Anorexia - at what weight does it begin, causes, signs, consequences. Anorexia: causes, symptoms and treatment There are two types of behavior in anorexia nervosa
Since most people do not naturally meet this standard, they try to become more beautiful in different ways, and not always in healthy ways. Teas and diet pills, diets, intense physical activity - this can begin the path not only to greater attractiveness, but also to anorexia.
Anorexia is an eating disorder and, more importantly, a mental disorder, which is expressed in increased attention to food and one's own weight, as well as extremely strict restrictions on food. Anorexics are very afraid of getting fat, and sometimes they can literally starve themselves to death. Most often, this disease affects young girls - they are the ones most susceptible to the effects of modern media products. They lose a lot of weight - often their weight is 15% below normal. But no matter how thin they become, no matter how bad they feel, even when on the verge of death, they continue to consider themselves too fat and still follow their diet.
It is difficult to establish the exact causes of anorexia, but it is most likely that it is caused by many factors, including the psychological problems of the patient and the influence of popular culture.
Symptoms
Severe weight loss is the most obvious symptom of anorexia, which, however, becomes noticeable when the body is already close to exhaustion. In the early stages, anorexia can be identified by the fact that a person begins to eat less than usual, often refuses to eat, citing the fact that he has just eaten or has a stomach ache. At the same time, he can talk a lot about food, calories and diets, and even enjoy cooking. In general, food becomes a favorite topic of conversation for an anorexic; she occupies his thoughts just as much.
As the disease progresses, the anorexic constantly experiences weakness, gets tired quickly, and sometimes faints. Dull, brittle hair, a puffy face, sunken eyes, and bluish skin on the arms and legs (due to poor blood circulation) are also common symptoms of anorexia. Women may stop having periods due to exhaustion. A patient with anorexia is constantly cold because the body does not have enough energy to warm up. A layer of thin hair appears throughout the body - with their help, the patient’s body tries to retain heat. Then osteoporosis develops, digestive processes are disrupted, and disruptions in the functioning of the heart and central nervous system may occur.
Treatment
Treatment for anorexia usually takes at least 5 years. This is a difficult process that requires great involvement and desire from the patient to overcome the disease. More than 60% of patients who begin treatment for anorexia return to a healthy lifestyle. Another 20% recover almost completely, but to avoid relapses, they need to undergo regular examination and additional courses of therapy.
At the first stage of treatment, the patient’s physical health is restored. Sometimes patients are hospitalized in a very serious condition, and they require not only nutrition through an IV, but also treatment for complications of anorexia, often very dangerous. Once the patient's condition has stabilized, he is gradually introduced to a normal diet, helping him return to a healthy weight.
Then a course of psychotherapy begins, during which the patient and the doctor together look for the causes of the disease and ways to overcome it. Cognitive behavioral therapy is usually used to help the patient overcome distorted body image.
Sometimes the patient is prescribed antidepressants. They help cope with anxiety and some other problems, but they should be taken for as short a time as possible.
Statistics
- Anorexia is the third most common chronic disease in adolescents
- The average age at which eating disorders begin today is 11-13 years old.
- About 80% of women have stated in numerous surveys that they want to lose weight
- 50% of girls between 13 and 15 years old think they are overweight
- 80% of thirteen-year-old girls have already been on a diet or tried to lose weight in other ways at least once
- 20% of people who suffer from anorexia and do not receive timely treatment will die
- Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder
- Only 1 in 10 people with an eating disorder receive adequate treatment
- 1-5% of girls and young women suffer from anorexia
What you need to know about anorexia
- There is no one to blame for anorexia. Anorexia does not mean that parents raised their child incorrectly. Cultural, genetic and personal factors interact closely with life events, which creates fertile ground for the emergence and development of psychological eating disorders.
- There is nothing pleasant about anocresia. Many people who follow exhaustive diets recklessly declare that they dream of becoming anorexic. They see only the obvious manifestation of this disease - excessive thinness, but do not notice the full danger of this “fashionable” disease. People with anorexia are not at all proud of their ideal figure and do not feel incredibly beautiful; if you talk to such a person, you will learn a lot of new things about him - for example, that a girl whose weight is 55 kilograms and whose height is one meter eighty considers herself fat, unattractive and unstylish. Patients with anorexia suffer from a never-ending feeling of their own imperfection, they are scared and driven into a corner by their fears.
