ANOREXIA

Anorexia general Information

Anorexia is a form of an eating disorder that is more common among women and girls, although it can affect both men and boys that manifests especially in their teenage years. The exact causes of Anorexia are not known exactly, although it is believed that the social environment factor and the biological factor play a very important role in developing this problem with the personal alimentation. What could encourage this illness to take over a person’s life may be the every day life stress, puberty ages and the deaths or other serious troubles in a family. Recently, it has been discovered that there may be a genetic predisposition for getting this disorder. The most affected area on the globe is the western one, being specific for those women and girls who work in certain professional areas, such as ballet dancers or models. The acrimonious comments from others about the weight that increase the desire and the pressure to get thinner form in somebody’s mind abnormal images and opinions about the dieting and how a normal and healthy body should look An exact percentage of the persons who suffer of Anorexia is usually underestimated and does not show the true cruel reality. It is known that more then 2% of the school girls and female university students have this eating problem, but this number is surely bigger because, usually, an affected person never admits having a problem. So, this disease is the unique reaction to a multitude of internal and external conflicts, being a negative method to live with these tremendous emotions.

Anorexia Symptoms

Many people suffering of Anorexia do everything it is possible to maintain their body weight somewhere around fewer than 20% of the normal weight that a person at their age and physic condition should have. They do this by a lot of excessive physical exercises, by controlling every meal, avoiding foods that are rich in fats and by taking diuretics or laxatives. They usually self-induce vomiting when they consider that they ate too much. The fear of putting back the weight becomes overwhelming, so that those who suffer of Anorexia are very obsessed with every part of their body, measuring it day by day. Due to their preoccupation for the size and shape of their body, the anorexics have a very low ideal of weight. Many persons who suffer of this eating disorder make an inventory regarding their meals, consisting in measuring the quantity of food in order to establish how many exercises are needed for certain amounts of food. The disturbances in the eating habit may lead to hormonal changes. For example, women with this disease do not have anymore the regular periods. In puberty, this disorder can cause troubles in the normal growth of the child. The feeling of being to fat persists even when they reach a minimal weight. This is way, even after a very small meal, they often feel bloated. Their psychological condition gets worse, as well as the physic status. They become more tired; complain of constipation, stomachaches and feelings of cold. The social life is also affected, because they lose their interests in friends and isolate themselves.

Anorexia Treatment

Because some patients suffering of Anorexia are difficult to treat, the treatment becomes itself a hard thing to accomplish. The insidious nature of this eating disorder affects not only the body, but also the self-perception of the individual, in a negative way. Before proceeding with any treatment, each doctor should first evaluate the patient’s medical and health status, nutrition and body weight. This is very necessary because the people with a low weight develop medical conditions that could be dangerous if are not treated on time. So, any treatment depends and varies on the individual situations. No single therapy has proved efficient in all cases. Firstly, if the patient’s status is serious, hospitalization should be the primary step in putting them back on line. But many people who suffer of Anorexia see themselves normal and do not consider that they need any medical help. They are very often uncooperative and are brought to a clinic by the family, friends or specialized persons. If the patient is brought to a medical center against his/her will, the treatment is not easy, being very hard for the personnel to gain his or hers cooperation. In all the clinics it is tried to build a supportive and trustful relationship with person who suffers of Anorexia to eliminate the extremes challenges that are put in working with them.

This is why psychotherapy is very important. It focuses on the self-evaluation and self-image of the client because it is vital for him or her to realize and to admit their problem. This is done by making him or her to recognize the normal form and proportion of a normal body and to relate this image to theirs. How the approaching to the client is done it indicates if it has been helpful. Before the finality of any therapy, the patient may relapse many times, so that a successful result may be hard to accomplish too soon. In treating a person who suffers of Anorexia the medicines play an important role if their administration and effects are carefully monitored, especially in patient’s who are vomiting because then, the effectiveness of the medication may be canceled. If the relationship between the patient and the physician is not a good one, the medication could transform into a major problem. The recovery process is sped up with antidepressants, especially with amitriptyline. Those individuals who are very agitated, with an increased anxiety and have extreme obsessions receive chlorpromazine. For those who present an uncomplicated eating problem, an ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) is the appropriate method for a person with Anorexia. A treatment usually must restore the patterns of a healthy eating and the patient to a normal and healthy weight for him or her and must cure the mental health issues and physical problems, if present. They must be determined to speak about their beliefs, thoughts and feelings concerning social image and food. It is very important to avoid becoming anorexic because you put your life in a danger.