Anorexia

=Anorexia- An eating disorder that involves self starvation, a distorted body image, and a low body weight. =

__3 Key features of Anorexia: __ __ -Refusal to maintain healthy body weight __ __ -Extreme fear of gaining weight __ __ -Distorted body image __

Signs and Symptoms: -Underweight -sleep distruption -leads to fatigue -attention and concentration decrease -obsessions and compulsions related to food, weight, or body shape -compliant in every aspect except for food -compulsions involve exercising, housework, or shopping

__Causes: __ __ -No specific cause for every person, most causes are a combination of biological, psychological, or sociocultural factors. __ __ -If someone in immediate family is struggling with an eating disorder, it is shown that odds increase that someone else in the family may develop it. __ __ -Genetic personality traits may increase risk __ __ -the chemical Serotonin is believed to trigger depression which leads some people to anorexia in a way to cope with that __ __ -People who battle OCD, low self esteem, or are extreme perfectionists have a higher risk of developing this disorder __ __ -Media can sway people to believing they need to be thin __ __ -Peer pressure often leads people to believe they are not thin enough __ __ -People often associate being thin with being happy and if they are unhappy they often turn to their weight and try to lose weight to become happy __

Public Perception: People who see someone with this disorder think they are extremely too thin and just need to eat more. People do not understand that this could be a persons way of coping with other serious problems going on in their life.

__Treatments: __ __ -outpatient or hospitalization __ __ -focus on corrections of malnutrition __ __ -feeding tubes if person refuses to eat __ __ -nutritionist will develop plan to help the person gain one to three pounds per week __ __ -therapy __ __ -treatment that addresses issues of control, perfection, and self perception __

Disorder is linked to Bulimia, which is another form of an eating disorder. Bulimia __



Bibliography: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm http://www.medicinenet.com/anorexia_nervosa/page5.htm http://www.sodahead.com/fun/what-do-you-think-about-anorexic-people/question-174607/ http://www.medicinenet.com/anorexia_nervosa/page3.htm