Eating Disorder - Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is often seen as an eating disorder in which the person has a low self-esteem. They have a need to be in control of their surroundings and also their emotions. This eating disorder is characterized by the individual having an extreme fear of weight gain and as a result, he or she goes on a diet excessive in nature resulting in considerable weight loss. It is also a negative way to deal with stress, anger, unhappiness and depression, etc, essentially a range of internal and external conflicts.

Anorexics usually suffer from perfectionism. They tend to set high standards. They usually put their needs last and other peoples needs first. Food and weight are the only two issues they feel they are in control of in their lives, because they tend to feel that if they cannot control what is happening in their surroundings, weight is the only thing they have control over. They feel strong and powerful and also in control when they can control their weight loss.

In a rare case, an anorexic will binge eat. This binge eating will be due to lack of nutrients. Then for fear of gaining weight after bingeing, they purge by self-induced vomiting or pills or even by exercising.

Anorexics sometimes do not have the flexibility to get away from their daily schedule; for example, some feel the compulsion to eat a particular meal at a particular time everyday. Some anorexics even eat the same quantity of food every day in precisely the same order.

Anorexia usually starts before or even after puberty but it can start at any age. The highest occurrence is in teenaged girls, but today it is found that numbers of boys and even older women getting this disorder are on the increase. Teenage girls are more susceptible to anorexia because at that age they dream of having that ideal figure.

Lack of nutrients owing to under-eating can cause many complications, which may include severe damage to the heart and the brain. Usually the blood pressure and the pulse rate tend to drop, also an irregular heartbeat may develop or even heart failure may occur. Owing to a lack of calcium, bones can become brittle and break easily. Anorexia can also lead to death eventually by starvation. Some signs and symptoms of Anorexia nervosa would be:

- Considerable weight loss
- Always feeling cold no matter what the temperature may be
- Binge eating, excessive dieting
- Use of laxatives
- Eating in secret
- Exercising to excess
- Food obsession
- Headaches
- Frequent weight checks
- Feeling irritable and mood swings
- Fainting
- Attitude of perfectionism
- Feeling guilty about eating
- Wearing clothes that are too big to hide the loss of weight
- Consuming only diet food
- A condition call Amenorrhea in which there is an absence of menstruation
- Irregular menstruation
- Brittle nails
- Muscle weakness
- Fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Skin can appear pale
- Hair loss
- Fainting spells
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Even if the person is thin they feel fat.

Some of the complications that can arise owing to anorexia nervosa are:

Constipation, dehydration, various skin conditions, dizziness, headaches, imbalance of electrolytes, irregular heartbeat and shortness of breath, Osteoporosis, infertility, bloated appearance, cold feet and hands, retention of water, decrease in metabolic rate, brain, liver, kidney and heart damage, anemia, unable to sleep, death.

Can anorexia nervosa be cured?

In about 80 percent of the individuals who suffer from this disorder it is curable if detected at an early stage. In about 50 percent of the sufferers, it is completely curable such that food and weight are no longer issues for the individual. For about 30 percent of sufferers, anorexia is curable but the patient may have to return to treatment as and when needed.

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