Anorexia Nervosa: 3rd most deadly!

Anorexia nervosa is when individuals believe they are fat even when they are dangerously thin and restrict their eating to the point of starvation. It is a worldwide problem that concerns everyone, but mostly women, as a statistic study proved that 92.5 % of people that suffer from this disorder are women. Nowadays, more and more people are trying to adjust themselves into the lifestyles of famous models or actors that the media promote. Thus, not only do they follow a strict diet to retain a body type resembling to their excessively thin “patterns”, but also this ends up with serious consequences to their health.

   First of all, to detect and prevent this disorder it is wise to know that the causes of this phenomenon are numerous and they are relevant to many factors. Firstly, some factors are the patient’s feelings and thoughts, such as a low self-appreciation symptom combined with insecurity and a distorted image of themselves, are enough to initially motivate a person to change their eating habits only to achieve a satisfactory result.

   Nonetheless, thoughts and feelings are not the only cause of anorexia. Society and specifically social environment, has a share of responsibility as well as the rest of them. Each one of them has its own impact. Society for example, displays thin body as an example of idyllic dimensions and alternates over the years the criticism and the expectations of others.

   With regards to family, it affects people because it helps form their eating habits since the early years. However, it can be claimed that food is also a way of communication (into the institution of family), as many consider it to be a sacred time when they are having a meal.

   Additionally, apart from what the causes of anorexia nervosa may be, there are some warning signs that assist people to recognize them as soon as possible. The sudden weight loss in a short period of time must be the main characteristic of such a disorder because it is easier to trace it. Furthermore, the use of drugs, such as diet pills and ipecac syrup, hair loss, depression, insomnia, low blood pressure are the main symptoms that can be observed and help detect anorexia nervosa, too.

   As far as treatment is concerned, there are two types of psychological therapies.Firstly, family therapy is suggested to patients suffering from Anorexia Nervosa. The most effective method is called Maudsley model. It consists of 10-20 sessions during a period of 6 to 12 months. This model was tested in different groups of patients that suffered from anorexia nervosa in a study of Russell,Szmukler , Dare, and Eisle in 1987. At the initial phase of the treatment parents should try to impose to the patients-relatives and reform their eating habits, to balance the patient’s weight. As soon as they start to obey to parental authority, then external controlling is supposed to stop, so as the person with anorexia nervosa starts to make its decisions about how is it possible to resolve this eating disorder. 

   Another type of psychological therapy is the Cognitive Behavioral. This method was initially described by Garner and Vitousek. They recommended 1-2 years of individual therapy for patients that still had to balance their weight, and 1 year for patients that had already restore their condition.

   Taking everything into consideration as a research study shown, the percentage of anorexia patients that fully recovered from this disorder is 45%.Hence, the numbers are promising and encouraging for the patients treatments.Finally, people should be sensitive with patients that deal with eating disorders, and should help them overcome this problem.

 The first recommended video explains (in a simpler way)what Anorexia Nervosa is and how we treat this disorder.

This recommended video is a commercial that tries to inform public about the severeness of this disorder.

Uploaded by

Georgina Papaioannou