- You can’t just get rid of anorexia; it’s not a disease that reminds you of itself once a month. The consciousness of anorexics does not belong to them; they cannot control their feelings. Such people are literally obsessed with thoughts about weight, food, extra calories and body image. For many, the disease torments them even in their sleep - they are haunted by nightmares and obsessive dreams about food and nutrition. And in their sleep, poor sufferers continue to count calories and are horrified by the 100 grams gained. Anorexia is a terrible disease that snatches its victim from normal life and dooms him to loneliness. Anorexia is very difficult to cure. Sometimes it takes years to fight it.
- Anorexia can be fatal. By the way, anorexia has the highest mortality rate among psychological diseases. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder, act immediately and seek help from a doctor.
Specific symptoms of anorexia
A patient with anorexia is primarily characterized by a reluctance to maintain a weight appropriate to his constitution, age and height. To be precise, a person's normal weight should be 85% or less of the weight that is considered standard for a person of his size, age and height.
As a rule, a victim of anorexia constantly feels an unrelenting fear of gaining weight and gaining excess weight, and this fear completely overshadows all other feelings and emotions. This fear does not take into account the real weight of a person, and does not let go of its victim even when she is on the verge of death from exhaustion. First of all, the causes of anorexia lie in low self-esteem, which is also one of the main symptoms of this serious disease. A patient with anorexia believes that his weight, body measurements and size are directly related to his sense of self and personal status. Victims of anorexia often deny the seriousness of their condition and cannot objectively assess their own weight.
Another symptom characteristic of women is the absence of at least three menstruation in a row. Specifically, a woman is diagnosed with amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) if her period begins only after hormonal therapy (for example, estrogen administration).
Types of behavior with anorexia
There are two types of behavior in anorexia nervosa
- Restrictive - the patient voluntarily limits food intake and does not eat to capacity, and then provokes vomiting.
- Purgative - the patient overeats and then induces vomiting or abuses laxatives, diuretics or enemas.
Unlike depression or panic attacks, anorexia nervosa is difficult to treat. There is no universal and effective cure for anorexia. First, doctors prescribe general medications that are used to treat any health problems, such as electrolysis abnormalities or heart rhythm problems.
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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 level. 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 lacks the 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 and 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 help.
- 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 protrude outward, 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!
Anorexia in men has its own characteristics:
- Anorexia in men is often associated with various mental disorders - schizophrenia, neuroses.
- Men don't talk about their desire to lose weight. They are more secretive, unlike women who constantly discuss ways to lose weight.
- Men are more purposeful, they firmly adhere to their promise to refuse certain foods. They are less likely to have eating disorders.
- A large percentage of sick men refuse food for ideological reasons. They are supporters of body cleansing, raw foodism, veganism, sun-eating or other nutritional systems.
- Anorexia affects not only young men who strive to meet the standards of beauty, but also men over 40 who are interested in methods of cleansing the body and various spiritual practices. You can often hear phrases from them that “food is an obstacle to mental development”, “refusing food prolongs life and purifies the spirit.”
- Asthenic and schizoid traits predominate in the character of patients, in contrast to women, who are characterized by hysterical traits.
- Delusional ideas about imaginary fatness sometimes serve as a distraction for a man. At the same time, he tends not to notice real physical defects, which sometimes disfigure his appearance.
Factors that provoke anorexia in men
- Growing up in a single-parent family in an overprotective atmosphere from the mother's side. The boy is afraid that as he gains weight, he will grow up and lose the love of his family. By remaining thin, he tries to avoid the responsibilities and hardships of adult life. Such men continue to live with their parents into adulthood.
- Critical statements from others regarding excess weight. This can cause psychological trauma.
- Participation in certain sports, requiring strict control over body weight - sports dancing, ballet, running, jumping, figure skating.
- Professions related to show business– singers, actors, models. People employed in these professions sometimes pay excessive attention to their appearance, which causes thoughts about their own imperfections and excess weight.
- Self-punishment. Boys and men work themselves to the point of exhaustion, reducing the feeling of guilt for undiagnosed aggression towards the father or forbidden sexual desire.
- Schizophrenia in one of the parents, the tendency to which is inherited. There is a high risk of anorexia nervosa in young men whose parents suffered from anorexia, phobia, anxious depression, and psychosis.
