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The Complex Nature Of Anorexia Nervosa

This page on Anorexia (Anorexia Nervosa) is written from the experience of an Anorexia sufferer. Therefore, although some more ‘authorative’ links will be posted at the end, everything else you will read here will be My Personal Research On And Experience Of Anorexia.

What I will say, however, is that Anorexia is like many other mental illnesses, in that it is still a long way from being understood completely within the medical profession (perhaps because not enough credence has been given to the statements of Anorexia sufferers themselves…).

So, if you prefer an article which has a more ‘expert’ feel, then please scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find more Links About Anorexia. However, if you are interested in How Anorexia Can Develop, what are the Signs Of Anorexia, if there are possible Anorexia Personality Traits, How Anorexia Can Affect Your Life and How Anorexia Is Treated, then please feel free to read on.

Anorexia can happen to anyone at any stage in their life. Figures show that it is more likely to occur in girls in their teens, but medical research is also finding that there are a growing number of anorexics of both sexes and their ages can range from childhood to later life.

Confusing to many, the person who develops Anorexia Nervosa will not necessarily have started out overweight at all. However, what does appear to identify a large number of Anorexics is a poor self-image (so they may well thnk they are overweight when they are not).

The well-known concept of a sufferer from Anorexia looking in the mirror and seeing a fat person no one else can see is true to a degree. However, it is more likely that the sufferer sees a specific part of their body which they think still needs changing.

Many Anorexics can also be driven, not just by poor body image, but by the need to adapt their body for a particular role they wish to pursue in life. Many aspiring models, dancers and athletes also struggle constantly to maintain a body weight which is well below ‘ideal’ and this may turn into Anorexia.

Many Anorexia sufferers do not see themselves as likely candidates for this illness. Initially they may well view the ‘anorexic mindset’ with incomprehension (although some may envy it…). This is why Anorexia can creep up on the most strong-minded person. They simply do not expect it ‘to happen to them’ and once they realize they are suffering from Anorexia, the process is too advanced for them to stop at will.

Psychiatrists and psychologists have tried to define ‘trigger factors’ for Anorexia. They point to major life changes: illness; puberty; emotional rejection; grief; severe disappointment, to name but a few. However, many Anorexia sufferers can look back on their lives and discover no triggering factor. In this case it could be argued that a predisposition to suffer from a slimming disease may have been a factor for some time and has gathered momentum until full manifestation of Anorexia occurs.

There do, however, appear to be some Personality Factors which may make the development of Anorexia more likely, given the ‘right’ circumstances:

• Low Self-Esteem/Poor Self-Image

• Introverted Personality

• A Person Who Craves Control Over Their Life.

• Creative (the ultimate ‘control’ is creating a new body image…)

• Higher Than Average Intelligence (it takes thought and guile to be an Anorexic and ‘get away with it’ for so long…)

• A High Achiever

• A ‘Driven’ Personality

• A Strong Ambition To Undertake A Career Which Emphasises Strict Control Over Body Weight.

This is not to say that everyone with the above personality types will develop a slimming disease (the vast majority will not). Furthermore, not all of these personality traits may appear in the same Anorexia sufferer. These are just findings and correlations made so far.

What To Do If You Think Someone Close To You Is Suffering From Anorexia:

First of all, if you notice the person is showing severe and/or rapid weight loss, please encourage them to visit a doctor. There are many reasons for severe weight loss, several of which require urgent medical attention and others which require medical treatment. All Cases Of Unexplained, Severe and/or Rapid Weight Loss Should Be Checked Out With A Physician.

However, if your son, daughter, friend or lover has been declared physically fit by their doctor, but is still painfully thin and you think they are still getting thinner, then you do need to consider that they could be suffering from a slimming disease and look for:

Signs Of Anorexia:

• The person gets very distressed if their food is not prepared exactly how it should be, or insists on preparing their own meals.

• S/he gets very distressed if you try to get her to eat anything ‘unplanned’.

• S/he locks herself in her room for hours (and I know this is often the case with a normal teenager), or insists on eating there.

• S/he wears several layers of clothing all the time and is often cold, even on a warm day.

• S/he is even more determined not to let you see her unclothed than she may have been before.

• S/he looks pale. If you manage to get close enough you may see small amounts of ‘downy’ hair on her back, arms or even her face, which wasn’t there before.

