How to find out if you have anorexia. How to determine anorexia by weight. External changes of the patient. Signs of anorexia: the first symptoms and the initial stage of the disease How to understand that your wife has anorexia

The most popular test method for assessing the likelihood of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Used in many eating disorder studies.

The EAT-26 should be used as the first step in a two-step process for diagnosing anorexia or bulimia. More than 20 points indicates an increased risk of an eating disorder. This test should not be used instead of professional diagnosis or consultation.

The EAT-26 has been reproduced with permission. Garner et al. (1982). The Eating Attitudes Test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 12, 871-878

In addition to the test, you are more likely to have an eating disorder if you have had at least one of the following in the past 6 months:

• You overeat, feeling like you can't stop.
• You vomited to control your figure
• You used laxatives, diuretics or special medications to control your figure
• You spent more than 60 minutes on exercise every day to control your figure
• You have lost more than 9 kilograms
• Your body mass index is below normal

Instructions for the Anorexia/Bulimia test

Please read the statements below and mark the answer on each line that best matches your opinion.

If you receive more than 20 points or match one of the 6 points above, contact a specialist

Of course, the first sign of an eating disorder is constant dissatisfaction with your figure. Moreover, no matter what the mass and weight loss, the girl stubbornly continues to repeat “I’m fat!” and tries to lose “at least a couple” more kilograms. This is already an alarm bell, notifying you that you need to reconsider your attitude towards yourself and change your self-esteem. How else can you understand that there is a risk of leading your body to irreversible consequences? Take the simple test below. Answer yes or no questions quickly, without thinking, and with complete honesty.

1. Is it absolutely normal for you to skip one meal or not eat at all all day until the evening?

2. Is gaining excess weight one of your main phobias?

3. Do you constantly try different diets?

4. Do you feel guilty for eating too much and constantly promise yourself not to do it again?

5. Are your loved ones concerned about your appearance and attitude towards food?

6. Sometimes you can't think about anything other than food?

7. Do situations happen when you eat until your stomach hurts?

8. Has it ever happened that you got rid of excess food in your body by vomiting or laxatives?

9. Do you often refuse something tasty, for example, at a party, because you are afraid of gaining weight?

10. Do you think about your figure before you eat something?

11. Do you often eat up stressful situations and failures in life?

12. Do you constantly monitor your weight using scales, and even the slightest increase can greatly ruin your mood?

13. You are much more comfortable eating alone than in company. Are you afraid that others will judge you for eating too much?

14. You try not to snack or eat in the evening because you are afraid of gaining weight. If, for example, you overeat at night, do you blame yourself for a long time?

15. Do you always meticulously examine your photos and videos, constantly finding flaws in yourself?

Now count your results. If you answered no to almost all the questions, then there is nothing to worry about. If half or the overwhelming majority of your answers are “yes,” then this is a serious reason to think about it. This means that you have signs of an eating disorder and are prone to anorexia. You need to reconsider your attitude towards yourself, your figure and your lifestyle. Don’t think that all the failures that happen to you in life are directly related to your figure. And even if someone once said something offensive to you about your appearance, this is not an indicator. Believe me, by constantly thinking only about your weight, counting calories and obsessing over your figure, you are missing out on the main moments in life. Try to devote more time to family and friends, indulge in pleasures, and try to forget about diets at least for a while. You'll see, the world won't collapse. If you think this is too difficult, consult a psychologist.

Facts about Anorexia:

• According to research, one in a hundred women aged 15 to 30 suffers from anorexia.
• Anorexia is the third and most common disease among adolescents. It is known that more than half of teenage girls and some boys use unhealthy methods of losing weight: fasting, taking laxatives and diuretics, inducing vomiting, etc.
• Surprisingly, in poor countries where food is scarce, cases of anorexia are less common.
• If one of your relatives suffers from anorexia, the risk of contracting this disease increases eightfold.
• Only one in ten people suffering from anorexia receives qualified help. Often because such people simply do not ask for help. Unfortunately, statistics say that up to 15% of anorexics die.
• Most girls suffering from anorexia have problems in their relationships with their mothers.

In recent years, anorexia has become widespread throughout the world. This disease affects both celebrities and ordinary people. The term "anorexia" means lack of appetite. This mental illness is associated with eating disorders.

Patients are literally obsessed with the desire to lose weight. At the same time, they are terribly afraid of obesity. Patients perceive their body and their weight distortedly. They consider themselves too fat, are very worried about this, and strive to lose weight by any means.

Short-term anorexia is practically harmless to human health. But long-term anorexia already needs to be treated. It contributes to a significant decrease in immunity. Chronic anorexia often leads to real exhaustion, which is life-threatening.

Anorexia can also be fatal. It should be noted that among psychological diseases it has the highest mortality rate. For this reason, if you notice manifestations of this disease in yourself or your family, you need to consult a doctor. Most often, people with anorexia lose weight in two ways.

Firstly, to do this they use the method of severe food restriction. At the same time, they still exhaust themselves with sports training. The second way is purification. This involves gastric lavage, enemas, and also artificially inducing vomiting after eating.

Who suffers from anorexia

Young girls are most susceptible to anorexia. This is due to their desire to imitate their idols - models and movie stars. In developed countries, according to medical data, today every 2 girls out of 100 suffer from anorexia. They belong to the age group from 12 to 24 years.

We can say that they account for about 90% of all cases of anorexia. The remaining 10% includes older women as well as men. Even small children can suffer from this disease. They develop anorexia due to force feeding or violations of complementary feeding rules.

Causes of anorexia

It cannot be said that anorexia occurs due to improper upbringing. Typically, experts identify three main factors among the causes of this disease: biological, psychological and social. Biological factor most often means genetic predisposition.

Severe loss of appetite may also occur in people who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract or endocrine system. It appears with chronic pain, due to the use of certain medications or their abuse.

The psychological factor involves the influence of family and internal conflicts. This may include low self-esteem and constant anxiety. The social factor includes the influence of the environment, as well as the desire to imitate. All these factors are closely related to each other and this must be taken into account to achieve positive results in treatment.

Signs of anorexia

• The patient's progressive weight loss
• Panic fear of being overweight
• Reluctance to maintain minimum weight
• Constant feeling of guilt while eating
• Distorted perception of one's own weight and appearance
• Desire to eat while standing and to break food into small pieces
• Sleep problems
• Depression and desire to isolate from society

The consequences of anorexia can also be: menstrual irregularities, arrhythmia, chronic fatigue, decreased blood pressure, muscle spasms. The skin becomes pale, patients are constantly cold. Patients usually also become very irritable, angry and resentful.

Anorexia is quite difficult to treat. The first step of treatment should be to convince the patient of its necessity. This is not easy to do, because... patients cannot objectively assess the seriousness of the situation. The attending physician should refer such a patient to a psychiatrist.

Individual and family psychotherapy have proven themselves well in the treatment of this disease. People suffering from anorexia are practically unable to control their consciousness. Many of them even have obsessive nightmares about nutrition and excess weight.

Sometimes it can take years to completely heal. Emergency help for anorexia mainly involves the correction of water and electrolyte disorders. When serum potassium concentrations fall below 3 mEq/L, dangerous changes in heart rhythm occur. For this reason, first of all, it is necessary to compensate for the deficiency of potassium in the body. It must be administered intravenously.

Most often, a person suffering from anorexia has to be hospitalized in a specialized hospital. The hospital begins weight restoration efforts. Typically, this is done using the method of rewarding each kilogram gained. Patients must determine their own incentives.

Previously, the method of tube feeding was widespread. However, recently it has been abandoned due to the possibility of developing aspiration pneumonia. For neurotic anorexia, tranquilizers and small doses of antipsychotics are prescribed.

After discharge from the hospital, the patient will require long-term outpatient treatment. It is necessary to achieve a normal weight for the patient and to maintain this weight for at least six months.

