Health, Wellness

Eating disorders are psychological conditions characterized by a persistent pattern of abnormal eating or dieting. They are associated with a great deal of physical and emotional distress, and without treatment, eating disorders are life-altering or even deadly. People with eating disorders often display extreme emotions, attitudes and behaviors about food, weight loss and their body image.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. Anorexia sufferers refuse to maintain a body weight that is normal for their age, height and body type and are intensely fearful of gaining weight or being fat. The anorexic’s preoccupation with dieting and thinness leads to excessive weight loss, and this obsession often masks other psychological problems. Most people suffering from anorexia will not acknowledge or understand that they have a problem.

Signs and Symptoms

There are several symptoms warning of anorexia, including:

  • An intense fear of gaining weight
  • Feeling fat despite extreme weight loss
  • Cessation of menstrual periods in post-puberty girls and women
  • Dramatic weight loss and continued dieting even though already very thin
  • Obsession with weight, food, calories, fat grams and dieting
  • Refusal to eat certain foods or restriction of whole categories of food, such as no carbohydrates
  • Frequent denial of hunger
  • Development of odd food rituals, such as eating foods in a certain order, cutting food into very small pieces or excessive chewing
  • Avoidance of mealtimes or situations that involve food
  • Hair loss
  • Lying about food or eating

Treatment

The first and most important step is to ask for help. If you or someone you know is suffering from anorexia, contact the National Eating Disorders Association at 800-931-2237 or www.nationaleatingdisorders.org. After asking for help, other steps include:

  • Restoring the sufferer to a healthy weight
  • Treating the underlying psychological issues that contributed to the disorder
  • Reducing and eliminating behaviors or thoughts that lead to disordered eating

Psychotherapy and certain medications (such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers) have been the most effective in dealing with anorexia. However, it depends largely on what works for the individual, as each person’s situation is different.