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Anorexia Nervosa
By admin | August 13, 2007
Anorexia Nervosa affects more and more young women and teenage girls today. Number of patients is increasing.
Although this illness affects mostly women, men are victims, too. While women who develop eating disorders feel fat before the onset of their disordered eating behaviors, typically they are near average weight. Men are more typically overweight medically before the development of the disorder. In addition, men who are binge eaters or compulsive overeaters may go undiagnosed more than women because of society’s willingness to accept an overeating and/or overweight man more-so than an overeating or overweight woman.
The person suffering with anorexia may be abnormally sensitive about being perceived as fat, or have a massive fear of becoming fat — though not all people living with anorexia have this fear. They may be afraid of losing control over the amount of food they eat, accompanied by the desire to control their emotions and reactions to their emotions. With a low self-esteem and need for acceptance they will turn to obsessive dieting and starvation as a way to control not only their weight, but their feelings and actions regarding the emotions attached. Some also feel that they do not deserve pleasure of life, and will deprive themselves of situations offering pleasure (including eating).
Some people who suffer from anorexia nervosa suffer from bulimia. That is the reason why these two illnesses come together and are considered to be two major eating disorders.
The biggest difference between anorexia and bulimia is that people suffering from bulimia eat large amounts of food and then throw up. This is called binge and purge. Anorexics do not eat large amounts and throw up. Bulimics do.
Nobody actually knows what causes anorexia. Every person is different so what affects one person, doesn’t affect another one. But, here are some most common causes that re most likely to affect young women and men to develop anorexia nervosa:
1. Family heritage – if you have mother or sister who suffers from this eating disorder, you’re more likely to develop it, too.
2. Culture – TV, different shows and magazines are trying to produce the “beauty ideal”. That makes average person see flaws in their own image.
3. Changes in life and other stressful events – getting a job, dating a new person, moving to another city or state are very stressful and can cause eating disorders.
There are different ways of “maintaining” the thin figure. Some of them are:
1. working out for several hours a day without stopping sometimes
2. eat very little food, up to 500 calories a day
3. taking diet pills, sometimes even few different ones
4. counting calories and weighing food
5. loss of at least three menstrual periods (in women)
6. brittle skin
Topics: Eating Disorders, Mental Health | No Comments »