Outpatient treatment is based on psychotherapy. It is necessary to provide moral support to the patient and distract him from thoughts about weight. Most patients continue to gain weight with this treatment. But you need to know that anorexia usually relapses after a few months. The patient will need hospitalization again. Not everyone is completely cured. But almost everyone reaches a state that allows them to work and lead a normal life. A complication of therapy is the development of obesity, but it is extremely rare.

Vereshchagina Sofia

Anorexia is a mental illness that is becoming increasingly common. It is especially common among adolescents and young adults. In 80% of cases, victims of anorexia are persons 14-18 years old.

Among the main causes of this disease are the following:

Biological factor (hereditary predisposition);

Physiological - pathologies characterized by disorders in the digestive and endocrine systems, when a person feels pain or other unpleasant symptoms during or after eating, and therefore deliberately refuses to eat normally;

Psychological reasons - the influence of public opinion about internal conflicts, dissatisfaction with one’s appearance;

The social factor is the desire to imitate.

The first signs of anorexia

Quite often it is quite difficult to suspect this pathology in the early stages of its development. Sometimes obvious ones appear when it lasts for a long time, when even medicine cannot always save the patient.

Early signs of anorexia include the following:

1. Progressive If a person who does not have problems with excess weight tries in every way to lose weight, one can immediately suspect the initial stage of the disease.
2. Refusal of food. At first, patients begin to take small portions of food, subsequently they can eat only once a day, and later they generally refuse any foods, even those that they previously liked and took often.
3. Inadequate perception of one's appearance. The first signs of anorexia often include a desire to lose weight due to the fact that a person considers himself “fat”, criticizing his figure, although others say otherwise.
4. Development of depression. A patient with anorexia begins to avoid contact with other people and stops visiting public places, becomes withdrawn and believes that it is better to be alone.
5. The first signs of anorexia also include the development of insomnia and feelings of guilt due to food intake. As a result, the patient artificially induces vomiting in order to get rid of the food he has consumed.

If such symptoms appear, you should immediately seek qualified help.

It is worth noting that as a result of constant fasting, the functioning of all organs and systems is disrupted, menstrual function is disrupted, and sexual desire is reduced. Patients develop chronic fatigue, arrhythmia, decreased blood pressure, and worsened hair and skin condition. Anorexics constantly feel cold, become irritable and aggressive. In addition, they show an increased interest in exhausting diets, exercise to the point of complete exhaustion and experience weight gain without realizing their problem, since they cannot adequately assess the state of their health.

In the absence of treatment, severe damage to the cardiovascular system and endocrine organs develops, pathologies of bones and muscles, and inflammatory processes in the organs of the digestive system. Severe depression can provoke suicide.

Unfortunately, the statistics are disappointing - a significant part of those struggling with excess weight have already died from anorexia, and society continues to promote weight loss only in order to meet the “ideals” of beauty.

In the 90s, it was very fashionable to diet to achieve certain physical parameters. These imposed, “fashionable” standards captured the minds of many women then and have not let go of some to this day. Literally driving themselves to the point of exhaustion, poor women did everything they could to provoke a sharp weight loss, striving for that cherished model thinness.

As a result, weight loss develops into the stage of the disease, showing signs of anorexia. A physically exhausted organism turns a person practically into a skeleton. As our mothers and grandmothers like to say – bones covered with skin. The complete absence of fat deposits and atrophied muscle tissue lead to exactly this condition.

Who is guilty

High demands on appearance, which are formed by childhood complexes, society’s stereotypes or one’s own suggestions, lead to an inadequate assessment of one’s physical characteristics. Starting with exhausting diets, a person brings himself to a state that can threaten not only health, but also life - anorexia. There are several reasons for the appearance of this disease:

Genetic inheritance of the disease;

Lack of proper education and care;

Imposed public opinion;

Oncological diseases;

Mental disorder.

The disease can be characterized as a complex of symptoms associated with poor nutrition and understanding of this. The physical state is achieved through the power of self-hypnosis, belief in a non-existent problem, contrived or imposed. It is extremely difficult to get out of this condition on your own, and it is very easy to make it worse. Experts have noted the fact that communication with other anorexics radically reduces the chances of recovery. In addition, the competitive spirit of such a community forces the patient to make even more efforts to achieve his goal, and therefore the condition worsens very quickly and sometimes irreversibly.

Obsessive state

This is the most common type of disease and is called anorexia nervosa. The cause of this type of disorder is an obsessive thought about losing weight, constant dissatisfaction with one’s appearance, and the physical condition of the body. Girls in the age range from adolescence to 20 years are most susceptible to this type of illness.

Signs of anorexia and videos about the disease:

At this stage of the body’s formation, the psyche is most vulnerable to such obsessive states. The slightest complexes related to the issue of weight can provoke anorexia nervosa. To achieve the desired goal, girls resort to various methods: strict diets, fasting, refusal to eat, artificially inducing vomiting, gastric and intestinal lavage. All these actions are nothing more than signs of anorexia in girls.

Despite belonging to a mental type of disease, anorexia nervosa can be easily overcome at the initial stage. A specialist and the attention and care of loved ones will help you correctly adjust your motivation and approach to the task. It is important to act carefully and calmly, not to provoke conflict situations, and to help the patient trust and listen.

Manifestation of anorexia

Observing patients with anorexia, the following irrefutable initial signs are noted:

• Inadequate assessment of the fullness of one’s own body. The patient is sure that his body is too fat and ugly. Along with this comes denial of the disease. It is very difficult to convince an anorexic person that he is sick, because such people are sure that they are healthy and are simply unhappy with their own weight.
• Obsessive fear of gaining weight, gaining weight. Because of this, food refusal occurs, its quantity is reduced to a minimum, or food is eaten while standing.
• Refusal to share meals also characterizes anorexia. Often patients cook a lot, but in the end, they do not eat the prepared food.
• Anorexics can collect images of food and convince themselves, when viewing it, that they ate it.
• Depression, aggression and sleep disturbances are both symptoms and consequences of the disease.
• Passionate about physical exercise and physical activity with minimal nutrition.
• Among the physical manifestations, there is a violation of the cycle in women, heartbeat disturbances, arrhythmia, general persistent weakness, and muscle spasms.

Patients do not relate many factors as a complex of symptoms of anorexia, but consider them to be an independent disease. This attitude leads to the beginning of self-medication, primarily with hormonal drugs. These are the most severe cases of the disease, which are practically untreatable.

Types and stages of anorexia

Combining the causes and factors that contribute to the manifestation of the disease, the following types of anorexia are distinguished:

• primary;
• nervous;
• Iatrogenic (medicinal);
• mental.

Primary anorexia refers to eating disorder in childhood. We are talking not only about the time frame, but also about the quantitative and qualitative aspect of nutrition. Force feeding can also cause this disorder.

The dosage form is triggered by taking certain medications that interfere with the proper functioning of the part of the brain responsible for our nutrition. In this case, the patient may have no desire to lose weight at all.


Anorexia nervosa grows out of dissatisfaction with one's weight and the desire to lose weight quickly. By exaggerating such desires, you can bring them to an obsessive, painful state. This is the most common type of disease, which is typical for any age category.

Mental anorexia occurs due to a complex of other mental disorders: depression, anxiety, fear of the new, suicidal state, lack of self-control.

Stages of development

Each of these types is characterized by four stages. Each of them has characteristics, symptoms and signs that can be used to determine the presence of the disease and its condition.

The first stage, initial, lasts 2-4 years. During this period, unhealthy eating behavior is formed, complexes develop into phobias, and a clear dissatisfaction with one’s body weight develops. The impetus can be an incorrectly expressed opinion, a strict public assessment, or a careless remark about nutrition and weight. By the end of the first stage, the patient may lose up to 30% of his weight.

