Anorexia Nervosa Mental Health

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The act of someone intentionally starving themselves indicates they are suffering from an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa. The disorder typically begins in young people around the time of puberty and involves extreme weight loss of at least 15% below the individual's normal body weight. It is common for people with the disorder to look emaciated and thin however the individual is convinced they are overweight. In many cases it necessary to have the sufferer hospitalised in order to prevent starvation and serious illness.

People suffering from eating disorders tend to be anxious about and sensitive to social acceptance. Success is often measured against unrealistically high standards or social ideals that are virtually unattainable and also acutely aware when they fail to reach these standards. Failure, or and believe that they have let down their community and themselves as a consequence. Frequently, this sense of failure drives them to work harder toward reducing the discrepancy between their current weight and their idealized weight. This drive can be so strong that some people abuse their bodies to the point of serious illness and even death.

Food and weight become obsessions for people suffering this affliction. For some, the compulsiveness shows up in strange eating rituals or the refusal to eat in front of others. They will often exercise excessively and keep a very strict exercise regime in order to avoid gaining weight. Loss of monthly menstrual cycles is common in women; men with anorexia often become impotent.
Approximately 1 percent of adolescent girls develop anorexia nervosa.

Most people with eating disorders share common personality traits and use abnormal eating rituals as a means of handling stress and anxiety.

These personality traits often include, but are not limited to:

• low self-esteem
• feelings of helplessness
• fear of becoming fat
• Medical complications associated with anorexia nervosa?
• damage to major organs eg, heart and brain
• monthly menstrual periods stop
• drop in breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates
• swelling of the joints
• reduction in muscle mass
• light-headedness / dizziness
• slowing in thyroid function
• brittle nails and hair
• dry and yellowing of the skin, becomes covered with soft hair called lanugo
• excessive thirst and frequent urination
• dehydration causing constipation
• reduced body fat leads to lowered body temperature and difficulty withstanding cold weather
• brittle bones
• irregular heart rhythms
• changed personality

other psychiatric illnesses may occur and include:

• clinical depression
• anxiety
• personality disorder
• substance abuse disorders
• suicide at risk
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• may become socially withdrawn

Treatments

Research has indicated that the earlier the appropriate intervention occurs, the more likely the eating disorder will be successfully overcome. The best approach is psychotherapy, which can include counselling for the family, along with group therapy with other people who have eating disorders. Medical treatments are used in severe cases.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy needs to focus on a number of issues, after a therapeutic, trusting relationship has been established. The most powerful issue is the obsession with body-image, which is also the most difficult to change. The client's preoccupation with body-image can make any clinician shake their heads in frustration; therapists must therefore carefully monitor counter-transference issues. These individuals can be an extreme challenging group to work with.

Hospitalisation

Hospitalization of anybody for a mental disorder can often be a confusing and emotion-wrought decision. Family members or significant others may need to intervene in the patient's life to ensure they do not starve themselves to death. In these cases, hospitalization is not only necessary, but a prudent treatment intervention. Family members should be aware that individuals who suffer from anorexia nervosa will often resist treatment of any sort, especially hospitalization. It is important, therefore, to come to an agreement about the need for such a step and not be swayed by the patient's pleas for seeking alternative treatment options. Often these have already been tried to no success.

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