Table of Contents
What is Anorexia?
Anorexia remains an eating disorder characterized by the distortion of the body image, accompanied by extreme weight loss, which leads the individual to have an intense fear of gaining weight.
Anorexia remains caused by a psychological disturbance that causes the individual to visualize a distorted physical image. That is, the person in front of a mirror looks fat or overweight when they are not, so they face a solid desire to lose weight, complying with extreme diets to the point of putting his life at risk.
Anorexia mainly attacks women, being more common in adolescence, although men are not exempt from suffering from it. It is important to relate it to social pressure, especially in the media, advertising, and fashion, by venerating perfect and slim bodies. Leading adolescents to imitate increasingly thin public figures under an eating plan can generate severe complications in their health.
Anorexia patients
Anorexia patients seek extreme flaccidity, which can lead to severe malnutrition. Two types of anorexia stand usually established:
Typical or restrictive type anorexia remains characterized by weight loss occurring through diet, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Compulsive or purgative anorexia remains characterized by the ingestion of food and subsequent induction of vomiting or products such as laxatives, diuretics or enemas to prevent weight gain.
Finally, the word anorexia remains formed with the Greek prefix “αν- ” (an-, ‘lack of’, ‘absence of’ and that indicates negation) and the term “όρεξη ” (forex, ‘appetite’, ‘desire’ ) and that can remain translated as ‘lack of appetite’.
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Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa (abbreviation AN) is the name of a disease characterized by self-induced weight loss (vomiting, use of laxative products, diuretics, etc.) caused by a distortion of the patient’s body image, as explained previously.
Sexual Anorexia
It is also known as ‘anaphrodisia’, ‘inhibited sexual desire’ or ‘hypoactive sexual desire’.It supposes the alteration of the stage of desire before sexual arousal in a generic way. It can be primary or secondary (caused by another underlying problem). Some of the causes of temporary loss of sexual desire can be, for example, problems in the relationship. Work stress or sexual issues such as anorgasmia, vaginismus, dyspareunia, premature ejaculation or erectile dysfunction.
Alcoholic Anorexia
Although, mAlcoholic anorexia remains suffered by people addicted to alcohol, and by abusing the drink, they lose their appetite to eat.
Anorexia And Bulimia
Similarly, bulimia are two types of eating-related illnesses that belong to the group of psychogenic eating disorders. And also, Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by compulsive ingestion of food, followed by a feeling of guilt that leads the person to induce vomiting, use laxatives or diuretics, practice physical exercises, among others, always with the aim of not gaining weight.
Causes Of Anorexia
Anorexia has an unknown cause, with several factors that can stimulate its development, such as:
- Accidents
- Failures
- Bad nutrition
- Genetic predisposition.
- Social pressure or imposition of beauty standards.
- Obsessive-compulsive complaint
Symptoms Of Anorexia
As well as, It can manifest itself in the person finished physical symptoms in the body or by observing certain attitudes and behaviours.
Physical Symptoms
- The appearance of peripheral oedema.
- Lower your blood pressure.
- Yellowing of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
- Significant or noticeable loss of weight.
- Pain and swelling in the abdominal area.
- Decrease in bone mass.
- Now the case of women, amenorrhea or absence of three consecutive menstrual cycles.
- Dehydration of the skin
- Brittleness of the nails.
- Hair loss and the appearance of fine and long hair in some areas of the body.
- Dental problems
- Reduction of heart rate and arrhythmias.
- Growth speed reduction.
- Constant feeling of cold.
Behavioral Symptoms
It also manifests itself behaviorally in patients. Some of these symptoms are:
- Obsession for image, weight and physical exercise.
- Misperception and distorted perception of one’s own body (concerning its volume, weight and appearance).
- Reduction of food.
- Refusal to maintain or exceed a reasonable body weight.
- Emotional or personality disorders.
- Vomiting
Treatment Of Anorexia
First, it starts with a feedback treatment, which generally causes digestive discomfort. Then, psychological treatment begins to eliminate the erroneous perception of the patient’s own physical image and improve their self-esteem. At this point of the treatment, the active participation of their family members is essential, being important in the prompt recovery of the individual.
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