Next comes the stage of active actions. An obsession with weight loss appears. Moreover, this aspiration has no end point. At this stage, the patient begins to use all possible ways not only not to gain weight, but also strives for its dramatic loss. This occurs by inducing vomiting, washing the stomach and intestines, and taking drugs that promote weight loss. Anorexics tend not to follow the instructions for using the drugs, but act independently, increasing the prescribed dose and frequency of administration.

The anorectic stage is replaced by the cachetic stage. All possible physical manifestations of anorexia are visible here. Hormonal disruptions that provoke a complete stop of the menstrual cycle, there are no fat deposits on the body at all, the heart rate decreases, structural changes in the heart and motor muscles occur. Body pressure and temperature drop significantly, bones become brittle, and teeth and hair are lost. Mobility is lost, but the patient continues to refuse proper nutrition and is unable to adequately assess his situation. This stage leaves little chance for recovery, and often entails irreversible consequences.


The fourth stage is conditional and represents a relapse. After positive results of therapy and the return of normal weight, the state of dissatisfaction may return. After leaving the third stage, it is recommended to be under close observation for another two years, since it is during this period that the reduction stage may begin and the disease will return.

Identification and confirmation of diagnosis

Correct and timely diagnosis of the disease is the main step towards success in healing. Only a specialist can truly and accurately assess the presence of a disease. Anorexia is diagnosed based on the following parameters:

• Reducing body weight by 15% of normal;
• Body mass index is not higher than 17.5;
• Significant weight loss was achieved through the efforts of the patient himself;
• Inadequate perception of one’s physical characteristics;
• Problems with the endocrine system.

Tests that will confirm the diagnosis are primarily a blood test for sugar levels and the content of endocrine hormones. Identifying the causes of menstrual irregularities and hormonal imbalances. In addition, psychologists have developed a test that helps assess the psycho-emotional state. Having compared all the data received, the doctor will make a conclusion and prescribe a course of treatment according to the stage of the disease.

Childhood anorexia

All parents have gone through difficulties with their child's food education. A huge number of factors can influence the appetite of children - this is the quality of the food offered, and psychological aspects, when parents exaggerate this issue, or the child may simply be sick. As a result, instead of a meal, parents end up with hysterics, spitting food, or a categorical refusal to eat. How to recognize anorexia in this variety of factors? What signs will prompt and indicate this disease?

Childhood anorexia has two types - somatogenic and dysthymic (nervous). The somatogenic type is provoked by various diseases. Among them: genetic abnormalities, infectious diseases, accumulation of toxins in the body, problems of the digestive system, discomfort in the mouth caused by thrush or stomatitis, helminths. If the examination does not reveal any such diseases, then dysthymic anorexia occurs.

Such a disease in a child can be caused by disturbances in sleep and eating patterns, a difficult psychological situation, insufficient or excessive care and attention of parents, and severe stress. Children from birth to 6-7 years are most prone to developing this type of disease. Childhood anorexia is easily treatable if you pay attention to its manifestations in time and eliminate the cause.

Teenage anorexia

The psychological state of a teenager in itself is a reason for strict control. During the “period of increased danger,” children are prone to maximalism and listen to the opinions of their peers and fashion trends. Very often, this attitude develops due to insufficient attention from parents, lack of their authority and trust in them. These same reasons can cause anorexia in teenagers. Family conflicts, a tense psychological atmosphere in the house can become a reason for trying to attract attention to oneself by refusing to eat. In this case, the child’s depressed and depressed emotional state is noted, complete apathy or, on the contrary, aggression.


Another reason is public opinion, lack of self-acceptance. The media everywhere cultivates the beauty of thinness, dictating and imposing beauty standards. Children and adolescents are most susceptible to such influence and suggestion. Failure to meet these imposed standards can give rise to a manic passion for losing weight. This onset of the disease is characterized by careful control over the amount of food consumed, calorie counting, and fasting.

A teenager spends a lot of time in front of the mirror, analyzing his shape, physical attractiveness or lack thereof. It is at this moment that it is important to direct the child’s thoughts and actions in the right direction, to prevent complexes and fears from taking over consciousness. Teenage anorexia has exclusively psychological motives, therefore the approach to changing the situation should begin from a psychological point of view.

Female anorexia

According to experts, anorexia is a woman’s disease, a disease of beauty. Many girls and women strive to conform to beauty stereotypes, which require clear, sometimes sharp facial features and figures. This can only be achieved by having a lean physique. To achieve the goal, lovely ladies are ready to do anything. It all starts with a regular diet and develops into an obsession. The desire to lose weight and achieve some ideal turns into an endless race to lose weight. If, to begin with, women set some kind of bar, a desired figure, then as the disease develops, it erases this line, leaving only the desire to lose weight.

Methods to combat the disease

The main point in getting rid of anorexia is working on yourself and your consciousness. Having a psychological basis, healing requires understanding the problem and accepting its fact. Along with psychological help, depending on the complexity and stage of the disease, medications are prescribed to improve the physical condition of the patient. In some cases, sedatives, psychotropic drugs, and antipsychotics are used to correct the perception of reality.

Treatment is a long and difficult process; the patient’s family and friends should be patient and make every effort to support their loved one at this difficult stage of life. Returning to a full-fledged diet is difficult and time-consuming. Discussing issues of weight loss and diets during the treatment period is strictly prohibited. Another important and radical point in the program to combat anorexia is a change in social circle.

Although the method of getting rid of an illness does not promise 100% results, this does not mean that one should put attempts aside and allow a person to ruin himself. Unfortunately, there is no absolute cure for anorexia. Regardless of the nature of its formation, the treatment process is monotonous; the same methods and medications are used for each type, while continuing to study ways to achieve complete recovery.

Conclusion

There are many different horrifying photos of people with anorexia. But they scare only healthy people; a person with anorexia will only envy the result in the picture and idealize it.

The patient himself is not able to get out of this obsessive state, and it is very difficult to bring such a person to the clinic for examination. Many sick people die due to the lack of a person who could take upon himself the courage and responsibility to join the fight. Having discovered the first signs of anorexia, it is important to respond immediately to prevent the development and worsening of the problem. You shouldn’t always attribute a demanding attitude towards yourself to self-criticism and fashion trends; often this is an alarm bell, a pathology.

Video on the topic:


How to recognize anorexia?

Many female representatives perceive weight loss as a certain factor in their success and willpower. It is important to understand the main signs of anorexia in order to be able to detect this disease in time.

In the last 30-40 years, the “fashion model disease” has become so widespread that doctors were forced to sound the alarm. Scientific works in the field of medicine and healthy nutrition began to be devoted to the signs of anorexia in women.

What is the occurrence of the disease associated with?

First of all, it is worth talking about the fact that anorexia nervosa in adolescents and adults, as a disease, is associated with eating disorders. But this is only a physiological manifestation of the disease. In fact, there is a deeper concept of “anorexia nervosa”, which is associated with mental disorders. The first signs of anorexia are usually associated with a pathological desire to lose weight and associated fears of obesity.

The reasons for all this may lie in the upbringing of a teenager, the lifestyle of his parents, family attitudes, in particular. As a result, the girl gets the wrong idea about possible weight gain and the difficulties associated with it.

At the same time, experts identify 3 factors that form anorexia as a disease and lifestyle:

1. Psychological, which is associated with the influence of upbringing and conflicts within the teenager himself.
2. Biological, associated with predisposition at the gene level.
3. Social– imitation, influence of environment, profession, etc.

Who is at risk?

Weight loss, as an apparent solution to the situation, can be achieved through strict diets and food restrictions, which are complemented by intense physical activity. Or another way of losing weight is possible, which consists of all kinds of cleansing procedures, such as therapeutic enemas and gastric lavages, and forced vomiting.

Signs of anorexia in Western developed countries are recorded in 2% of girls aged 12-24 years. Most often, anorexia begins to manifest itself in adolescents, and the above age limit is a risk group for girls in 90% of cases. More mature women and men make up the remaining 10% of patients.

