Eating disorders are disorders which pertain to the eating habits of an individual. While the term may immediately illicit a though process of it pertaining to the overeating aspect of an eating disorder, this article also addresses the undereating aspect of eating disorders.
Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious mental health condition and can result in being a potentially life-threatening disorder. With the right treatment, recovery is possible.
Anorexia Nervosa is a lack or a loss of appetite for food.
This condition not only involves emotional challenges but it also deals with an unrealistic body image and an exaggerated fear of gaining weight.
Let’s discuss some aspects of Anorexia Nervosa:
A. It affects people differently.
This condition largely stems from the image that they have of themselves. A fear that they may gain weight, this could be coming in from their childhood experiences with their parents or surroundings. The age group where this affects largely is the young adult group. This can be seen appearing sometimes in early childhood as well.
Statistics show that males represent about 25% of people with anorexia and that the effects are more likely to be life threatening among the male population. Anorexia nervosa finds its incidence with the population as 19 to 100,000. Often this group is neglected with the thought that these kinds of thoughts will not happen to males. Another reason could be because the culture around us is more sensitive to female population and their appearance and therefore more attention is paid on the female body structure and weight. However, this group is prone to have more serious issues than women. A person with anorexia nervosa will intentionally restrict their food intake to help them deal with emotions that they are struggling with. It is not easy to get over Anorexia nervosa, however with the right treatment an individual can be helped. The therapy includes counselling, nutritional advice and some medical care if that is required. Some people may need hospital care and that has to be handled with care.
B. There will be dramatic loss of weight.
Some symptoms are severe loss of muscle mass, listlessness, fatigue and exhaustion, dry skin, hypothermia. Family members will be greatly affected by the sight of dramatic weight loss, however helping them through the process of recovery is important. It is important for the family members to be educated in the nuances of this condition.
Along with symptoms there will be certain behaviours and patterns which are quite important to note:
1. Limiting their overall food intake or the range of food that they consume. This will show in the way that they behave during dinners or meal times at home.
2. When a person is always looking at their body, they will be obsessed with every kilo weight gain and every calorie intake.
3. There would be constant talk about weight gain and body image.
4. There is a lot of talk about exercise and doing the whole regime excessively.
5. They will take a lot of laxatives in order to keep the weight down.
C. This condition can be accompanied with signs of depression:
1. Individuals will display signs of depression and having a depressed attitude generally.
2. They will stay away from parties and functions.
3. They will be withdrawn and won’t be happy to mingle with people.
4. Sometimes individuals will associate this behaviour with guilt.
Understanding this condition helps the responders and caregivers to appropriately be available and offer help in the right way. There is no one right way to work with this –
Understanding the person is crucial in all of this!
Click here to read: Anorexia Nervosa – Characteristics & features
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