- Homosexuality. In specialized publications, a cult of lean male bodies is created, which encourages young men to refuse food.
- Painful attention to one's appearance.
- The tendency to eat normally once and then starve for weeks.
- Tendency to hide food. To convince relatives that the patient is “eating normally,” he may hide or throw away his portion of food.
- Decreased sexual interest and potency, which is analogous to female amenorrhea (lack of menstruation).
- Traditional methods of losing weight include refusing to eat, excessive exercise and vomiting, enemas, and colon therapy. However, morbid attachment to vomiting is less common than in women.
- Unmotivated aggression. Rude attitude towards close people, especially parents.
- Refusal to be photographed. Patients argue that their “fullness” is more noticeable in photographs.
- Hypochondria. A man is overly concerned about his health and suspects that he has serious illnesses. Natural sensations (especially the feeling of fullness in the stomach) seem painful to him.
- Changes in appearance appear after a few months - weight loss (up to 50% of body weight), dry skin, hair loss.
- The tendency to alcoholism is an attempt to cope with emotions and drown out thoughts about food and losing weight.
Men with anorexia do not perceive their condition as a problem. They do their best to justify fasting by cleansing the body and the desire for enlightenment. Their relatives often seek medical help. If this does not happen on time, the man ends up in a hospital with cachexia (extreme exhaustion) or in a psychiatric hospital with an exacerbation of mental illness.
Treatment of anorexia in men includes psychotherapy, medication and reflexology. Taken together, these measures lead to recovery in over 80% of patients.
1. Psychotherapy- an obligatory component of treatment. It allows you to correct the patient’s thinking and helps eliminate psychological trauma that led to an eating disorder. For anorexia in men, the following have proven effective:
- psychoanalysis;
- behavioral therapy;
- family psychotherapy with the patient's relatives.
- Neuroleptics Clozapine and Olanzapine are used for the first 6 months of treatment. They promote weight gain and reduce delusions regarding obesity. The dose of the drug is determined individually. After achieving a therapeutic effect, it is gradually reduced. If an exacerbation occurs, the dose is increased to the initial dose.
- Atypical antipsychotics Risperidone and Risset eliminate the negative manifestations of the disease, but do not reduce performance or interfere with work and study. Take medications constantly or only when symptoms of the disease occur. Treatment with atypical drugs can last from 6 months to one and a half years.
- Vitamin preparations. B vitamins normalize the functioning of the nervous system, helping to eradicate the root cause of the disease. Vitamins A and E improve the production of hormones, promote the restoration of the skin and its appendages, as well as the mucous membranes of internal organs.
4. Trainings on organizing healthy nutrition. Special training programs will help the patient create a menu in such a way that the body receives all the nutrients and does not experience discomfort.
5. Intravenous nutrition or feeding through a tube. These methods are used in cases of extreme exhaustion in patients who categorically refuse to eat.
Anorexia in a child, what to do?
Anorexia in children is a more common problem than is commonly believed. 30% of girls aged 9-11 years limit themselves in food and adhere to a diet in order to lose weight. Every 10th person has a high risk of developing anorexia (in boys this figure is 4-6 times lower). However, in childhood the psyche is more susceptible to influence and in the early stages parents can help the child avoid the development of the disease while remaining slim.Causes of anorexia in a child
- Parents feed the child, forcing him to eat too large portions. As a result, an aversion to food is formed.
- Monotonous diet, which creates a negative attitude towards food.
- Past severe infectious diseases - diphtheria, hepatitis, tuberculosis.
- Psycho-emotional stress - sudden acclimatization, death of a loved one, parental divorce.
- The abundance of unhealthy and sweet foods in the diet disrupts digestion and metabolism.
- Excessive care and control on the part of parents. Often found in single-parent families, where a child is raised without a father by his mother and grandmother.
- Dissatisfaction with one's appearance, which is often based on criticism from parents and ridicule from peers.
- Hereditary predisposition to mental illness.
What are the signs of anorexia in a child?- Eating disorders - refusal to eat or a certain set of foods (potatoes, cereals, meat, sweets).
- Physical signs are weight loss, dry skin, sunken eyes, dark circles under the eyes.
- Behavioral changes – sleep disturbances, irritability, frequent tantrums, decreased academic performance.
- Make eating an enjoyable experience. Create comfort in the kitchen. While your child is eating, find a few minutes to sit next to him and ask him how the day went, what was the most pleasant event today.