How does the weight loss disease anorexia manifest itself?

The main symptoms of anorexia most often include the following:

4. permanent interest in losing weight, regardless of existing indicators;
5. a persistent feeling of completeness, constant soul-searching;
6. presence of panic fear about weight gain;
7. sleep and routine disturbances;
8. habit of eating small portions;
9. self-isolation from society.

Chronic anorexia leads to much more serious disorders, the symptoms of which already look like irregularities in the female menstrual cycle, muscle weakness and spasms, arrhythmia, and dizziness. From an emotional point of view, irritability and resentment towards others increases, and unreasonable anger arises.

Social reasons for the demand for thin people

The treatment of this disease must be approached with the utmost responsibility, since in this case we are not just talking about weight loss. In almost all cases, the intervention of a psychiatrist or psychologist will be required, who will be able to determine the exact diagnosis of the disease. The nervous type of the disease requires psychological support from the patient’s relatives and family members.

Speaking about anorexia, the signs of which have long been successfully identified in the West, it should be said that it is especially common to find indecently thin girls and women among models of various fashion shows. The existing model images have made the rest of humanity hostage to the situation, because in recent decades beauty and thinness are synonymous. At first, the symptoms of anorexia may resemble the behavior of a typical woman on a diet.


In nature, it so happens that only a small proportion of women meet such standards of beauty and fashion. Therefore, the pages of magazines and websites are simply replete with a huge number of diets and diets for weight loss. At the same time, many representatives use not always harmless tools in pursuit of extra lost pounds. There is even less understanding about the value of one’s own health among adolescents, but many cases begin to be recorded precisely at this age.

What should relatives pay attention to?

Since the patients themselves in many cases prefer not to notice that they have this problem, the first signs of anorexia have to be identified by their close people. The first alarming symptom is a dramatic and significant weight loss in a relatively short period of time. At the same time, at first it may look from the outside like a completely harmless diet, until the condition reaches a critical point.

Sometimes a girl or teenager can explain the refusal to eat due to a physiological condition, such as stomach pain, fatigue, and so on. At the same time, such a person can dream about food every second, talk for a long time on topics related to food intake, discuss recipes, calories, and so on.

Once anorexia nervosa or another form of anorexia progresses, the patient's condition will gradually worsen. This can be noticed by a number of clinical symptoms in the functioning of the main systems of the body.

This is expressed in a decrease in vitality and general fatigue, which was not there before. Loss of energy may occur after doing normal everyday things, such as taking a shower or washing dishes. It is not surprising if you understand the reasons for what is happening, because the body spends its reserves of energy on this, which is practically not replenished. Additionally, all this is accompanied by periodic fainting and drowsiness.

External changes of the patient

The condition of nails, hair, and skin of various parts of the body changes. These may also be signs that deserve the attention of others. Thus, hair often loses its shine and thickness, undergoes split ends, and becomes brittle. Lack of food automatically leads to a deficiency of essential minerals and vitamin complexes.

Similar symptoms appear in the appearance of nails. Often, a patient with anorexia becomes pale in complexion, and characteristic circles or bags appear under the eyes. Often this disease causes problems with health and kidney function.

Long-term deprivation of adequate amounts of nutrients leads to changes in the menstrual cycle. This is also related to the general mental state of the woman.

The lack of nutrients and minerals for the body during anorexia acts as a real stress, and therefore its reactions can be completely different. Some of them are difficult to predict even for treating specialists. In some cases, problems of the gastrointestinal tract are observed, in others there are neurological disorders, malfunctions of the thyroid gland and even cancer.

Teenage anorexia: first signs

Many teenage girls, wanting to achieve model parameters, go to extremes: they deliberately refuse food, induce vomiting after eating, drink laxatives, and exhaust themselves with physical exercise. This behavior indicates a serious mental disorder - anorexia nervosa. It is difficult to recognize it in the early stages, since the child tries to hide his disease from his parents.

The first signs of anorexia that parents should pay close attention to:

Extremely limited diet with calorie counting.

Eating separately from the whole family under any pretext.

Constantly talking about your figure, losing weight, despite your normal weight.

Absent-mindedness, fatigue, weakness, depression, or vice versa, high mood, excessive activity.

Brittleness, dullness, hair loss

The main danger of anorexia is the inevitable occurrence of disturbances in the body’s vital functions, which can lead to serious diseases of the digestive, endocrine, and reproductive systems.

If you notice the listed signs in your daughter, this is a reason to seek help from a specialist as soon as possible.

How to cure anorexia?

Treatment of anorexia should be comprehensive, involving doctors of various specialties. Inpatient treatment is considered the most effective, since only in a hospital setting is it possible to constantly monitor not only the adequate nutrition of patients, but also their general condition. One of the few institutions in Moscow that offers inpatient treatment for anorexia is the multidisciplinary European Medical Center. Especially for teenagers, doctors have developed a short program of hospitalization followed by outpatient treatment; it consists of four stages.

Thorough diagnosis of the body– allows you to assess the general and psycho-emotional state of health of a teenage girl and identify the cause of the disease. Patients with anorexia are observed by a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, nutritionist, endocrinologist, gynecologist and therapist. The diagnostic process ends with a professorial consultation, where an individual treatment plan is developed.

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy and drug therapy throughout the entire treatment program. Psychotherapy allows you to normalize your diet, change your attitude towards your weight and yourself, and medications help relieve nervous tension, cope with symptoms of depression, and reduce negative attitudes towards therapy. For each patient, doctors select modern, safe medications, taking into account the characteristics of his body.

Outpatient therapy after inpatient treatment. For a long time, the teenager continues to be monitored by the same doctors who helped him cope with the disease in the hospital. Regular meetings with specialists allow you to consolidate the results of treatment and develop resistance to risk factors.

Family support throughout therapy– training parents to correctly assess the teenager’s condition, effective communication skills and the necessary psycho-emotional support for the child. This improves the prognosis of the disease and reduces the risk of repeated exacerbations, helps to adjust parent-child relationships, and restore harmony in the family.

How to recognize anorexia in yourself

DIETA.RU - July 2007

Patients with anorexia strive to reduce calorie intake to a minimum, avoiding food in every possible way. They consider themselves fat, are afraid of obesity and weight gain, and therefore strive to lose weight with all their might. They can be surprisingly resourceful, coming up with reasons for refusing treats: from food allergies and intestinal disorders to fasting. Sometimes they proclaim themselves to be committed to a healthy lifestyle, avoiding any and all foods that are not “green” or natural.

As a rule, people suffering from anorexia prefer to eat alone, avoiding noisy feasts or dining out. However, they enjoy cooking for others, paying serious attention to it. They themselves refuse to eat under the pretext that they have already eaten, exercise vigorously, and often take laxatives and diuretics in the hope of losing some more weight.

Over time, the character of people with anorexia changes; they suffer from frequent mood swings and a constant fear of gaining weight and getting fat. Gradually, a person becomes more and more emaciated, losing not only all fat, but also most of the muscle tissue, essentially turning into a walking skeleton covered in skin. Excessive thinness is often hidden under several layers of thick clothing, which anorexics need to stay warm. A layer of fat retains heat in the body, so exhausted people are constantly cold.

Of course, the disease does not leave its mark on the body. Patients begin to experience constipation, attacks of dizziness and fainting, stomach pain, gastritis and ulcers, the stomach swells, and the face and ankles swell. As a result of lack of nutrients, the skin becomes dry, nails crumble, and hair falls out. The chemical balance of the blood is disrupted, bones become brittle, muscle tissue is destroyed. Anorexia leads to a delay in the onset of puberty in girls, cessation of menstruation in women and the inability to conceive and bear a child. Patients constantly experience fatigue, cold and weakness. In the case of a prolonged course of the disease, disturbances in the functioning of the cardiac system occur, ultimately leading to premature death.

