How to prevent anorexia kill you

Eating disorders are killed annuallyEating Disorder Statistics more people than any other kind of mental illness. Anorexia - the worst of these disorders. And at the same time one of the most obscure.

What is anorexia and how it is dangerous

With anorexia - at least from a distance - all familiar. Well, really, who has not seen emaciated Angelina Jolie?

It is believed that anorexia - a rejection of food, loss of appetite sincere for the sake of harmony. Only a few times behind the curve in its restriction of calories. In fact it is not so.

People with anorexia thinness equate to self-assessment. Each kilogram for them - it's a shame. As if glued to the face or body sticker: "I'm ugly", "I'm funny," or "I am a nonentity." Imagine yourself surrounded by these stickers. The truth is I want to pluck them up to the last?

Exactly the same anoreksiki "rip" off the weight. At first cautiously, diet and exercise in the gym. As kilos melt, people get a taste: the diet is becoming tougher, training - all the duration and intensity. Added to other measures: diuretics, laxatives, enemas, trying to induce vomiting after eating ...

Anorexia generally not about food and calories. This attitude towards yourself and your life. And extremely unhealthy and dangerous.

If anorexia is fully taken hold of your life, it is difficult to stop. In any failures you blame the remaining weight, you think that they still have a lot that you fat. It does not matter how much you weigh in fact: to suffer from excess fat and can be 40-45 kg.

And then it's too late. Due to the constant nutrient deficiency disrupted the internal organs, and from that you can die suddenly.

At advanced stages of anorexia body cells simply refused to take food. And it is incurable.

Where does anorexia

The exact causes of physicians have not yet established. It is assumedAnorexia nervosaThat anorexia is a combination of several factors:

• Genetic. There is a version that the tendency to anorexia, as well as a number of other mental disorders, can be encoded in the genes. Therefore, the risk group includes the immediate family (parents, brothers or sisters), those who have already been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
• Psychological. We are talking about emotional people with a high level of anxiety and extreme desire for perfectionismWhich makes them think that they will never be enough are thin.
• Social. Modern culture often equates slimness to the success of demand. It pushes insecure people to ensure that their own internal value by reducing weight.
• Sexual. Anorexia is four times more common in girls and women than boys and men.
• age-related. The most vulnerable young people. Scientists attribute this to the fact that during adolescence girls and boys are extremely confident and are in need of social approval. Its role and powerful hormonal changes the body, affects the emotional state. In people older than 40 years of anorexia rare.
• Dietary. Abuse diets also a serious risk factor. There is strong evidence that fasting changes the brain, making it more vulnerable to the development of various neurological disorders.
• Stressful. Strong emotional turmoil - divorce, death of a loved one, changing jobs or moving to a new school - also impair the protective properties of the psyche and are prerequisites for anorexia.

Anorexia is more popular than it seems. Only in the US this eating disorder suffersANOREXIA More than 30 million people.

But there is good news. As with most neurologic disorders, Anorexia develops gradually. So you can catch it in the early stages, when it is not so dangerous, and it is not so difficult to win.

How to recognize anorexia

If you see in yourself or a loved one, most of these symptoms, it is desirable to quickly consult a physician.

Physical symptoms of anorexia

• Losing weight (in the case of teenagers - the absence of the expected weight gain). The man grows thin face become thin arms and legs, but he continues to lose weight.
• Weakness, fatigue.
• Insomnia.
• frequent dizziness, Until he lost consciousness.
• Breakage and hair loss.
• Dry skin.
• Nails a bluish color, often with white spots.
• Frequent constipation and abdominal pain.
• The girls - the cessation of menstruation.
• Intolerance to cold.
• low blood pressure.
• Tooth decay due to the regular attempt to induce vomiting.

Emotional and behavioral symptoms of anorexia

• Man often skips meals techniques, referring to the fact that it is not hungry.
• Too strict control calories. As a rule, food techniques are reduced to a few "safe" products - low-fat and low-calorie.
• Refusal to eat in public places: in cafes and restaurants is difficult to control calorie intake. Besides, it is not so easy to induce vomiting if anorexic already hooked on this method of getting rid of the "extra" calories.
• Lying about how much was eaten.
• Constant desire to share his portion with anyone - even with a friend, even a cat.
• Dissatisfaction with their own appearance:. "I'm too fat"
• Frequent complaints of "too much" weight or the inability to get rid of fat on various parts of the body.
• The desire to wear baggy layers of clothing to hide the imaginary figure flaws.
• Fear to stand on the scales in a public place (gym, on the professional examinations): What if someone notices "terribly big" figure ?!
• Depressed mood.
• Irritability.
• A loss of interest in sex.

What to do if you have anorexia

To begin, make sure that it is really about eating disorders, and the above symptoms are not associated with other diseases. This can help a doctor.

The therapist will examine you, offer to take a blood and urine tests, do a cardiogram and, if necessary, to send a narrow specialists.

If anorexia went away, require hospitalization. So doctors will be able to monitor the status of the internal organs affected by hunger.

In less severe cases (or after you are discharged from hospital) treatment is carried out comprehensively. In it will take part:

• Nutritionist. He will make the menu that will help restore a healthy weight and provide the body with adequate nutrition.
• Psychotherapist. It will help you to revise the values ​​of life and self-esteem to untie the weight. In addition, the specialist will design a behavioral strategy, which will allow to return to a healthy body weight.

If you suspect anorexia in a loved one, too, is to consult with a physician. Often, people with eating disorders refuse to admit that with them that something is wrong. The physician will advise you who to turn to for help.

Most often, we are talking about the psychotherapist: you will have to convince a loved one to go to the reception at least once. Usually, this is enough to anorexic realized the problem and agreed on further treatment.