Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia is characterized by an obsessive fear of weight gain, a refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, and typically a distorted body image. Individuals may solely restrict caloric intake or restrict and purge calories consumed through vomiting, laxative/diuretic abuse, and/or compulsive exercise. Recovery is possible and commitment, support, and self-acceptance are the main components of healing.  

Warning Signs 

Anorexia is a complex illness. These are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you significantly restrict your food intake?

• Do you experience an extreme disturbance in your body image or experience regular negative thoughts about your body?

• Have friends or family expressed concern about your weight loss and eating habits?

• Do you struggle with an intense fear of gaining weight and becoming fat?

Symptoms 

• Abnormally slow heart rate

• Low blood pressure

• Brittle bones

• Significant muscle loss

• Dehydration

• Inadequate food intake and a significant weight loss 

• Intense fear of gaining weight

• Obsessing over one’s weight and persistently preventing weight gain

• Tying self-esteem to weight, shape, and size 

• Inability to perceive  how dire the weight loss and behaviors are

• Hair loss

• Loss of menstrual cycle or if menarche has not occurred by the age of 15+

Treatment

Effective treatment addresses the underlying emotional and mental health issues, issues that often date back to childhood and a person’s self-perception and self-image. Treatment will focus on helping a person with anorexia to understand how their self-image impacts their eating behavior. Self-image can be seen as a foundation of the change that a person with anorexia needs to address, as an inaccurate self-image can be devastating to an individual's health. Utilizing dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and yoga as therapy can be useful for the most effective treatment. The focus is to heal an individual’s relationship with food and body.   

Want more information about this topic? Head over to the blog and search keywords such as “anorexia” or “eating disorders.”