Anorexia in a teenager: how to protect your child

Анорексия у подростка: чем опасна и как защитить своего ребенка

Adolescent anorexia refers to a mental illness that causes both physical and psychological changes. Gradually, the sick person refuses & nbsp; food and & nbsp; begins to experience fear of it. Particularly severe cases are difficult to treat. Anorexia does not pass without a trace, metabolism worsens, and the gastrointestinal tract stops working normally. If the child is not helped in time, it can lead to death. The insidiousness of the disease is that its onset is easy to miss, but the treatment will take time, good specialists and parental love.

Anorexia in teenagers: how to recognize an eating problem
What can cause anorexia in teenagers and young adults
It's Time to Worry: The First Signs Your Child May Be Anorexic
Anorexia in adolescents: how to treat and prevent this disorder
What is important in the treatment of anorexia
How to prevent anorexia in a teenager

Anorexia in teenagers: how to recognize an eating problem

The modern cult of thinness most endangers teenage girls and young girls. In order to meet the standard of model appearance, they begin to lose weight and cannot stop, they play sports fanatically and critically examine themselves in the mirror.

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Most cases of anorexia occur at age 12-20 years. Adolescents experience hormonal changes in the body, they are especially sensitive to criticism and subject to mood swings.

But not only fashion for slimness causes food addiction. Anorexia in adolescents combines several causes that are closely related. The most important thing to know about anorexia — it that it belongs to emotional type of addictions, when a person lacks any emotion and tries to fill it with something.

Read also: Child has poor appetite: leave it alone or run to doctor

Therefore, it is impossible for an anorexic patient to simply feed and everything will work out. To treat this eating disorder, a set of measures will be needed, which will be aimed at restoring normal physical form and psychological state.

What can cause anorexia in adolescents and young adults

Low self-esteem. Due to improvement” With his appearance, the child expects to love himself and to achieve recognition from the surroundings.
Family problems. Bad relationships with parents or one of parents, family conflicts, physical and psychological abuse of the child leads to the fact that he feels helpless and powerless. Refusal food — it is a kind of zone of control, and also a desire to become so invisible that you are not touched. On the other hand, anorexia can be driven by the coldness of parents, their lack of emotion in relation to the child. Then an eating disorder will be a way to draw attention to yourself.
Parental overprotection. When parents decide everything for a child, don't teach him/her to resist life situations, he becomes helpless in the face of difficulties. This is usually combined with low self-esteem and feelings of self-doubt.
Mom's poor eating habits. If mom is on a diet all the time, dissatisfied with her body, criticizes overweight people, then she pushes her daughter to wrong perception of her body. The mother herself may not suffer from anorexia, but usually the daughters in this matter are ahead of them.
Force-feeding in childhood. In this case, the child does not learn to understand when he has eaten and his needs. At first, this can lead to overeating, and then to strong desire to get rid of what eaten.
Child's Environment. If a child with low self-esteem gets into company where thinness is idealized, then he will tend to imitate his friends. Adolescence — this is the age of displacement of authorities. For teenagers, what their peers think is much more important than the opinion of their parents.
Some sports. For example, rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, dancing, where coaches place great importance on weight. When a child gains weight, he/nbsp;may experience excessive pressure from teachers.

For the average person, food — it is a pleasant and necessary need. For people with eating disorders — source of evil and & nbsp; trouble. In the chase ideal body, teenage girls first limit themselves in food, constantly monitor weight, throw away food so that their parents won know anything. Gradually, they bring themselves to the state of skin-covered bones. Many in a half-starved state torture themselves with increased workouts and taking laxatives in order to lose even more weight.

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As a result, the girls feel more and more weak. Their blood pressure drops, arrhythmia appears, the menstrual cycle, the work of the gastrointestinal tract and the water-salt balance are disturbed, hair falls out, teeth and nails deteriorate.

Patients with anorexia often have suicidal thoughts, depression develops or worsens, and memory suffers. The child becomes angry, aggressive, nervous and closed.

It is worth remembering that teenagers are very vulnerable. They cannot control their disrupted behavior and even admit to themselves that there is a problem. Especially to solve it yourself. Therefore, it is important for parents to sound the alarm in time.

