Anorexia

Nervosa

Defined

• An eating disorder where a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.

• An emotional disorder that focuses on food, but it is actually an attempt to deal with perfectionism.

Types of Anorexia

• Restricting– Weight loss achieved

by restricting calories• Following diets,

fasting, and exercising to excess

• Purging– Weight loss

achieved by vomiting, laxatives, or diuretics

Probable Causes• Anorexia Nervosa patients tend to have

– Low self-evaluations– Come from competitive, high-achieving, and protective

families– Set perfectionist standards– Intensely concerned with how others perceive them– Fear falling short of expectations– Genetics– Culture– Idealize thinness– Have poor body image– Feel shame, depressed, and dissatisfied with their own

bodies

Genetics

• The chances for identical twins sharing the disorder are greater than for fraternal twins

• When ancestors were faced with famine, those who denied starvation and became hyperactive may have been more likely to search for food.

Cultural Effect

• Learned restraint in cultures that idealize thinness

• Ultra-thin models• Doctored photos in

magazines, advertisements, and other forms of media

• Pressure to be thin• “Thin-ideal”

Symptoms• Dramatic weight loss• Preoccupation with weight, food,

calories, fat grams, and dieting• Refusal to eat certain foods, or

whole categories of food (e.g. no carbohydrates)

• Denial of hunger• Excessive, rigid exercise regimen• Withdrawal from usual friends

and activities• Weight loss and dieting become

primary concerns in life.• Constant excuses to avoid

mealtimes• Anxiety about gaining weight or

being fat

Physical Effects

• Abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure

• Reduction of bone density or dry brittle bones

• Muscle loss and weakness• Severe dehydration • Fainting and fatigue• Dry hair and skin, hair loss• Downy hair covering the body• Decreased fertility

Psychological and Behavioral Effects

• Distorted perception of self• Preoccupation with food• OCD• Depression• Forgetfulness• Denial of issue

Effects

Statistics • 1 in 200 American women suffer from anorexia• About 10-15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males• Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness• The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times

higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old.

• Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents• 95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12

and 25 • Rates of minorities with eating disorders are similar to those of white

women• Only 1 in 10 people with eating disorders receive treatment

Source: http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm

Treatment

• Psychotherapy• Family Therapy• Medication- Anti depressants

(Prozac), potassium or iron supplements

• Hypnosis• Biofeedback• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

I hate never feeling beautiful. I hate what I see in the mirror. I want to be perfect.

My family keeps telling me to eat, but I’m doing fine. The days when I don’t eat anything at all, are the days when I feel like I accomplished something.

I want to look like them. These photos are my inspiration and my aspirations.

Skinnies look good in everything.

The conversations I have every day seem to blend together. Every time someone asks if I want anything to eat, I always say one of my three favorite phrases.

“I already ate.” “I had a big meal earlier.” Or simply, “No thanks, I’m not hungry.”

But in reality, I haven’t eaten the entire day. Or I’ve only drunken my standard recipe of lemon juice, water, and cayenne pepper. And I always notice the questioning look on everyone’s faces after my reply. But, I’ve learned to ignore it.

I don’t want to eat. I don’t like eating. I find it revolting now. All those calories, fats, and hidden pounds lurking in everything. They are all just waiting until I become weak. So they can destroy me and all that I’ve accomplished.

Wanting to be thin consumes me. Every time someone looks at me I immediately think they are judging me. Actually,

I know they are. Who wouldn’t? I’m ugly. The scale is my master and mistress. I can’t part from those numbers. The more the numbers go to the left, the happier I become. But that happiness is fleeting, all I want to do is lose more, more, more. I will never be content with myself until

I’m perfect.

When I first started not eating, it was so that my boyfriend would love me more. I thought that he would find me to be the most beautiful girl in the world as long as I remained thin. I wanted him to not even strain a muscle when he gave me piggy back rides, or have to ever debate with his friends who had the hotter girlfriend. I wanted to be the best.

This is my life, and I will not change.