Anorexia Nervosa
What is it?
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterised by extreme restriction and desire to be thin. Like many other eating disorders, it is also accompanied with body dysmorphia: being obsessed and having extreme negative thoughts/feelings with a perceived flaw in physical appearance, that can't be seen by others.
Although the DSM (Diagnostics and Statistics Manual) criteria for anorexia states you have to be a low BMI, it doesn't mean that if someone is of a healthy weight they aren't struggling with this illness. There is another diagnosis: A-typical Anorexia. I have briefed over my annoyance with this term in another blog. A-typical Anorexia is the diagnosis you receive if you fit all the criteria for anorexia, a part from a low weight.
I believe we should be focusing on prevention rather than cure, and see the low weight as a result of Anorexia not symptom.
Symptoms:
Symptoms can vary in individuals, however there are some common ones to look out for.
• Extreme Weight Loss
• Intense Fear of Gaining Weight
• Binging and Purging (Anorexia Binge-Purge Sub-type)
• Fatigue
• Preoccupation with weight and body
• Body Dysmorphia
• Calorie-counting
• Avoiding Certain Foods/ Only Eating 'Safe Foods'
• Tracking Everything they Eat
Anorexia Nervosa can be hard to spot, but looking out for the symptoms above, as well as changes in behaviour, is the first step to recovery. These changes may look like: irritability, difficulty concentrating, and withdrawing from social situations.
Complications
Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate within eating disorders- however this does not diminish the seriousness of other EDs. No matter the diagnosis, restriction is restriction. And any ED behaviour is dangerous and can lead to serious health conditions or fatality.
A long period of restriction or losing weight too quickly can cause the body to go into 'starvation mode', where the body starts to break down muscle for energy. The immune system weakens, nutrient deficiencies occur and hormone production can be affected. The heart is a muscle, so when your body starts breaking muscle down instead of fat, it affects the heart too.
Your brain is also in the cross-fire. Pro-longed starvation can alter the structure of our brains, resulting in a reduction of brain volume. Particularly the parts responsible for emotional regulation and decision-making.
Overall, some physical symptoms may include dizziness, fainting, feeling cold all the time, lanugo (excessive production of fine hair to keep the body warm), hair loss/thinning and discolouration in the hands and feet.