• If you manage to check his/her room, you may find notebooks filled with ‘calorie counts’ and notes of food eaten at each meal.

• S/he may have a locker full of ’slimming magazines’ which have been endlessly browsed.

• His/her main focus in life appears to be food, even though they will not eat very much. They may enjoy preparing meals for you, but insist on not eating any themselves.

• S/he insists on doing a regular course of physical exercise, even when s/he looks to weak to stand up.

• They are constantly tired, but insist they are not.

A Sufferer From A Slimming Disease Will Need Help, Even Though They May Insist They Do Not.

Effects Of A Slimming Disease If Left Untreated:

Bulimia:
A Person suffering from Bulimia will attempt to maintain their weight by vomiting, purging and/or over-exercising.

This can lead to:

• Severe Malnutrition

• Severe Deficiencies Of Vital Vitamins And Minerals.

• Digestive Tract Problems.

• Severe Tooth Decay (constant vomiting can lead to erosion of dental enamel)

• Low Resistance To Illness.

• Hormonal Imbalances May Occur (a girl’s menstrual cycle may stop).

Anorexia:
Some Anorexics ’supplement’ their dieting with Bulimic tactics, thus:
A person suffering from Anorexia can experience all the above health problems plus:

• Hormonal Imbalances Will Definitely Occur. There is a weight limit (according to body structure) below which a woman’s menstrual cycle will stop.

Even more serious problems:

• Kidney Infections and sometimes kidney malfunction.

• Heart Problems (the heart muscle is put under constant stress from the mix of very low body weight and increased exertion).

• If untreated and the Anorexic continues to lose weight, this can lead to death.

Mental Health Problems Of Anorexia:

• Severe Mental Stress.

• Possible Suicide.

Long Term Effects Of Anorexia:

(also see my post about the long term effects of Anorexia )

Even when treated successfully and the sufferer regains an adequate weight for their height and build, if the Anorexia has been long term, it can produce long term health problems:

• Possible Fertility Problems.

• Osteopenia (thin bones - lower than normal bone mineral density)

• Osteoporosis (degeneration of bone structure - bone mineral density severely reduced. High risk of bone fractures)

There is, however, medical help to offset these effects to a degree. The main thing is to treat the Anorexia sufferer as soon and as effectively as possible to try to prevent the long term effects occuring.

Points To Remember About Anorexia:

• The Anorexia sufferer may not heed the warnings about the harm they could be doing to their body. They will be so involved with their illness, that thoughts of possible future effects will be cast aside.

• A sufferer from Anorexia may well get to the stage where they realise they are doing themselves actual harm. They may even wish to stop. But without skillful and understanding help, they will in most cases be unable to do so.

Anorexia, like Depression, is not an illness you can ‘just snap out of’.
Because for many Anorexia sufferers, it is all about Control. They are more afraid of the effects of losing control over their eating, than they are of the possible health effects.

This is why it will take a good psychiatrist and/or psychoanalyst to help the Anorexic release that control gradually and to understand that they can do this without harming themselves physically and emotionally.

Treatment Of Anorexia Nervosa:

• The treatment will usually consist of counselling/analysis sessions, supplemented with anti-depressants (usually SSRIs).

• Many of those suffering from severe symptoms of Anorexia will spend time in a unit specifically designed to help Anorexics. They will slowly spend more time at home and less time in the unit, and once they are showing significent signs of improvement, they will return home and visit the unit on an appointment basis.

• Treatment for Anorexia can be hard on the sufferer, considering the extreme stress this may put them under. It requires skill and high levels of patience and understanding. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the Anorexic will not relapse. However, the treatment has been shown to work in a majority of cases.

As more research is uncovered and more studies are undertaken which include the Anorexics themselves, things are improving and providing more success in the treatment of Anorexia. Over the last few years, Anorexia has become an important area of study for all family physicians. It is therefore much more likely that the illness can be treated sooner rather than later.

Overall, Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious mental illness which can have devastating effects on the sufferer and can also tear families apart with the stress of coping with an anorexic family member.

Above all, I think it is important to try and understand the Anorexia sufferer and to urge them to seek help as soon as possible.

 
Further reading On Anorexia Nervosa:

Wikepedia Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa - Womens Health US Dept Of Health And Human Services

Anorexia Nervosa - NetDoctor.co.uk

And if you want to read more about my own experience of being an Anorexic Teenager, you can read the post Anorexia and Me

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