Successful treatment of anorexia can restore a person’s health and return him to a normal life. However, healing from the disease is impossible without psychological correction.

BARIATRICS is the most effective method in the world today of LOSSING WEIGHT and MAINTAINING WEIGHT after LOSSING WEIGHT.

We'll tell you EVERYTHING about weight loss surgery +7-925-750-25-15

Online test for anorexia nervosa

If food plays an important role in your life, you may be suffering from an eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is a fairly common eating disorder these days. People with anorexia have a strong, almost overwhelming fear of gaining weight and are overly concerned with the shape or size of their body. They have a distorted image of their own body, causing them to feel like they weigh more than they should.

The main symptom of anorexia nervosa is deliberate weight loss. Typically, anorexics strive to have a body weight that is at least 15 percent below what is appropriate for their age, gender, and height. Such weight loss is usually achieved by first giving up certain foods and then giving up food altogether. Sometimes a person also engages in excessive exercise or uses laxatives and diuretics. Such problems affect millions of people around the world, and the situation is getting worse every day! Anorexics are ready to do anything to lose even more weight, which sometimes even leads to death.

Anorexia nervosa usually develops in girls and young women, although boys and men can also suffer from the condition. As a rule, this disease begins in adolescence. It is difficult to reliably estimate its prevalence, but anonymous surveys suggest that approximately 1 percent of young women have anorexia nervosa. We encourage you to take an online anorexia test to find out if you have or are susceptible to this serious eating disorder.

This test was based on the most common symptoms of people with this eating disorder, as well as anorexics’ own statements about themselves. By answering 20 questions of this test, you can independently and anonymously find out whether you have serious prerequisites for the development of anorexia nervosa, or whether your relationship with food is balanced and within normal limits.

However, remember that even if the test results reveal your predisposition to this disease, do not be upset! This is just a preliminary test. Only a specialist can confirm or refute the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa.

Often, dreams of a slim and attractive body turn into terrible health consequences.. Oddly enough, most often those who don’t need to lose weight want to lose weight. Such girls are guided by the images imposed by modern canons of female beauty: exquisite sunken cheeks, clearly defined cheekbones and a slender figure. Such aspirations lead to a terrible disease called anorexia; we will look at what it is, how the disease manifests itself and why it is dangerous, in this article.

Anorexia refers to a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose “extra” weight

Anorexia is a mental disorder characterized by a conscious refusal to eat food in order to normalize one’s own weight.

The desire to find an ideal body can reach the point of mania; this leads to the girl reducing the amount of food she consumes, and subsequently giving it up altogether. For such women, the need to eat food causes cramps, nausea and vomiting, and even the smallest portion can be perceived as gluttony.

With this disease, the girl experiences a distortion of her own perception; it seems to her that she is fat, even when her weight reaches a critical level. Anorexia is a very dangerous disease that leads to pathologies of internal organs, mental disorders, and in the most severe cases, the death of the patient.

Causes of the disease

1. Despite the fact that there is more and more data on anorexia, it is quite difficult to answer the question of what kind of disease anorexia is and what causes it. There are a number of factors that can trigger the disease. The causes of anorexia may be the following: Genetic.
2. The study of information about human DNA has made it possible to identify certain loci in the genome that significantly increase the risk of developing anorexia. The disease develops after a powerful emotional shock, with excessive physical exertion or eating disorders. If there are no provoking factors in the life of a person with a similar genome, he will remain healthy. Biological.
3. This category includes: excess body weight, early regulation and pathologies of an endocrine nature. An important factor is the increased level of special lipid fractions in the patient’s blood. Hereditary.
4. The risk of anorexia increases in people with a family history of mental disorders. In addition, the chances of illness increase for those whose relatives suffered from alcoholism or drug addiction. Individual.
5. People with certain personal qualities are more susceptible to the disease. The desire to conform to the canons of beauty, the lack of a clear position in life, uncertainty and the presence of complexes increase the risk of mental disorder. Gender and age.
6. Most often, the disease manifests itself in adolescence, much less often after twenty-five years. In addition, in more than ninety percent of cases, anorexia affects the fair sex.. Living in a society where the standard of female beauty is a slim body has a great influence on the diet. Young girls, trying to follow such criteria, refuse to eat a full meal.

Signs and symptoms of anorexia appear amid fear of perceived obesity

Stages of anorexia

First stage. At the initial stage, the girl thinks that she is overweight, because of which she is constantly subjected to ridicule and humiliation, which leads to depression. The young woman is fixated on the issue of losing weight, which is why the results of constant weighing occupy all her thoughts. It is very important not to miss the first symptoms of the disease, because at this stage anorexia can be successfully treated, without consequences for the woman’s body.

Second stage. With the arrival of this stage, the patient’s depressive mood disappears and is replaced by a firm conviction that she is overweight. The desire to get rid of extra pounds becomes stronger. Measurements of your own weight are made every day, and at the same time the bar for the desired weight becomes lower and lower.

Third stage. The onset of this stage is indicated by a complete refusal to eat; forced eating can cause disgust and vomiting. At this stage, a girl can lose up to fifty percent of her original weight, but she will be confident that she is still fat. Any talk about food leads her to aggression, and she herself claims that she feels great.

Types of anorexia

This disease can be preceded by various factors, in connection with this the following types of anorexia are distinguished:

Mental– occurs in mental disorders in which there is no feeling of hunger. Such pathologies include schizophrenia, paranoia, some types of depression, etc. In addition, the development of this type can be influenced by alcohol and drug addiction.

Symptomatic– develops against the background of a severe somatic illness. In particular, for diseases of the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, hormonal or genitourinary systems. Loss of hunger occurs due to the body’s need to direct all its forces to fight the disease, and not to digest food.

Nervous– another name for this type is “psychological”. In this case, the girl consciously refuses food, fearing to gain even one extra kilogram. This type is especially dangerous during puberty. We will look at the symptoms and treatment of anorexia nervosa below, but among the main signs of the disease we should highlight:

• attempts to get rid of food taken by inducing vomiting;
• intensive exercise for the purpose of weight loss;
• taking fat-burning and diuretic medications.

More than 80% of all cases of anorexia appear between the ages of 12-24 years

Medicinal– this type of disease manifests itself with long-term use of medications aimed at weight loss. Anorexia can also be provoked by antidepressants, diuretics, laxatives, psychotropic drugs, as well as drugs that give a feeling of satiety with small portions eaten.

Symptoms and signs of anorexia

The following symptoms may indicate that the disease has already begun to have a destructive effect on a woman’s body:

• regular conversations about losing weight;
• exclusion of high-calorie foods from the diet;
• hunger strikes;
• frequent depression.

If it was not possible to determine anorexia at this stage, then more pronounced symptoms of the disease appear. The amount of food consumed is significantly reduced, but the volume of liquid drunk increases. Many girls artificially induce vomiting after every meal, which in most cases leads to bulimia. To quickly lose those hated pounds, enemas, diuretics and laxatives are often used.

By the beginning of the third stage of anorexia, changes occur in the girl’s appearance that cannot be ignored. The skin becomes thinner, begins to peel, and loses tone and elasticity. Muscle tissue degeneration occurs, and the subcutaneous fat layer completely disappears. The bony skeleton is clearly visible through the thin skin. Teeth deteriorate, hair and nails become brittle and lose their shine.

Significant disturbances also occur in the internal organs: blood pressure levels drop significantly, body temperature drops, and the pulse rate decreases, becoming below normal. Gastritis, ulcers and lazy bowel syndrome develop, and pathological changes occur in the heart muscle. The girl increasingly falls into despondency and apathy, and is haunted by fatigue and powerlessness.

Consequences of the disease

Conscious fasting leads to catastrophic consequences for all internal organs and systems.

