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ANOREXIA |
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ANOREXIA |
Anorexia, or to give its full title Anorexia nervosa is basically deliberate weight loss that results in a person's weight being 15% below what it should be, taking into account their age, sex, and height.
The key word here is deliberate. This weight loss usually goes along with the person having a massive fear of becoming fat, even though they may be too thin. Often, people who suffer from Anorexia complain of feeling fat, even though it is obvious to everybody else that they aren't. Indeed, people with Anorexia sometimes judge their own worth as a person in terms of how they look and how much they weigh.
For Anorexia to be diagnosed in women, the person will have usually also
have missed at least three periods in a row. The name the experts give to this is
amenorrhoea.
There don't seem to be any precise figures around, but most experts reckon that between 1 in 100 and 1 in 200 people suffer from it.
Women are about 10 times more likely to suffer from it than men, although it is wrong to assume that no men suffer from it at all. In about 17 out of 20 cases the start of Anorexia is during adolescence, or put another way, when people are teenagers.
One further interesting fact about Anorexia is that, unlike many other
psychiatric conditions, it seems that you are most likely to develop it if you come
from a relatively wealthy background.
Officially only a doctor can diagnose it. Just because someone is underweight doesn't mean that they have Anorexia. However, often close friends and family members have an idea that something is not quite right even though sufferers frequently go to great lengths to hide their condition.
For example, they may wear baggy clothes that hides the weight loss, although the sufferer is sometimes just as concerned at hiding their body shape as they dislike the look of it so much.
Other signs may be sufferers becoming anxious and/or depressed, having difficulties concentrating, beginning to lose touch with their friends and stay in more often, exercising too much, weighing and examining themselves a lot, using laxatives, looking pale and in the further developed cases having dry, thin skin and a fine 'downy' hair (called "lanugo") on their arms and back.
One of the most common wrong ideas about Anorexia is that sufferers avoid food. They usually don't,
and can often be seen preparing or even serving food, although very rarely eating it. Quite frequently a
'last minute' excuse is given, like a forgotten appointment or a stomach upset. Families are often shocked
and surprised when they discover that a member has suffered from Anorexia for a while, as the signs
are often difficult to spot, especially if you have no idea what to look for.
YES
Roughly between 1 in 20 and 3 in 20 people with Anorexia will die from it.
Even if sufferers do not die, the effects of having it can be serious. After all the person is, in effect, starving themselves, and therefore will suffer similar problems as those people who are suffering from malnutrition or starvation.
These effects can include heart problems, stomach problems, kidney failure,
brittle bones, anaemia, epileptic fits, sexual and sleep problems, and often depression.
The main difference is that people who suffer from Bulimia nervosa
tend to be at a normal weight or slightly over. For more details see our Bulimia
page.
Nobody really knows, although their are a lot of different theories around. Some think it has something to do with body glands, some with how people live today in a weight obsessed society, some think that it is an issue of low self-esteem and feelings of being out of control, while others think that it's a way of remaining a child (i.e. stopping puberty and/or sufferers growing into sexually mature adults and as such may play a role in keeping families together, or not threatening close relationships.
There are a lot of interesting theories, although we haven't got time to go into more detail here. Sorry!
We will not consider the medical treatment here, but Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, is probably among the most effective forms of psychological treatment in the short term. Other forms of therapy such as Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy may also be effective in the long term. The important thing to remember is that the condition rarely improves unless some attempt is made to tackle the underlying feelings the person has about themselves, their bodies, and their control over eating. Most Anorexia is treated out of hospital, however their are three situations where hospital treatment is required :
Finally, remember that people can recover from Anorexia, but it is difficult to treat and
is often a very difficult journey both for the sufferer, and for their family and friends.
Like most mental illnesses it is very hard to understand from a rational point of view, and can
be ignored for relatively long periods of time. If you have concerns about yourself or someone close to
you please try to get along to a doctor or another health professional. This is a condition that can have very serious
consequences.
*** RECOMMENDED BOOKS ***
If you are interested in going into even more depth, the following
book(s), sold by
are recommended by us.
| Each is followed by a rating for ease of reading (1-3). |
| 1 = Simple and Easy to comprehend. |
| 2 = More Complex, but still a good read. |
| 3 = Very Complex, really for professionals/those studying to degree level. |
"Clicking" On a Book will take you to Amazon where if you "Click" on the
shopping basket you will be able to buy it.
| Anorexics On Anorexia (Shelley (Ed.)) Price £16.47 |
RATING = 1 | Sufferers give fascinating insights into their own illnesses. |
| Anatomy of Anorexia (Levenkron) Price £16.95 |
RATING = 2 | A very recent book for both sufferers and their families. |
| Anorexia Nervosa: A Guide To Recovery (Hall & Ostroff) Price £8.29 Save £0.92 |
RATING = 1 | A book that intends to help in the recovery process. |
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