Eating Disorder Help

Poll

	|   |

Author:
Robert Sanders

What Is Anorexia?

Anorexia is the decreased sense of appetite. It is frequently referred to with one of its subtypes, which is anorexia nervosa. There are many possible causes for a decreased appetite, some of which may be harmless while others pose significant risk for the person.

Common disorders that cause anorexia include dementia, severe depression, anorexia nervosa, dementia and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Some medications, antidepressants for example, can have anorexia as a side effect.

First of all it is necessary to know why you eat so little and have chosen to starve. Think about how you feel nowadays and how you would feel if you ate more. You will then notice that starvation gives you a feeling of security concerning yourself and you are afraid that eating more would take this away and you would become anxious and worried.

Compulsive eating and vomiting is used in the same way by some people. In psychology this is called using starvation as a defence mechanism i.e. you defend yourself against your internal worries by starvation. Starvation fills a similar function for you as alcohol does for the alcoholic and drugs for the drug addict. These are substances which reduce anxiety and create a false feeling of contentment.

By using starvation to repress unpleasant feelings you hinder yourself from acting on your internal needs and constructively understanding and learning to manage your problems. Psychotherapy helps us to be open for our internal thoughts and sensitive to all feelings in our inner world. Psychotherapy has a greater chance of success if you stop suppressing your feelings by starvation.

Starvation and underweight can also cause you to function badly in other areas such as work an family life.

If you terminate the starvation you will be compelled to deal with your feelings in a constructive way. You will discover that it is possible to understand and manage feeings and that there are better methods of management than suppression by starvation.

Article by Robert Sanders of http://www.anorexia-information-zone.com (The Information Resource For Anorexia)

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Eating Disorders... Eating Disorders - Bulimia Nervosa Effects In this second article on Bulimia Nervosa we're going to go over the effects the disease can have on the body and how to treat it. Bulimia nervosa can have devastating effects on a person's body if the disease goes unchecked for a long period of time. The most serious of these is electrolyte imbalances which are caused by the constant bingeing and purging. These imbalances can lead to irregular heartbeat. If the problem goes on long enough this can lead to heart failure and death. The actual cause of the electrolyte imbalance is because of loss of potassium and sodium from the body and dehydration because of the constant purging. Another serious problem is caused by the frequent vomiting. That problem is inflammation of the esophagus, which at best can cause difficulty in breathing and at worst possible rupture. Another problem people with Bulimia Nervosa suffer from, while maybe not as serious as the ones mentioned already, is tooth decay from the frequent vomiting. This decay can eventually lead to tooth loss. While that may not sound all that terrible, it has been shown in studies that people who have their own teeth live longer than people who wear dentures. So this is something to be concerned about. Because of the constant laxative use a person suffering from this disease will eventually have infrequent and irregular bowel movements and most likely end up suffering from chronic constipation. This can cause more serious problems down the road if this condition persists for any length of time. And finally there is the possibility of gastric rupture because of the binge eating. This particular problem is very rare, even in the worst cases of Bulimia Nervosa, but nevertheless the possibility still exists, especially if the disease goes untreated for...