1. Heart muscle. Blood flow slows down and blood pressure levels decrease. The level of essential minerals and trace elements in the blood drops. Such changes lead to electrolyte imbalance and arrhythmia, and in the most severe cases to complete cardiac arrest.
2. Hormonal system. The level of prolactin, the stress hormone, increases, and growth hormone, on the contrary, becomes less. The amount of hormones involved in a woman’s reproductive functions decreases. In this regard, there are interruptions in the menstrual cycle, in some cases there is a complete absence of it. In the later stages, it is not possible to restore it even after a course of treatment.
3. Skeletal system. A deficiency of calcium and vital minerals leads to a decrease in bone mass, mineral density decreases, and bones become fragile.
4. Digestive system. The functions and processes of digestion slow down, the body is in energy-saving mode. An ulcer and gastritis develop, and constipation and bloating can cause pain.
5. Nervous system. In the most extreme cases, nerve damage may occur, convulsions, seizures, and limbs may become numb. As a result, this becomes the cause of mental and thought disorders.
6. Blood. The blood becomes thicker and the blood supply deteriorates. Lack of vitamins and microelements leads to anemia.

In addition to the above problems, degenerative changes occur in the liver, the body becomes dehydrated, weakness and fainting appear.

The worst complication of anorexia is the triggering of the body’s mechanisms to self-destruct.

Treatment

Due to the fact that the first signs of anorexia in girls, as a rule, go unnoticed, and they themselves do not accept advice and deny the problem, therapy begins at the stage when the patient is taken to a medical facility in critical condition. There are often cases when relatives call an ambulance even when a woman is dying.

Therapeutic measures to stabilize the condition of an anorexic woman consist of force-feeding through a dropper. First of all, doctors must find out the reason that led to such a serious condition. Having determined the factor that caused the disease, a course of drug treatment is prescribed. After the patient’s condition has stabilized, psychologists and nutritionists begin working with her.

Anorexia is an extremely dangerous disease that can be fatal.

Girls who are faced with a problem are often unable to solve it on their own. It is very important that relatives and close people pay attention to the patient’s condition in a timely manner and begin treatment before pathological changes occur in the body.

Regular eating is the key to good health, so when your appetite begins to rapidly disappear, there is a serious cause for concern. Regular and prolonged refusal of food can lead to the development of a dangerous disease - anorexia. The causes of its occurrence vary, and symptoms begin to appear immediately. Signs of anorexia can be observed in weight loss, psychological distress and other painful symptoms.

What is anorexia

The name of the disease anorexia accurately describes its essence: an is a negative prefix to the root orexis (appetite). The body stops feeling hungry, although the need for food remains the same. At first, this is observed only on a psychological level, but the longer the refusal of food lasts, the more physiological processes are disrupted, which leads to complete exhaustion and, if the disease is not cured, to death.

Causes

The disease begins to occur when malfunctions occur in the part of the brain responsible for food. How anorexia begins can be monitored by the signs that appear. The reasons why this happens may be psychological disorders or other illnesses. These include:

• diabetes;
• addiction;
• thyrotoxicosis;
• anemia;
• alcoholism;
• malignant neoplasms.

Recently, the disease often occurs for psychological reasons. It is provoked by frequent depressive states, anxiety and phobias, and nervous tension. The latter condition is most susceptible to women and girls who are concerned about their excess weight. Symptoms of anorexia in women are manifested by long-term diets and complete refusal of food. They lose the ability to adequately perceive their body, continuing to lose weight to the detriment of their health, until a complete loss of appetite occurs and the body begins to reject food.

Types of anorexia

The disease can be divided into several types. They differ in the causes that contribute to anorexia and the methods of treatment. If anorexia occurs against the background of another illness, then for recovery it is necessary to get rid of the root cause. There is anorexia:

• nervous;
• mental;
• medicinal.

Nervous

One of the canons of beauty is the thinness that models have. Achieving this ideal is often motivated by the desire to conform to other people's views, which leads many representatives of the fair sex to illness. They strive to lose weight by imposing too strict restrictions on food intake. Obsessing over this behavior can lead to bulimia nervosa, eating disorders, and loss of the ability to adequately assess one's weight. It has been noticed that one’s own repulsive and even frightening appearance, which can be seen in the photo, and the real threat of death cannot sober up a person.

Mental

Serious mental illnesses that cause depression and catatonic states, pathological fear of poisoning, and mental disorders provoke another type of food refusal. Reluctance to eat can be caused by a conscious decision or loss of the feeling of hunger due to its suppression for a long time. It has been noticed that if in the waking state the feeling of hunger is weakened or absent, then in a dream the patient may feel a “wolfish” appetite.

Medicinal

Some medications can lead to a complete lack of appetite, causing anorexia. This can happen unknowingly during treatment for another disease, or it can be provoked specifically when a person deliberately takes medications to reduce his weight. Dangerous drugs include medications such as stimulants and antidepressants that are taken over a long period of time.

initial stage

Primary anorexia begins to take hold of a person very slowly, every year taking deeper roots into his psyche. The initial stage can last 2-4 years. During this period, dissatisfaction with one’s body gradually becomes stronger in a person’s consciousness, and the desire to lose weight arises more and more. One’s own appearance is subject to constant criticism; regular attempts are made to correct one’s figure, but the result never brings satisfaction. The first symptoms of anorexia should be a cause for concern:

• dissatisfaction with weight;
• fear of gaining weight;
• passion for diets;
• regular fasting;
• reluctance to eat in the presence of other people;
• excessive physical activity;
• caches of food hidden from oneself;
• provocation of vomiting, spitting out chewed food.

Adolescents during puberty are most at risk of falling into this state. At this time, the body undergoes significant changes, which also affect weight. The most dangerous period is observed from 14 to 25 years. The stereotype imposed by fashion on the beauty of thin people can cause real harm to teenagers with weak psyches when they begin to achieve the ideal with relentless and obsessive zeal. If clinical symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor who can monitor the patient’s nutrition and prevent exhaustion of the body.

At what weight does anorexia begin?

The first stage of the disease can be seen in the physiological signs of anorexia. This applies to significant weight loss and a sharp deterioration in health, for example, the appearance of constant dizziness. A sign such as a loss of approximately 20% of total body weight can be considered indicative of the disease, but this indicator should be calculated individually for each person depending on the body mass index. This is the ratio of height squared to weight (60 kg/1.7 m). A mass index of 17.5 or lower indicates incipient anorexia.

Symptoms of anorexia

The disease can be observed physiologically and psychologically; it reveals itself in a person’s relationship to food. The following signs of anorexia indicate a threat to health:

• obsessive desire to lose weight;
• constant refusal to eat;
• unusual ritual of eating (placing small portions on a large plate, chopping food, carefully weighing food, obsessively counting calories);
• avoiding events where you have to sit at a table;
• depressed psychological state, tendency to solitude;
• reluctance to admit one’s painful thinness;
• induction of vomiting, enemas done to cleanse the body of food;
• refusal of treatment;
• fainting, dizziness, decreased sexual activity;
• aggressive defense of one's way of life.

Among women

Representatives of the fair sex are the first to suffer from anorexia. They begin to exhaust themselves with diets and hunger strikes from adolescence. If the desire to have a slim figure crosses the line and turns into a disease, it can be recognized by all of the above signs. Symptoms of anorexia in girls relate to the menstrual cycle (it is disrupted), refusal of sexual activity occurs, and hormonal levels change. The most dangerous period is 25-27 years. Failures in personal relationships and the desire to become more beautiful in the eyes of men can push the development of the disease.

In teenagers

From about 12 years of age, adolescents begin to pay increased attention to their body and carefully monitor their appearance in order to be attractive to members of the opposite sex. At this time, their inner world is very fragile, and simple remarks can push the child towards illness. As children grow up, parents can identify anorexia by the following signs:

• sudden mood swings;
• depressive states;
• disruption of the heart.

