Anorexia - Spot The Signs Before It's Too Late (Anorexia Nervosa)

Member Name: Carrington

Product:	Anorexia Nervosa
Date:	01/09/08 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There Are No Advantages To This Potentially Fatal Disorder

Disadvantages: Even When Recovered, Sufferers Can Have Persistent Problems, Potentially Fatal

Anorexia is a severe psychological condition, usually leading to dangerous weight loss and self-destruction. Having suffered with the condition myself, I think I can give a good, informative account of this psychological disease. Most people have heard of this condition but it is commonly misinterpreted as just being severe weight loss; many people don't realise the psychological extent of the condition.

Anorexia nervosa, the full name of the condition, means 'nervous loss of appetite'. Sufferers usually experience distorted feelings about their body image. Even when an individual is near to death, they will often still see fat when they stand in front of the mirror. As the condition progresses, the sufferers are plagued my extreme negative feelings about their body image despite them becoming dangerously underweight.

This condition most commonly affects women, generally middle-class, white individuals who have experiences troubled childhoods or are under considerable pressure to succeed. The condition is becoming more common amongst boys. Sufferers' problems usually develop during their teenage lives and for some can continue throughout their entire life. The NHS website states that 'in teenagers and young adults, the condition affects about 1 in 250 females and 1 in 2000 males'. These are shockingly high statistics and it worries me that these may be rising considerably. Less than half of all sufferers will ever progress to making a full recovery; 5% tragically die due to their condition.

Anorexia is a well recognised eating disorder but it is important that people realise that is a mental health problem. Many sufferers can't accept that they have psychological issues, making treatment difficult. Anorexics extremely limit their food intake to keep their weight and BMI low. They can't see that they are starving themselves and become very defensive about the severity of their problems. Whenever someone would question me, I would immediately make excuses to justify my erratic behaviour.

Symptoms/Behavioural changes: I think all parents should have some good basic knowledge about this potentially fatal disorder. Often the cases which progress to be chronic or fatal simply weren't recognised by a sufferer's family. By the time the condition is detected, the sufferer's mind may have become so confused that treatment is unlikely to be a success.
From my own experience, in addition to extensive research, I can compile a list of the earliest symptoms to watch for. Many of these present themselves before the weight loss becomes noticeable or severe. Lots of these are changes in behaviour rather than physical changes to the body which don't become apparent straight away.
1) Avoiding eating meals with their family - Many anorexics will say they have eaten already (when they haven't) and aren't hungry. If someone is repeatedly doing this, they could quite possibly be developing eating problems.
2) Always talking/thinking about food - Many sufferers become fascinated by food. They can list the ingredients in a huge array of products and many develop a passion for cooking. They will serve up great, nutritious dishes and take glory in watching people eat them. However, the sufferer won't consume any of the food themselves. They will spend lots of time looking through recipe books and will develop an unhealthy obsession with what is in their food. I have met many sufferers who are more clued up than nutritionists about what we eat and how our body processes food.
3) Excessive exercising - Whilst exercising is essential as part of a healthy lifestyle, anorexics often become obsessive. What starts as a hobby may develop into much more and sufferers work out/train until they can't even stand up. They do this to assist in their rapid weight loss.
4) Hiding food - Sometimes a sufferer feels they should accept meals in order to please people, as an attempt to hide their problems. If the food is later found after an attempt on behalf of the sufferer to hide it, they should be confronted in a compassionate manner.
5) Low self esteem and depression - Many people develop these problems in addition to anorexia nervosa. As the condition progresses, these other mental problems can become worse. A sufferer may become detached from friends and family. Their performance at school/work may start to suffer although other anorexics have been known to do better at school, as they use learning as a distraction from food.

Obviously the main and most well known symptom of anorexia nervosa is the extreme weight loss. This can lead to a huge array of internal/external body problems. This is achieved by following extreme diets, exercising excessively and in some cases by making themselves vomit.

Physical Symptoms: Dangerous weight loss, the most well known characteristic of anorexia nervosa is just one of many serious problems which the disease can cause.
Some anorexics develop more of these symptoms than others but parents should be familiar with these so that they can spot them quickly. Common symptoms of anorexia nervosa are:
1) A layer of hair often develops over most of the body. This is a protective measure which the body does in order to try to keep warm. The name for this is lanugo and is noticeable.
2) The hair on the scalp may thin, knocking the sufferer's self-esteem even further. The body does this to conserve protein for the muscles.
3) Their nails may become brittle due to lack of protein and vitamins.
4) They may be very bloated which is noticeable on their tiny frames.
5) Women often stop having periods. This is referred to as amenorrhoea. Although periods usually return when an anorexic recovers, in some cases sufferers are left infertile.
6) Always tired - Starving oneself means that an individual doesn't have any energy and may sleep more than usual.

The problems which I experienced during my battle with anorexia, which were missed for a long time by my Mum, were amenorrhoea, hair loss on the scalp, low blood pressure, fatigue, a slight lanugo and abdominal pain. All these became part of my life and I never realised the terrible damage that I was causing to my body.

I hope this is informative and helpful. If all parents were to read this and familiarise themselves with these early symptoms, perhaps less people would fall in to deadly trap of this terrible psychological disease. If you suspect a friend or family member to be developing anorexia nervosa, don't be afraid to speak to them about it. Don't punish children for not eating as this may lead them to have a disturbed relationship with food. Spot the signs before it's too late!

Summary: Familarise Yourself With The Signs And Symptoms - Don't Let Your Child Become A Statistic!