A Deadly Serious Matter: The Malign Effects Of Anorexia Nervosa

 If you thought anorexia nervosa was only about food, think again. This serious mental illness has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder and most patients who do recover will never be cured. It affects every aspect of the sufferer’s life, from bodyweight to personal relationships and even able to work. In many cases, anorexia nervosa can lead to depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts if left untreated. Here’s how you can recognize the symptoms and help someone with anorexia nervosa find treatment before it’s too late.

What is anorexia nervosa?

It is an eating disorder that takes many forms. Sufferers have a distorted body image, and they may starve themselves to lose weight or refuse to eat when they believe their bodies are too fat. They obsessively weigh themselves, measure their bodies, compare their appearance with others’ and exercise excessively. Often people with anorexia nervosa don’t look emaciated; at its extreme stage, anorexia can cause severe muscle wasting and heart problems.

How does it affect the body?

If you’re familiar with cancer, it’s easy to understand that anorexia can be seen as an eating disorder. At first sight, cancerous cells seem like cells that are simply not doing their job right, just growing and expanding when they should have stopped at some point in time. They are able to grow and develop because they find themselves on a nutrient-rich stream of food. On some level, anorexic people work in a similar way.

How prevalent is anorexia?

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders has found that approximately 30 million Americans struggle with some form of an eating disorder. However, only three to five percent of anorexics are male, while as many as 10% are under 18 years old. Because anorexia is so much more prevalent in women than men, it can be easy to assume that there aren’t many men struggling with anorexia.

How can you help someone with an eating disorder?

If you’re currently suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is help and hope. It is possible to recover whether you are struggling with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or some other form of disordered eating and self-starvation. Here are some tips on how to talk to someone with an eating disorder and how to get treatment. Remember that getting help can sometimes be harder than simply deciding it’s time to recover.

Can an eating disorder be fatal?

Yes. In fact, every year hundreds of people die because of complications related to an eating disorder. Although any eating disorder can be potentially fatal, in many cases it is anorexia nervosa that turns deadly as a result of starvation or medical complications such as heart failure, electrolyte abnormalities, and organ dysfunction.

How effective are treatments?

Treatments for anorexia nervosa vary, but they usually include psychotherapy, medications, and nutritional counseling. Most of these therapies are based on evidence from controlled trials. In other words, we know that specific approaches work better than others, even if we’re not sure why. Combining different approaches is often a good idea. This approach has been shown to work in various treatment settings; it does not appear to matter whether patients receive their care at a specialized center or through their own general practitioner.

Where can I find more information on anorexia nervosa?

There are a number of resources for those who suspect they or someone close to them might be suffering from anorexia nervosa, as well as for their loved ones. Here are some of these sites and organizations that can help