But few mothers and dads pay attention to the very first signs of the onset of the disease. It may seem that the child is simply passionate about sports and proper nutrition. In turn, the girls diligently hide from their parents that they are on a strict diet.

A clear sign of anorexia in teenagers — weight loss, dystrophy. But & nbsp; this means that the disease is gaining momentum and & nbsp; urgent intervention of specialists is needed. Before the exacerbation of the disease, a number of signs can indicate its onset.

It's time to worry: the first signs that a child may suffer from anorexia

Refusing family meals. Any excuses goes in from ate a girlfriend's to sick stomach. When you meal with your parents, it's harder to hide the fact that you eat nothing. In addition, girls can cause bulimia to themselves, which they also prefer to hide from others.
Child exhibits increased anxiety, constantly insecure and concerned about his weight.
Girls can become fanatically addicted to proper nutrition, fitness and counting every calorie.This can turn into an obsessive form when rejecting on cereal, sweet fatty, but and ;dairy, cereals, fruits, vegetables.
The child constantly talks about appearance, criticizes fullness. With a normal body weight, he wants to lose weight.
The child has lost a lot of weight and wants to lose even more weight.He can not talk about it directly, fearing criticism.
There may be general weakness, lethargy, drowsiness. Or the child is elated and unusually active.
Taking laxatives, diuretics and inducing vomiting after meals (bulimia).
Unstable emotional background: mood swings, outbursts of aggression and anger, alienation.
Desire to aloneness, unwillingness to friend friends.

Anorexia in adolescents: how to treat and prevent this disorder

The sooner you seek help, the more successful the treatment of anorexia will be. During illness, the child's body is threatened with complete exhaustion. This can lead to serious health complications.

In the treatment of anorexia, an individual approach is needed, which will depend on the degree of the disease. In rare cases, the family can manage on their own. Usually, the help of a psychotherapist, treatment in a clinic, support from relatives and the desire of the patient to recover are usually required. Treatment will focus on returning weight to normality and solving the psychological problems that led anorexia.

Read also: Raising Teenagers: 10 Rules for Wise Parents

What is important in the treatment of anorexia

Parental love and patience. Criticism and judgment will make the child feel even worse.
Don't force your child to eat, shame and give ultimatums.
It is important that the child has a person whom he can trust. It can be a relative, a psychologist, someone who has already been ill with anorexia.
Help your child in self-realization. It can be any kind of creativity, a new profession, hobby.
It is worth showing your child that life is beautiful and worth living to the fullest
Anorexia is insidious and often brought to attention when a child needs to be rescued urgently. Experts note that this is a long and difficult process. The disease does not pass without a trace and it relapses are possible.

How to prevent the development of anorexia in a teenager

Maintain a trusting relationship with the child, be interested in his life and problems.

Tell that beauty comes in many forms. What the media broadcast — it's just a trend to make money from
You can't criticize a child's appearance, make remarks about his weight, compare with someone.
In families need to maintain warm relationships and help each other.
It's best if parents follow a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, but without fanaticism. Family meals will serve as an excellent prevention.
Maintain the child's normal self-esteem, individuality and respect for the child's personality. Any kind of violence is unacceptable.
Create a situation of success, criticize less and help to reveal his talents.
If a child is overweight and he wants to lose it, you should don't brush it off and let everything take its course. Offer your help, make a menu together, choose a type of physical activity. If necessary, consult an endocrinologist and nutritionist.
Give up total control and policy of distrust of teenagers. This provokes children to close even more and move away from you. Overprotective parents are usually the latest to know about all problems.
Don't criticize yourself and your appearance. For girls, mom — pattern for behavior. Love yourself and your body and teach your daughter to accept her appearance.
Teach your child to deal with emotions and problems without the help of food.
Don't force your child to eat, eat up to the last crumb, don blackmail with food. From a very young age, children should learn to recognize when they are hungry and when they are full.
Involve the kids in cooking, discover the nuances of tastes and smells, share family recipes.
In the outside world, children have a lot of temptations that can harm them. Even loving parents cannot protect from everything. But still a warm family atmosphere, the opportunity to come to parents with any problem helps children cope with difficulties and find their own way.