In men

Representatives of the stronger sex are much less likely to suffer from anorexia. Of the total number of cases, men make up only a quarter. Signs of the disease begin to be observed in adolescence. Most of the patients suffered from obesity in childhood and were short in stature; they have low self-esteem. Many manifestations of anorexia in men are similar to women. Anorexia can be recognized by the following signs:

• severe irritability;
• exaltation;
• intolerance towards others;
• sleep disturbance, depression, apathy;
• decreased appetite;
• abdominal pain after eating;
• weight loss.

Excessive model thinness is still in fashion. Especially for young girls. And although Kate Moss-style looks are no longer trendy, young beauties continue to torment themselves with diets. How to understand when a loved one already needs real help?

As a rule, anorexia can be mild, sometimes occurring, or severe and constant, says our regular expert, nutritionist Lyudmila Denisenko. - Don’t think that this is just a disease of models. The problem is that it is often very difficult to understand when a person begins to need help. After all, as a rule, people suffering from anorexia look very purposeful, successful, and confident in their actions. The first bell is a loved one’s constant passion for diets with low weight. And the more he loses weight, the greater his panic about the extra pounds that he constantly finds on himself. Even in the stage of extreme exhaustion, the patient considers himself absolutely healthy. And all that hinders him in life is “extra pounds.” So they push themselves to the extreme, when only hospitalization can save a life. The scary thing is that nutritionists are powerless here. And this is not even the work of psychologists - psychiatrists!

Elephant mother and reed daughter

Do you think only girls suffer from anorexia? But no. The disease affects men and women equally. Another question is that men carefully hide their aversion to food and concern for extra pounds. Although doctors still admit that the bulk of those who greedily lose weight are young girls aged 14 to 25 years.

And most often girls whose mothers are always losing weight suffer from anorexia! - adds Lyudmila Denisenko. - And in the process of their own struggle with weight, mothers “lose” their daughters. True, there is an absolutely opposite picture - a mother who has given up on herself, and a daughter who does not want to become the second “elephant”. I have a motto: “Food should be PLEASURE... But not the first, and not the only one in life!” Losing weight should not become an end in itself that justifies any means.

Is this a genetic disease?

By the way, we have a special gene that controls appetite. Scientists believe that anorexia is even more likely a genetic disease when the work of this gene begins to malfunction. But the trigger can be several factors, mainly related to severe stress:

Divorce of parents (or your own),

Death of a loved one

Failures in school or work,

A break up…

There is another factor - too strict, low-calorie diet. When a person, limiting himself in literally everything, thus gives rise to the onset of the disease. Getting him to start eating again is virtually impossible. As a rule, serious help from a psychologist is required to understand the hidden motives of the desire to constantly lose weight. And if a person is not helped in time, it can simply kill him. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate among mental illnesses.

Main symptoms

Perhaps the very first are psychological freaks: panic at the mere thought of the possibility of getting better. Constant assurances “I’m fat!”, despite all the beliefs of family and friends, even on the contrary - intensifying with any conversation about excessive thinness. “Libra lies! I’m still fat” - refusal to admit that there are no extra pounds.

There are also physiological symptoms that indicate advanced processes in the body. The sooner you pay attention to them, the better:

1. Sudden weight loss (from 3 to 5 kg per week).

2. Low blood pressure, rare heart rhythm.

3. Poor sleep.

4. Tears and self-flagellation when eating, even if it is a tiny piece of apple - that is, increased irritability, touchiness, hysteria.

5. Unhealthy pale skin, brittle hair and nails.

6. Bad mood and depression associated with extra pounds.

7. Body temperature is too low - below 36 degrees.

8. Menstrual irregularities.

9. Lack of interest in sex.

10. Constant search for new “weight loss” techniques - eating while standing, in tiny pieces, from doll plates, etc. And uncontrollable attacks of anger when trying to explain that this cannot be done.

If you notice at least some of these symptoms in your loved one, drop everything and take him to a psychologist. Or better yet, see a psychotherapist. Unfortunately, your will and attempts to help in this situation may be powerless. And only an experienced doctor who can prescribe therapy can understand the course of the disease.

Anorexia is a mental illness that manifests itself in eating disorders, in which a person deliberately strictly limits himself to food. Such restriction occurs, and sometimes even refusal of food, against the background of a distorted image of the anorexic patient about his own body (figure, weight) and a persistent desire to lose weight by any means.

With anorexia, a person often strives not to achieve a certain weight, but to the external manifestation of the result - a decrease in the volume of the figure. The goal can be pursued both through restriction (fasting) and through purging (taking an emetic, laxative, etc.).

Mostly women aged 14-25 years are susceptible to the disease, less often - women aged 30-35 years. Also, recently, males are increasingly being observed among patients. Most often, anorexia develops during periods of hormonal imbalances or stressful situations.

Types of anorexia, depending on the causes of its occurrence:

1. nervous;
2. symptomatic;
3. mental;
4. medicinal.

The most common type of anorexia is nervosa. The most rare type is mental anorexia.

Causes

Each type of disease develops as a result of different reasons. Mental anorexia is a consequence of a mental illness such as schizophrenia, paranoia or depression. The causes of the development of other forms of the disease may be physiological and psychological factors. Physiological factors are mainly responsible for the development of symptomatic and drug-induced anorexia. Physiological causes of anorexia include:

• disruption of brain hormone levels (decreased serotonin, norepinephrine and increased cortisol);
• development of somatic diseases of organs;
• drug abuse, mainly antidepressants.

The psychological causes of the disease anorexia give rise to its most common form - nervous. These include:

• desire to control your life;
• the desire to meet the demands of the surrounding world;
• perfectionism;
• an inferiority complex instilled at an early age as a result of improper upbringing;
• psychological trauma;
• physical or sexual violence.

Anorexia appears under the influence of both the patient’s own desire for ideals and the provocation of this desire by others.

Symptoms and signs of anorexia

The patient himself does not recognize the existence of the problem and hides the disease from himself and others. However, anorexia can be identified based on a number of signs. Symptoms of anorexia can manifest themselves in both physical and behavioral signs.

Physical signs of anorexia include:

• permanent and significant reduction in body weight;
• dry irritated skin, brittle hair and nails;
• bloating, digestive problems;
• dizziness, fainting;
• deterioration of brain function - absent-mindedness, forgetfulness, slow reaction speed;
• menstrual irregularities;
• sexual dysfunction.

Often, in order to hide the manifestation of the disease, anorexic patients may wear baggy clothes. Problems with digestion, skin or menstruation, as well as weight loss, can be explained by a previous illness. In this case, it is worth paying close attention to the patient’s behavior. The list of behavioral signs of anorexia includes:

• dissatisfaction with one’s weight, although it may be within or below normal;
• constant diet, calculation of calories and foods that should not be eaten;
• control of weight indicators - weighing at least 2-3 times a day;
• reading all food labels;
• refusal to eat under various pretexts (“I just had lunch”, “I don’t feel well”, etc.);
• refusal to eat in public places;
• getting pleasure from the feeling of hunger;
• special ways of eating (food is chewed and not swallowed, cleansing the body after eating);
• isolation, loss of sociability;
• heavy physical activity after every meal.

The first physiological symptoms of anorexia manifest themselves in the form of significant weight loss (not due to illness) over a short period and deterioration in well-being (dizziness). An alarming signal is weight loss of 20% of body weight.

At what exact weight anorexia begins is determined individually for each person. To do this, it is enough to calculate the body mass index, which is defined as the ratio of weight in kilograms to height in meters squared (55 kg / 1.702 m = 19.03). The norm is a body mass index in the range from 18.5 to 25, the critical indicator is at 17.5. It is not difficult to calculate how many kilograms anorexia begins at; it is enough to know your height and understand that the disease develops at a body mass index of 17.5 and below.

In order to understand how anorexia begins, you need to understand the mental nature and causes of the disease. In some cases, anorexia can be instilled in a child who is constantly reproached for not being slim enough. And later, already at a conscious age, such a person may find himself in a similar stressful situation, which will give impetus to the development of the disease.

