THE TRUTH ABOUT ANOREXIA.

There’s nothing glamorous or fun about anorexia nervosa; it’s a mental illness, not a lifestyle choice. Saying someone chooses to be anorexic is like saying one chooses to suffer from cancer. Anorexia isn’t about a confused girl going through a phase or an attention seeking female. In fact, anorexia is the deadliest psychiatric disorder and the cause of significant emotional distress and health impairment. In a year, females with anorexia are about ten times more likely to die than healthy females of the same age.

Anorexia entails the refusal to maintain a normal weight; the preoccupation with body shape, weight, and their control; and a pathological fear of becoming fat. In anorexia, no weight is ever low enough; there is an unrelenting drive to weigh less tomorrow…regardless of one’s weight today. Sadly, people suffering from anorexia can truly “feel fat,” even when emaciated and near death.

CAUSES OF ANOREXIA

We do not know for a fact what exactly causes anorexia, but we have a few speculations which include:

  • Sex (females are 9 times more likely to get anorexia)
  • Age (early- to mid-adolescence is the most common age of onset)
  • Childhood obesity
  • Early puberty, which may then lead to the risk factors of…
  • Body dissatisfaction and subsequent dieting
  • Participation in individual, body-conscious, competitive sports, where shape or weight influence performance (e.g., ballet, track, and swimming), which may serve to further intensify weight concerns and body dissatisfaction.

TREATMENT

Yes. Recovery is possible, but not quick or easy. Anorexia is notoriously difficult to treat for multiple reasons. Many with anorexia are “in denial” as to the seriousness of their illness…if they even have any awareness that they’re ill at all. Those who are aware that they’re ill are usually ambivalent, at best, about recovery and may deliberately hide the disorder and resist treatment.

It’s important for loved ones to understand that this ambivalence as well as denial is a feature of the illness, not acts of defiance or hostility at them.

As a result of the absence of a known drug to treat the disorder, The use of Therapy has shown promising results and could be employed to treat anorexia.

If you think your friend might have an eating disorder, approach them with empathy and concern rather than accusation and demands for change. Emphasize that you care, and you’re concerned because they seem to be hurting. Express your desire to help and support them. The response of a patient would most likely be denial or at extreme cases anger. In cases like this you are expected to offer your shoulder to them to cry and lean on . Be careful not to push them too hard as this would cause them to take a step backward from admitting which is the first step to recovering. Overall, the shorter the duration of the illness before treatment, the better the chances of recovery.

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