- Start eating healthy as a family. For example, instead of pies, cook baked apples with cottage cheese; instead of frying potatoes or fish, bake them in foil. Focus not on the fact that this will make you lose weight, but that proper nutrition is the basis of beauty, health and vigor. Being slim is just a pleasant consequence of a healthy lifestyle.
- Follow family rituals related to food. Bake meat according to your grandmother's recipe, marinate fish, as is customary in your family. Share these secrets with your child. Rituals make the child feel like he is part of a group and give him a sense of security.
- Go shopping together. Make a rule: everyone buys a new, preferably “healthy” product. It could be yogurt, an exotic fruit, a new type of cheese. Then you can try it at home and decide whose choice is better. This way you instill in your child the idea that healthy food brings pleasure.
- Don't insist on your own. Give your child a choice, strive for a compromise. This applies to all aspects of life. A child who is overly controlled in everything takes control of what is left to him - his food. Avoid categorical demands. If you think it's cold outside, don't shout at your daughter to put on a hat, but offer your child an acceptable choice: a headband, a hat, or a hood. The same goes for food. Ask what the child will like, offering a choice of 2-3 acceptable dishes. If your daughter flatly refuses dinner, move lunch to a later time.
- Involve your child in the cooking process. Watch cooking shows together, choose recipes on the Internet that you would like to try. There are a huge number of tasty and healthy low-calorie dishes that do not increase the risk of gaining weight.
- Encourage dancing and sports. Regular physical training increases appetite and promotes the production of endorphins - “happiness hormones”. It is advisable that the child exercise for his own pleasure, since professional activities aimed at winning competitions can provoke a desire to lose weight and cause anorexia and bulimia.
- Consult a cosmetologist or fitness trainer if the child is dissatisfied with his appearance and weight. Children often ignore the advice of their parents, but listen to the opinions of unfamiliar experts. Such specialists will help you create a proper nutrition program that improves skin condition and prevents excess weight gain.
- Listen carefully to your child. Avoid categorical judgments and do not deny the problem: “Don’t talk nonsense. Your weight is normal." Give reasons for your reasons. Together, calculate the ideal weight formula, find the minimum and maximum values for this age. Promise to help fight for beauty ideals and stick to your word. It is better to prepare a diet soup for your child than for a rebellious daughter to skip a meal consisting of a high-calorie roast.
- Find areas where your child can self-actualize. He should feel successful, useful and indispensable. To generate interest in various activities, attend a variety of events with your child: exhibitions, dance group competitions and sports competitions. Encourage him to try his hand at a wide variety of sections and clubs. Give sincere praise for every small achievement. Then the teenager will take root in the idea that success and positive emotions can be associated not only with physical attractiveness. And new acquaintances and vivid impressions will distract you from thoughts about the imperfection of your body.
- Help your child receive complete and comprehensive information. If your child wants to stick to a diet, then find detailed instructions on this topic. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the contraindications and read about the dangers and consequences of this diet. For example, it has been proven that supporters of protein diets are at risk of cancer. The more your child knows, the better protected he will be. Thus, due to a lack of understanding of the full danger of the problem, many girls stubbornly search the Internet for advice on “how to get anorexia?” In their minds, this is not a serious mental illness, but an easy path to beauty.
How to avoid relapse of anorexia?
Relapses of anorexia after treatment occur in 32% of patients. The most dangerous are the first six months, when patients are highly tempted to give up food and return to old habits and the same way of thinking. There is also a risk that in an attempt to suppress their appetite, such people will become addicted to alcohol or drug use. That is why relatives should pay maximum attention and try to fill their lives with new impressions.How to avoid relapse of anorexia?
Scientists agree that anorexia is a chronic disease characterized by periods of calm and relapses. This food addiction is compared to diabetes: a person must constantly monitor his condition, follow preventive measures, and begin drug treatment when the first signs of the disease appear. This is the only way to stop the return of anorexia in time and prevent a relapse.
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. Moreover, 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 backdrop 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 square of his 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 medications. The doctor may also prescribe a glucose solution to restore strength.
To normalize eating behavior, Frenolone is prescribed. Berpamin and Polyamine will help restore the 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 important thing is the moment of accepting the problem and the desire to get rid of it.
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 attentive to 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.
