Anorexia

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is the primary eating disorder associated with food restriction and self-starvation. It can be very dangerous, even lethal, if not treated. Anorexia is more common in teenage girls and young women (about the 90-95%). But also the male could have it although they are a minority.

The exact cause of anorexia is unknown, but there are some reached that conclude the factors to have it depends of the personality and a combination of emotions, and thinking patterns, as well as biological and environmental factors might be responsible. For example the clothes’ publicity use thin models to show their products, and most of them publicity have the teenagers as objective. So this kind of publicity could have a little responsibility, because on this way makes the people thinks that the “perfect body” to wear their clothes are the thin body.

The main characteristics of this mental illness according to the DSM, anorexics:

1) Refuse to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for their age and height.

2) Experience intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they are underweight.

3) Misunderstand the seriousness of their weight loss, provide undue influence of body weight and shape on their self-evaluation.

Successful treatment usually includes continuous medical care, regular therapy, nutritional counseling, and sometimes medication.

Sadly this mental illness has the major percent of mortality rates of all the mental disorders. So the impact on a family is hard.

A year ago a famous actress, Lilly Collins, starred on a film about this mental illness called “To the bone”. This movie explain so good the anorexia and the impact on the family and the person who have it.