Anorexia

Anorexia is a debilitating illness that for some is hard to understand, but for those who suffer from it, find it hard to over come.

Many people with anorexia see themselves as overweight, even when they are starved or are clearly malnourished. Eating, food and weight control become obsessions. A person with anorexia typically weighs herself or himself repeatedly, portions food carefully, and eats only very small quantities of only certain foods. Some who have anorexia recover with treatment after only one episode. Others get well but have relapses. Still others have a more chronic form of anorexia, in which their health deteriorates over many years as they battle the illness.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by emaciation, a relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight, a distortion of body image and intense fear of gaining weight, a lack of menstruation among girls and women, and extremely disturbed eating behavior. Some people with anorexia lose weight by dieting and exercising excessively; others lose weight by self-induced vomiting, or misusing laxatives, diuretics or enemas.

According to some studies, people with anorexia are up to ten times more likely to die as a result of their illness compared to those without the disorder. The most common complications that lead to death are cardiac arrest, and electrolyte and fluid imbalances and suicide.

Many people with anorexia also have coexisting psychiatric and physical illnesses, including depression, anxiety, obsessive behavior, substance abuse, cardiovascular and neurological complications, and impaired physical development.

Other symptoms may develop over time, including:

    * thinning of the bones (osteopenia or osteoporosis)

    * brittle hair and nails

    * dry and yellowish skin

    * growth of fine hair over body (e.g., lanugo)

    * mild anemia, and muscle weakness and loss

    * severe constipation

    * low blood pressure, slowed breathing and pulse

    * drop in internal body temperature, causing a person to feel cold all the time

    * lethargy

TREATING ANOREXIA involves three components:

   1. restoring the person to a healthy weight;

   2. treating the psychological issues related to the eating disorder; and

   3. reducing or eliminating behaviors or thoughts that lead to disordered eating, and preventing relapse.

Different forms of psychotherapy, including individual, group and family-based, can help address the psychological reasons for the illness. Some studies suggest that family-based therapies in which parents assume responsibility for feeding their afflicted adolescent are the most effective in helping a person with anorexia gain weight and improve eating habits and moods.

The combined approach of medical attention and supportive psychotherapy designed specifically for anorexia patients is the most effective care for their recovery.