Being supportive is a crucial part of treating anorexia, it’s not solely about the patients, says Preety Tyagi
The growing trend of skinny body types or the most idealistic zero figure has made women to start resorting to extremely unhealthy ways of losing weight. For instance, by avoiding food, eliminating carbs and fats, mono dieting or eating insufficiently and even puking forcefully. This is an extremely dangerous phase to be in. It affects women mentally, physically as well as psychologically and can also lead to mental illness. There are also surgical methods used by women all across the globe to transform their body types. Desperate attempts to look thinner, better and fairer makes them try everything, without proper understanding the implications of one’s health.
This becomes a case of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder which consists of causing people to obsess about their weight and what they eat. In the cycle of self-starvation, the body is denied the essential nutrients it needs to function normally. Thus, the body is forced to slow down all of its processes to conserve energy, resulting in serious medical consequences. It is associated with a distorted body image with an intense fear of becoming fat even though underweight. Anorexia isn’t all about food, rather it’s an unhealthy way to try and cope with mental stress. It is usually 10 times more common in females. Although the disorder most frequently begins during adolescence, an increasing number of children and older adults are also being diagnosed with it. You cannot tell if a person is struggling with illness by looking at them. A person does not need to be emaciated or underweight to be struggling. Studies have found that larger-bodied individuals can also have anorexia, although they may be less likely to be diagnosed due to cultural prejudice against fat and obesity.
An individual experiences an intense fear of becoming fat and has a relentless drive for thinness despite obvious starvation. It can be of two types:
Restricting (No binge eating):
This type is present in approximately 50 per cent of people suffering from Anorexia. Food intake is highly restricted and people may be relentlessly and compulsively overactive. A person with restricting anorexia nervosa often have depression and anxiety associated with it.
Binge-eating
Individuals alternate attempts at rigorous dieting with intermittent episodes of binge eating. It is often associated with self-induced vomiting or frequent use of laxatives to compensate for the binging episodes. The other symptoms are the medical complications of starvation as slower heart rate and feeling cold due to reduced fat that is stored in the body.
There are many challenges with regards to the treatment for anorexia. However, the key is to kick the concept of being skinny and welcome the notion of being fit. The most important point is to restore person’s nutritional state and maintain a healthy body weight. Patients must willingly participate for the treatment to succeed in the long run. The sooner someone gets treatment, the more likely they are to make a full recovery. The treatment of anorexia is a combination of a therapy, family education and in some cases, medications.
Therapy:
People with anorexia connect their body weight to their self-worth. They urge to check themselves in the mirror very frequently. Therapy helps the patient to cope with their life’s struggles and to change their behavior towards what is going on in their life. A patient should confront their anxieties and must try to getaway with them.
Family-based therapy:
Education is the answer to everything. It’s important to educate the family about the illness so that they can be supportive towards the patient. It’s a crucial part of the curing process as it’s not solely about the patients themselves. The family must also work as a whole for the recovery. Parents are the most important aspect of the recovery process.
(The author is a health expert and the founder of a health and wellness organisation.)