Anorexia: causes and consequences
According to statistics, 90% of the population is not satisfied with their appearance. However, most of the noticeable weight problems do not. It so happens that the desire to lose weight becomes an obsession. Doctors call this disease anorexia. Today anorexia is widespread enough, but not everyone knows it "by sight". Usually, people who suffer from this disease achieve weight loss in three ways: through strict diets, high physical activity and through cleansing procedures.
Approximately 95% of people with anorexia are women. Already from adolescence, girls want to approach the "fashionable" standards. They torment themselves with diets, chasing a slim figure. Most patients are among girls 12-25 years old and, as a rule, not overweight (calorizer). But the complexes that are laid down from adolescence, as well as other factors that contribute to the development of anorexia, may appear much later.
Causes of anorexia
Anorexia is a difficult disease to treat. Its causes and symptoms are extremely complex. Sometimes it takes years to fight. The mortality statistics are striking: in 20% it ends sadly.
According to scientists, not only mental abnormalities can become the impetus for anorexia. Dutch researchers examined the DNA of anorexic patients. It turned out that 11% of patients have the same genetic background in their bodies. Therefore, scientists believe that there is no doubt about the presence of hereditary factors that increase the likelihood of developing this disease.
French scientists have found that anorexia, like ecstasy use, affects the appetite and pleasure control center in our brain. So, the very feeling of hunger can cause addiction, which is similar to drug addiction.
Anorexia can occur as a result of hormonal imbalance in the body or as a result of upbringing. If the mother was obsessed with her weight and diets, then the daughter may develop complexes over time, which will initiate anorexia.
A frequent reason for the development of the disease is the peculiarity of the psyche of the sick person. As a rule, these are people with low self-esteem and excessively high demands on themselves. Sometimes stressful factors can be the cause. Severe stress alters the production of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain, resulting in depression and poor appetite.
Features of the disease
More than once, doctors become witnesses of how people react with envy to anorexic people, as they can lose weight without feeling the need for food. Unfortunately, they pay attention only to the first manifestation of this disease - a problem-free weight loss. They do not want to realize the full danger of the disease. After all, patients around the clock suffer from a feeling of their own imperfection, they are frightened by their own phobias.
Anorexic people constantly experience a state of anxiety and depression. They practically lose control of their minds. These people are obsessed with the idea of extra calories.
Most of the patients, being in this condition, continue to assure that they have no health problems. Attempts to convince and talk end in failure. The whole difficulty lies in the fact that a person cannot trust someone in such a state, because, in fact, he does not trust himself. Without realizing reality, it's hard to stop and master yourself.
The main signs of anorexia:
Desire to lose weight at any cost;
- Fear of getting better;
- Food obsessions (dieting, calorie counting manic, narrowing down on weight loss interests)
- Frequent refusal to eat (main arguments: "I recently ate", "I am not hungry", "No appetite");
- Using rituals (eg, chewing too much, picking at the plate, using miniature dishes);
- Feelings of guilt and anxiety after eating;
- Avoiding holidays and various events;
- The desire to drive yourself into training;
- Aggressiveness in defending one's own beliefs;
- Sleep disturbance;
- Cessation of menstruation;
- Depressive state;
- Feeling out of control of your own life
- Rapid decrease in body weight (by 30% or more of the age norm);
- Weakness and dizziness;
- Constant chilliness;
- Decreased libido.
These signs are typical for many losing weight, which is already a wake-up call. When a person becomes obsessed and begins to perceive himself distortedly, for example, too fat with a normal body weight, then this is already an alarm.
Treatment of anorexia
Society dictates to us the fashion for everything, including the idea of beauty. But in recent years, the image of a skinny girl is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Designers are trying to choose healthy girls for work.
In the treatment of anorexia, the key elements are physical improvement, behavioral, cognitive and family therapy. Pharmacotherapy is at best an adjunct to other types of psychotherapy. Alimentary rehabilitation and measures aimed at restoring body weight are integral components of treatment.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help with weight loss. It is aimed at correcting a distorted perception of oneself and regaining a sense of one's own worth.
Psychotherapy is sometimes supplemented with medication to restore metabolism and normal psycho-emotional state. In severe cases, patients need hospitalization. Anorexic patients are treated by a whole team of doctors: psychiatrist, psychotherapist, endocrinologist and nutritionist.
Rehabilitation programs typically use emotional care and support, as well as a variety of behavioral therapy techniques that combine rewarding stimuli that combine exercise, bed rest, and prioritize target body weight, desired behaviors, and informative feedback.
Nutritional support for patients with anorexia is an important part of their treatment. With chronic fasting, the need for energy is reduced. Therefore, weight gain can be promoted by initially providing a relatively low calorie intake and then gradually increasing it (calorizator). There are several schemes for increasing nutrition, the observance of which guarantees the absence of side effects and complications in the form of edema, impaired mineral metabolism, and damage to the digestive system.
Possible outcome of the disease:
Recovery;
- Recurrent (renewed) course;
- Death as a result of irreversible changes in internal organs. According to statistics, without treatment, the lethality of patients with anorexia nervosa is 5-10%.
Everything in the world has its limits, beauty is no exception. Unfortunately, not everyone feels when to say "stop" to themselves. After all, a slender body is beautiful! Monitor your health.
Author: Ekaterina G., nutritionist, fitness blogger (specially for Calorizator.ru)
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