Anorexia Nervosa- An Eating Disorder!

Anorexia can be termed or also mean as person who has lost his/her appetite. It can be seen as a form of disease which is very harmful posing a threat to your life. This is a voluntary starving process wherein people kill their desire to eat and end up starving oneself. There are many components which makes this disease complex such as psychological, sociological and physiological. The weight loss doesn’t happen very rapidly but it is a very slow process and looks like any other weight reducing programme in the beginning. But it is after some months you realize the effect it has taken upon your health.

This affects the personality of the person drastically and the outgoing and extrovert person becomes very introvert and subdued. The level of concentration starts depleting too which proves to be big problem for many young people who are the major victims in this disease. The inability to maintain 15 percent of an individual’s normal weight is one of the very serious matters which have to be handled very delicately. Due to starving process there are repeated practices of binge eating and vomiting. Fear plays a very important part, as it the fear of putting on weight, that they discard the idea of being hungry which can also be said as killing yourself gradually and slowly.

The shrinking body is the number one sign you would see in all the people suffering from anorexia. The minimal body weight of the person is also not maintained which makes it very risky for the person. Body doesn’t get enough supplements in the form of vitamins or proteins due to which the nail and hair becomes brittle and the skin without any source of energy turns yellow and pale. In such kind of health, psychologically the person is traumatized, and depression starts kicking in. Due to the shrinking body there is drop in the body temperature which makes the person more vulnerable to cold. Even with the body remaining 1/4 of its size the person suffering with this disorder find themselves to be fat, which can be maintained as a psychological barrier.

The people who are mostly affected with anorexia are mostly girls or women of very young age. The portrayal of abnormally thin women in advertisements and movies as embodiments of beauty has made young women and teenaged girls want to be like them. This alone cannot be considered as the factor determining the anorexic patients. Other factors like eating disorders, genetics, environment, personalities and bio-chemistry. For many anorexia starts off for activities like dance, sports which require a certain body structure. Such kind of disorders also run in families and girls find themselves at a higher risk of getting affected by this disease.

Treatment for such a disease is reversible. Once it is diagnosed the treatment should begin immediately. Most of these cases if detected early, the success rate is good too. Once detected most of these patients are admitted in the hospital and treated accordingly. There is a weight gain program and it takes time depending upon the individual. A set target for food intake per week is assigned which accordingly is increased so as to get the person back on his/her feet, literally. There are different kind of therapies such as normal, group, individual and family. There is lot of emotional baggage for many people who suffer from anorexia and those feeling have to be dealt with, by some psychological sessions or other therapies.

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