Often, the first symptoms of anorexia appear in the behavior and appearance of the patient as a result of experiencing a stressful period or in an attempt to take control of their life. In search of distraction or a goal of control, patients choose their own weight. Changing it for the “better” gives you a feeling of control over one of the areas of your life, brings confidence and satisfaction in the form of the opportunity to wear clothes in smaller sizes.

Stages of the disease

There are three stages of anorexia nervosa: primary, anorectic, cachectic. During the primary stage of the disease, anorexia, the symptoms of its development consist of an active expression of dissatisfaction with one’s body and the intention to correct it. The first signs of the disease also appear in the form of the patient’s aversion to food and refusal to eat.

The anorectic stage is characterized by the fact that the disease enters the active phase. The patient begins to actively lose weight, losing from 20% to 50% of his body weight. Various methods are used for this. The most common form in which anorexia manifests itself in the second stage is bulimia - eating food and immediately provoking vomiting.

Signs of the disease anorexia in the third, cachectic stage are manifested in uncontrolled weight loss, organ dystrophy, problems with the cardiovascular and circulatory systems. The general condition of the body worsens. This is the most dangerous stage of the disease, which is difficult to cope with. In some cases, anorexia in the third stage of development can be fatal.

Treatment

If signs of disease development are detected, you should immediately consult a doctor. Depending on the symptoms of anorexia, treatment will vary.

The first and main step on the path to recovery is the recognition by the patient himself that he has anorexia and the manifestation of a desire to fight it. Depending on the stage of the disease, treatment may include: medication, psychological assistance, and dietary nutrition.

In the early stages of the disease, with the help of psychological methods, anorexics will be helped to understand the problem, re-evaluate ideals and life goals, and form a new attitude towards themselves and their body. Dietary nutrition is based on a gradual increase in portions, the number of meals and the inclusion of more foods in the diet. The main goal of treatment in the first and second stages of anorexia is to normalize the body’s weight, metabolism and establish harmony between the patient and his body.

Most often, treatment for anorexia takes place on an outpatient basis with the support of the patient’s loved ones. Exceptions include categorical refusal of necessary meals, suicidal tendencies of the patient and the third stage of the disease. Often in such cases, there is a need for parenteral nutrition for an anorexic (intravenous administration of nutrients).

In the third stage of anorexia, the goals of treatment include restoring the functioning of organs, gaining weight to a level above the critically low level, correcting internal attitudes and seeing oneself as sick. On average, the duration of such treatment can be from three to eight months, and about 1.5 years for a full course of recovery from anorexia.

Diet for anorexia

A disease such as anorexia begins with diet and is treated with it. The only difference is that, in contrast to the strict restrictions that provoked the disease, dietary nutrition in the treatment of anorexia must be balanced and clearly calculated, because Too large a portion or excessive restriction can lead to loss of the achieved result. Depending on the individual indicators of each patient, a professional nutritionist prescribes a nutrition menu for anorexia.

However, at home, for nutrition in the early stages of anorexia, you can create a menu yourself, guided by the principles of treating the disease. The basis of dietary nutrition in the case of this disease is the gradual restoration of body weight. Therefore, for a menu for anorexia, a high-calorie diet with a gradual introduction of complex foods into the diet is ideal.

To gain weight, nutrition for anorexia should consist of the following steps:

1. the first week - resumption of regular meals, liquid and semi-liquid low-calorie meals in small portions (mild soups, broths, cereals, purees);
2. second week - elements of a raw food diet (apple and carrot purees, berries, bananas) are added to the menu for anorexia;
3. third week - low-fat boiled fish appears on the menu, chopped meat can be added to the broth, porridge can be cooked in milk, freshly squeezed fruit (except citrus) and vegetable juices with added water are consumed;
4. fourth week - if the stomach accepts all the introduced dishes favorably, you can add vegetable salads, bread, boiled meat, and some spices.

Eating with anorexia must be very careful to avoid the stomach from rejecting food. If such rejection occurs, the diet is resumed from the diet of the second week.

Anorexia drugs

The list of necessary medications for anorexia includes antidepressants and mild antipsychotics. The patient is prescribed a number of drugs that calm the nervous system and improve appetite, as well as vitamin complexes (vitamin B12, vitamin C, iron, calcium) that help restore metabolism and normal body weight. Anti-anorexia pills that increase appetite include Elenium, Frenolone, etc. Our online service includes a catalog of pharmacies where you can make purchases online.

Psychotherapy and dietary nutrition will help consolidate the effect of treating anorexia with pills and vitamins. Psychotherapeutic treatment methods will help eradicate the disease in the patient’s mind. Dietary nutrition will allow you to gradually return to a normal diet.

Anorexia in men

First of all, anorexia develops in young boys at the age of puberty. During this period, all the complexes and pain points of a young man are most aggravated. Close attention is paid to appearance and its compliance with modern standards of beauty. It is often at this age that psychological trauma received in childhood due to excess weight from peers and parents “resurfaces.”

Anorexia also occurs in men who play sports professionally or are involved in modeling and show business. In such areas of activity, excess weight can cause job loss. For them, anorexia plays the role of a panacea for unwanted pounds.

An anorexic patient (especially a man) will not admit the existence of a problem. He considers the unnatural thinness of the body to be an achievement of the goal. Because of this feature, it is rarely possible to diagnose the disease in the early stages. Outwardly, it becomes noticeable after 2-3 years of development, when the body is exhausted.

Pregnancy with anorexia

Pregnancy and anorexia are incompatible processes. The development of such an eating disorder during pregnancy can lead to irreversible consequences: miscarriage, the birth of a handicapped child, the birth of a child with serious illnesses.

In the event of an unplanned pregnancy with anorexia, the patient must immediately inform doctors about her illness if she wants to save the life of the child. In this case, with constant supervision by specialists, the chances of a successful pregnancy are high.

If a woman with anorexia is planning her pregnancy, she also cannot do without the help of doctors. Since a healthy balance of hormones in the body is necessary for conceiving a fetus, the first thing to do is to restore menstruation after anorexia. For normal conception and pregnancy, the level of the female hormone estrogen and the condition of the mother’s entire body must be normal. That is why it is important to completely cure anorexia in the early stages, in order to avoid irreversible consequences. Then it will be possible to lead a normal life as a healthy person.

Consequences of anorexia

Anorexia is dangerous because, by limiting the amount of nutrients entering the body, it negatively affects all organs and systems. Dehydration of the body leads to a deterioration in overall health, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, and kidney problems (renal failure).

Exhaustion of the body negatively affects the functioning of the brain - a patient with anorexia is not able to quickly make decisions, is inhibited in reaction, and is forgetful. The attitude of such a person to various kinds of life situations also changes. He is not always able to respond adequately to stressful situations or jokes. Preoccupation with diet destroys all other interests and leads to loss of friends and communication.

The impact of anorexia on the oral cavity is reflected in disease and tooth decay. The disease leaves its traces primarily in the gastrointestinal tract. They manifest themselves in gastritis, stomach ulcers, bloating and intestinal problems.

With constant fasting, diseases of the cardiovascular and circulatory systems develop. Anorexia causes blood anemia, arrhythmia, and can lead to cardiac arrest. Often with a disease such as anorexia, patients have diabetes mellitus.

As a result of the disease, the hormonal balance in the body is disrupted. This leads to serious disturbances in the menstrual cycle in women, including infertility. High levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and decreased levels of calcium in the blood lead to a decrease in skeletal bone density, resulting in the development of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

It is important to remember that by contacting doctors in the early stages of the disease, most of the consequences can be avoided or reversed. This will allow you to lead a normal life after recovery from anorexia, without serious health problems. That is why it is necessary to pay attention to the signs of the disease in time and take the necessary measures.