’s desire to recover. To return a person to his usual way of life, it is necessary not only to restore the functioning of all organs and systems of the body, but also to normalize and adapt his mental state.
Therefore, to the question - which doctor treats anorexia, one can definitely answer that consultation with many highly specialized specialists, including psychologists and psychiatrists, will be required. Let's consider individual methods of treating pathology.
Drug therapy
Before treating anorexia with drug therapy, a consultation with a therapist is necessary. As a rule, doctors are faced with the task of restoring the functioning of the digestive system, normalizing metabolic processes in the body and heart function, and gradually increasing body weight, preventing the development of dystrophy.
At the initial stage, the patient must remain in bed. Most often, treatment is carried out in a hospital setting, but sometimes, when the risk to life is not confirmed, the patient may be transferred to home care. Your doctor will also tell you how to treat anorexia at home.
At first, the patient requires constant supervision. To restore appetite and help digest food, the patient is administered insulin-containing drugs. The doctor may also prescribe a glucose solution to restore strength.
To normalize eating behavior, Frenolone is prescribed. Berpamin and Polyamine will help restore water-salt balance and metabolic processes. For comprehensive treatment and relief of the condition, the doctor may prescribe antidepressants: Zoloft, Eglonin, Coaxin.
You have learned how to treat anorexia with drug therapy. Let's consider the importance of psychological intervention in the recovery process.
Psychological treatment
Psychological treatment for anorexia consists of adjusting the perception of one’s own body, accepting oneself as an individual and social adaptation after therapy. The moment of accepting the problem and the desire to get rid of it is important.
The psychologist first conducts a test for anorexia, thereby determining the main cause of the disease. Loved ones play an important role in recovery and can either help or hinder therapy.
Thanks to the competent work of psychologists, behavioral habits are adjusted and a normal reaction to one’s own body and weight in particular is formed. Classes with a specialist are conducted both individually and in a group of patients with similar problems.
Psychiatric treatment
If anorexia develops against the background of severe mental illness, the intervention of a psychiatrist will be required. For example, schizophrenia, depressive and obsessive-compulsive disorders cannot be avoided without it.
Methods of group, family and individual psychotherapy are used to treat anorexia. If necessary, the doctor intensifies drug treatment, adding tranquilizers and antipsychotics to the list. Sometimes hypnosis is used.
Diet for anorexia
Nutrition is an important part of rehabilitation for anorexia.
For faster recovery from anorexia, it is necessary to maintain a special diet. It must be carefully calculated and balanced in order to help the body restore strength as quickly as possible, without placing excessive stress on weakened organs.
To determine the appropriate menu, it is necessary to conduct bioimpedance measurements. This study will assess deviations from normal body weight, muscle tissue and the degree of dehydration. Based on the data obtained, the nutritionist creates a suitable menu.
Food is introduced into the patient’s diet in small portions. As a rule, the patient should eat at least 5 times during the day. At the same time, it is equally important to drink enough clean water - at least 1.5-2 liters per day.
Features of the treatment of childhood and adolescent anorexia
Most often, adolescents with fragile psyches are at risk of developing anorexia. The child’s inability to calmly respond to stress, problems and criticism leads to lack of self-acceptance and, as a result, to an attempt to change his appearance, in particular his weight.
Parents and close relatives play an important role in the development of anorexia and recovery from the disease. If a child grows up in an atmosphere of constant criticism and misunderstanding, then in the form of a subconscious protest he may begin to try to change the attitude towards him by changing his appearance.
Attention to changes in a child’s behavior on the part of adults can eliminate the very cause of the formation of pathology. In this regard, it is especially important for adolescents to maintain trusting relationships with their parents.
A child in adolescence needs support and understanding, even if he denies it. Therefore, parents should be extremely careful about children who are in any way trying to artificially influence their own appearance. The sooner you pay attention, the less likely it is that the disease will develop into a serious pathology that will require specialized treatment.
Is it possible to fully recover from anorexia?
Doctors' opinions regarding the possibility of full recovery from anorexia are divided. Some believe that with effective psychotherapeutic treatment, complete recovery from the disease is possible.
Others argue that this pathology is a cyclically arranged disease, in which stages of remission are replaced by relapses. In this case, a person can lead a normal life for several years, but eventually return to a sick state.
Prevention methods
In order to prevent anorexia, attention should be paid to the child’s nutrition from an early age. Never force feed or overfeed children. This can lead to excess weight gain and, as a result, dissatisfaction with one’s own body and a whole bunch of psychological disorders. Meals should be balanced and contain fruits and vegetables.
The formation of anorexia is greatly influenced by the atmosphere in the family in which the child grows up. If at home he finds constant support, care and words of love, then he will feel much more confident.
