Anorexia: signs and psychological causes of the disease

Ideals often imposed by society force people to make attempts to approach them, sometimes mistakenly choosing extreme methods of achieving goals, neglecting their physical and psychological health. After the thin beauty Twiggy in the 70s became the first model to have such a graceful complexion, the fashion for thinness has taken a strong position around the world and after so many years, young girls try their best to look like "Reed". But such an obsession with losing weight often ends in a disease called anorexia, which deals a devastating blow to both health and the psyche, and sometimes even ends in the death of an emaciated person. Read the article about the signs of anorexia and the psychological causes of this disease.

Signs of anorexia:

• Sudden weight loss for no particular reason.
• Concerns about appearance, clothing size, weight.
• Constant monitoring of weight (weighing several times a day), the quantity and quality of food intake (calorie counting).
• Use of various diet pills, laxatives, diuretics, appetite suppressants.
• Inducing vomiting after eating or going to the toilet immediately after eating. Constant dissatisfaction with your figure and denial of your thinness, the illusion of fullness.
• Secrecy, frequent affects (anger, rage, tears) and avoidance of social contact.

Of course, one of the main reasons for the development of anorexia is the pressing modern ideals of a woman's beauty. And for an unformed personality, it becomes a goal to focus on the slender figures of models, actresses and other socialites. This is the main social reason.

Psychological reasons may differ depending on the individual personality and the characteristics of relationships within the family.

Main psychological causes of anorexia:

• Perfectionism - the desire for ideality and perfection in everything: in this regard, it is impossible to stop without reaching the ideal body, and there is no way to appreciate the real charms of your figure (this is the conflict of perfectionism);
• low self-esteem, feeling worthless and worthless: controlling food intake and maintaining hunger (although often patients really stop feeling hungry), create the illusion of significance and power (“At least for something I able");
• family history of eating disorders – heredity. For example, mom and dad are obese, then the girl decides not to be like them, but falls into the same system of eating disorders but on the other side; an overprotective way of being raised in a family where the only way to separate from control and become an adult is the girl's choice of how and when to eat;
• hypoprotective way of education, when anorexia can be a cry for help, a request for love and attention;
• sexual violence or the unconscious fear of the latter, when a girl decides how to stop in her physical development of a woman so as not to provoke sexual interest in herself.

Interestingly, women suffer from anorexia, while men make up only 0.5% of patients suffering from this disease. This fact can be explained by different approaches to solving the issue of weight, as well as by different social requirements for the beauty of a man and a woman.

So, if the ideal of a woman in our society is a slender figure, narrow shoulders and hips, then the ideal of the stronger sex still remains broad-shouldered, strong and courageous men. Secondly, even if a man is overweight, he is more likely to exercise and increase physical activity, and a woman is more likely to go on a diet without bothering to exercise.

What to do if you notice signs of anorexia in your daughter, girlfriend or loved one? Of course, it is worth sending her to a psychologist and a dietitian. But it will be very difficult, because anorexics do not admit their problems.

Here are some tips on how to deal with those suffering from this eating disorder:

• Such a person is in dire need of support and acceptance. Therefore, try to create a trusting relationship, talk and listen more, while not judging or judging, but just listening.
• Don't yell, threaten or force you to eat, it will only alienate you.
• Become an example of respect for yourself, for your body, for your appearance. Do not criticize your own or other people's figure flaws.
• If a girl has lost 15% of her normal weight, urgent hospitalization is required!
• The treatment of anorexia is long (about 5 years) and should be comprehensive (doctors, psychologist and nutritionist), include restoring a healthy weight, returning to good nutrition and changing ideas about yourself and the world around you.

Be beautiful and healthy!