Many people are experiencing a disturbance in their body weights based on self-valuation. The scenarios are common in people of different ages and genders across communities. Such individuals have complex relationship with food, body image, and eating. The conditions are a result of severe physical and mental health that either lowers or increases the urge to consume foodstuff. In the current generation, there are a number of factors that contribute intensively to the eating disorder. Some of the aspects include social media influence, emotional instability, culture, families, and friends. The situations cause different types of illnesses that affect the health status of victims. The most common eating disease is Anorexia Nervosa which affects women mostly than men (Hurel et al., 2019). The sickness develops during adolescence, and the victims tend to view themselves as overweight, thus prompting them to have some specific behaviors directed towards controlling the situation. Proper understanding of eating behavior is essential in enabling an individual to identify the possibility of having the disease.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa occurs mainly during young adulthood, and it is associated with some behaviors that victims exhibit as a measure of controlling it. Generally, individuals having the condition consider themselves overweight even when they are slim (Harrop et al., 2021). Such people constantly keep checking their body weight; they avoid consuming food products rich in calories and also evade consuming some types of meals. The main focus of the conduct is to help them facilitate the burning of excess fat, which they presume to have irrespective of whether they are underweight.
Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa Eating Disorder
The most common and early sign of the disorder is reduced eating. The patients tend to avoid consuming the expected quantity of meals, fearing their body looks will deteriorate if they eat more food. The individuals believe that having fewer meals would make them look perfect. Similarly, they are extremely terrified of gaining weight, therefore, they challenge themselves by engaging in behaviors that enable them to keep the desired body size and shape.
In addition, the patients do not have enough sleep at night. They experience dizziness and can easily faint if they stand for a long duration. The arms and legs also tend to swell, and they miss their periods. Some patients may also have their hair falling and an increased rate of dehydration. These symptoms are clear indicators that the person is suffering from the disorder; thus, immediate attention is required to avoid excessive starvation that can cause death.
The disorder has some significant warning signs that can alert a person about the possibility of suffering from the condition. They include the refusal to consume a whole category of food products such as carbohydrates or fatty meals (Melles et al., 2021). Constantly complain about being fat and adherence to challenging workouts. More worries about the meals and diets and sometimes pretending to be full in order to avoid eating. These behaviors are clear indicators of having the disorder; hence the person should take appropriate measures.
Cause of Anorexia Nervosa
The exact cause of Anorexia Nervosa is still not known amongst the doctors. However, its linked to biological, which involves genes of the individuals. It is believed some genetic composition can make a person perseveres in an extreme condition, such as avoiding eating to be perfect. Similarly, another cause is related to the psychological setup that allows them to maintain and strict themselves to a given diet that meets their needs. Lastly, media influence plays a vital role in making people imitate celebrities they interact with through online platforms. Such persons go the extra mile to copy the body shape displayed by their favorite socialites.
Medication Name
Medication can be used to manage most of the common symptoms of an eating disorder. The aim is to help manage the condition’s behavioral signs, psychological, and related medical aspects. There are different treatments that patients suffering from the syndrome can be given. During medication, weight is given to the issues of malnutrition. In most cases, Prozac is used to help in the restoration of healthy weight and lowering the depressive status of the patient. The medicine is part of the antidepressant falling in the SSRI family (Ghaderi et al., 2018). It assists the body in raising the level of serotonin which improves the moods of the person.
Based on the medication, the symptoms treated are psychological behaviors that can lead to mental health problems. The medical induce anti-anxiety, thus allowing the body to have improved moods. This will enable patients to reduce pressure and abnormal stress that can easily affect their brain function. Therefore, the treatment is vital since it allows sick individuals to overcome fears that result from food consumption.
Anorexia Nervosa is curable; however, it takes time for the patient to recover fully from the effects. In most cases, the treatment involves behavioral management through therapy to reduce the bad conducts that can promote it. The practice is only advisable if the condition is still in the early stages. In cases of severe infections, the patient is subjected to involuntary admission to receive necessary medication in hospitals. After receiving an adequate level of medication, the sick person can become healthy and resume good eating patterns. However, the victims of the disorder are more likely to experience the illness. The ease of relapse makes the condition a challenge to most people.
Interesting Facts
The most interesting fact I have discovered is that the treatment of the eating disorder using antidepressants is not appropriate for young adults below the age of 18 years. The medication has more risks than benefits; thus, they are not supposed to be used to manage the condition in such a group of people. The drug is further linked to high chances of suicide if used to treat depressive disorders. The discovery is essential because it allows individuals to understand the age bracket that can use the medicines without suffering some unknown consequences. The facts were released by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Resources for Anorexia Nervosa Eating Disorder
There are various non-profit organizations that are advocating about the eating disorder to make people aware of the condition. They include Academic for Eating Disorders (AED), which involves research activities, prevention, and treatment of the disease. It also offers training and education to enhance the understanding of the issues about the disorder. The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) is responsible for sensitizing the public and promoting the recognition of Anorexia Nervosa as a health priority (Rodgers et al., 2018). International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP) provides training and quality education to professionals that treat all aspects of eating syndrome. Australian Society on Eating Disorders (ASD) is an international body that aims to expand understanding of the problem of eating diseases caused by prejudices against somebody’s weight and obsession with thinness.
Community Resources
Eating Disorder Foundation of Orange County (FOC), the body is responsible for educating the community about eating syndrome. EDFOC uses some of the latest and most reliable information to facilitate the eradication of the conditions amongst the children and adults in the region. It offers early intervention to ensure individuals do not suffer from the severe impacts of the condition. They issue accurate details that make people take appropriate measures towards preventing the syndrome.
In summary, eating disorder is increasingly becoming a public health concern. The conditions are caused by a number of factors such as genes, emotions, culture, and media influence. They appear in different forms, with the most common being Anorexia Nervosa. The conditions prompt emotional and psychological behaviors that enable patients to maintain their health. They have other treatment procedures ranging from therapy to use the use of antidepressants such as Prozac. There are various resources, websites, and community organizations formed to help in creating awareness through education and training.
References
Ghaderi, A., Odeberg, J., Gustafsson, S., RÃ¥stam, M., Brolund, A., Pettersson, A., & Parling, T. (2018). Psychological, pharmacological, and combined treatments for binge eating disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PeerJ, 6, e5113. Web.
Harrop, E. N., Mensinger, J. L., Moore, M., & Lindhorst, T. (2021). Restrictive eating disorders in higher weight persons: A systematic review of atypical anorexia nervosa prevalence and consecutive admission literature. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(8), 1328-1357. Web.
Hurel, I., Redon, B., Scocard, A., Malezieux, M., Marsicano, G., & Chaouloff, F. (2019). Beyond the activity-based anorexia model: Reinforcing values of exercise and feeding examined in stressed adolescent male and female mice. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 10, 587. Web.
Melles, H., Spix, M., & Jansen, A. (2021). Avoidance in Anorexia Nervosa: Towards a research agenda. Physiology & Behavior, 238, 113478. Web.
Rodgers, R. F., Berry, R., & Franko, D. L. (2018). Eating disorders in ethnic minorities: An update. Current Psychiatry Reports, 20(10), 1-11. Web.