If your child is gaining excess weight, try to talk to him about it as carefully and tactfully as possible and offer your help. Do not leave children alone with this problem, otherwise it will develop into anorexia.
For prevention purposes, you should undergo annual medical examinations with a therapist (pediatrician), endocrinologist and gastroenterologist. Most educational institutions employ psychologists. It would be a good idea to contact them for advice on assessing your child’s behavior and timely warning of any deviations.
If you notice the first symptoms of the disease, do not delay your visit to a specialist. The sooner you see a doctor, the greater the chance of getting just psychological support without medications.
For more information about anorexia, watch the video:
What to remember
- Most often, adolescents with fragile psyches and women under the age of 25 who are dissatisfied with their appearance are at risk of developing anorexia.
- Symptoms of anorexia in women are most clearly manifested in disruptions of the menstrual cycle, up to the complete cessation of menstruation. Digestive system disorders appear: bloating, pain, intestinal obstruction, weight loss and weakening of the body.
- The success of treating anorexia lies in an integrated approach and the patient’s desire to recover. Treatment includes medication, psychological and psychiatric treatment.
The last century brought not only outstanding discoveries, Nobel Prize winners and computer technology, but also new diseases, one of which is anorexia. The pursuit of fashion and the ideal of painful thinness became the reason that many young people sought to lose weight, sometimes even at the cost of their health.
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Why does anorexia occur?
Anorexia refers to a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose “extra” weight and a deliberate refusal to eat. Signs and symptoms of anorexia appear against the background of fear of imaginary obesity, and the disease can reach an irreversible stage in its development, when even modern medicine cannot help such patients.
It has been proven that more than 80% of all cases of anorexia appear at the age of 12-24 years, that is, at the time of personality formation. All causes of the disease are conventionally divided into genetic, social and psychological.
Of all the reasons, social factors and the influence of the environment on the unformed psyche of a teenager are distinguished, as well as the desire to imitate and the expectation of attention to one’s person. Psychologists have concluded that the symptoms of anorexia appear at a time when a person is unsure of himself. Add to this dissatisfaction with your appearance, hormonal changes, stress, low self-esteem, unrequited love and family problems...
The picture is presented in such a light that the teenager has no choice but to take care of his appearance after assessing the successful people around him. At the same time, they usually do not let parents and friends know about their plans, and when it becomes clear to them that something wrong is happening with the child, it is usually too late.
The most terrible complication of anorexia is the triggering of the body’s mechanisms for self-destruction, when, due to a lack of nutrients, cells feed on the same cells, that is, they eat themselves. How to identify anorexia and recognize its signs in time?
Stages of anorexia
1. Signs of anorexia manifest themselves in different ways, depending on the stage of the disease, which can be characterized as follows:
2. Dysmorphomanic – in patients, thoughts begin to prevail that they are inferior due to excess weight. It is during this period that it is important to be able to recognize the first signs of anorexia.
3. Anorectic – when patients no longer hide the fact that they are starving. The weight of patients at this stage of the disease decreases by 25-30%. At this time, it is not difficult to make a diagnosis, since there are obvious symptoms of a nervous disorder.
4. Cachectic – a period when internal restructuring of the body and irreversible processes begin. Weight deficiency is more than 50%.
How to identify the signs and symptoms of anorexia?
Among all nervous disorders and diseases associated with mental changes, mortality from anorexia ranks first. And the statistics today are that 8 out of 10 girls aged 12-14 years are trying to reduce their weight through diet or dietary restrictions.
Some of them simply refuse to eat, while others try to get rid of the food they eat through vomiting, laxatives and enemas. According to this criterion, all patients with anorexia are divided into 2 types - restrictive and purifying.
The main difference is that some do not eat until they feel full, while others eat as much as they want, but at the same time try to remove the eaten food from the body in any way. From the point of view of mental disorders, both of these signs indicate the presence of a disease.
In addition, the first symptoms of anorexia in the early stages of the disease include:
- Decreased appetite caused by dissatisfaction with one's appearance.
— Increased time spent in front of the mirror.
- Abdominal pain (especially after eating).
— Increased fragility and dryness of hair, as well as hair loss.
— Disruption or cessation of menstruation.
— Increased interest in diets, calories, and famous models in the fashion world.
- Frequent fainting conditions.
- Increased chilliness and intolerance to cold.
- Prolonged stays on the toilet, which can be caused by constipation or attempts to get rid of food using the gag reflex.
- The appearance of body hair (due to changes in hormonal levels).
The signs of anorexia nervosa at this stage are easily recognized, but it is almost impossible to force patients to see a doctor for medical help. If treatment for the disease is not started, patients develop a terminal stage, which leads to disruption of the functioning of all organs and systems, and in some cases to death.