Throughout history, the canons of beauty have been varying, reaching nowadays as an ideal of beauty a slim figure especially in women, while for men the ideal figure is muscular. For this reason, anorexia nervosa occurs mainly in women.
Anorexia nervosa is a severe eating disorder in which the sufferer is underweight for age, sex and height. Weight loss is caused by an extreme reduction in food intake. In 50% of cases, self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives and/or diuretics and strenuous exercise are also used to lose weight.
The anorexic patient has an intense fear of weight gain in spite of an alarming decrease in weight. Distortion of body image is a constant, overestimating the dimensions of their body, which makes them persist in the desire to lose weight. It is very common that there is no awareness of the disease.
What are the consequences of anorexia nervosa?
Emotional:
- Depressive feelings, insomnia, crying, sadness, irritability or anxiety.
- Low self-esteem.
- Guilt about eating.
Cognitive:
- Perfectionism.
- Obsessive thoughts about weight and food (counting calories in food, or calculating calories consumed/burned).
- Ideas of death or suicide.
Behavioral:
- A lot of physical activity (walking instead of using a means of transportation, devoting many hours to exercise, standing to burn more calories…).
- With respect to food the anorexic patient, apart from eating little, usually hides food, cooks for others but does not eat and consults all kinds of diets.
- Body-related behaviors: weighing themselves a lot or never, covering their bodies with a lot of clothes, checking their bodies in mirrors or never doing so, measuring themselves, touching themselves… In severe cases they may cause self-injury.
- They provoke conflicts in their families/friends or isolate themselves socially.
Most of the physical alterations that appear during the disease may disappear when the ideal recommended weight is regained.
The most frequent are: dryness of the skin, appearance of hair (cheeks, back, forearms and thighs), changes in skin pigmentation, brittle nails and hair loss, dental alterations and, of course, gastrointestinal alterations.
What is the treatment?
The first step is to get the person suffering from anorexia to recognize the problem, with the help of a specialist in Psychology. The second step will consist of reestablishing a healthy weight. Treatment must be multidisciplinary, mainly psychological, since it is a mental illness. In cases of suicide attempts, failure in outpatient treatment or in situations of severe mental deterioration, hospitalization will be carried out.
The most effective psychological treatment is cognitive-behavioral and the objectives are:
- Modify the set of inappropriate thoughts, attitudes and feelings related to the eating disorder.
- Treat associated psychological disorders, such as mood disturbances and low self-esteem.
- Enlist family support and provide the family with counseling and therapy when necessary.
- Prevent relapse.