Nervosa Anorexia

A sneaky mental desease

It is unlikely that you have not heard of nervosa anorexia. You may not know what it means and most people associate it with movie stars, popular models, singers and other celebrities.
In reality, however, anorexia doesn't only exist in the world of celebrities but it can be found everywhere, even at our own home.

What is anorexia? 

The nervosa anorexia is a disease not caused by any virus or bacterium itself but by the human mind! 

There are 2 types of anorexia. In the first type the victim deters from eating (Nervosa Anorexia Type) while in the second one the victim eats excessively and shortly after vomits the food he just ate (Anorexia-Boulimia type).

The victims of anorexia suffer from an intense fear of gaining additional weight. As a result they limit the food they eat.

It happens often in women and young girls*, who consider themselves fat, either in reality or not. They develop a deterrence to eat and they constantly train with the expectation to reach the "ideal weight".They do not stop when they reach their ideal weight. They conversely continue the diet until they reach the point of eating an apple a day or even absolutely nothing. The victims are likely to starve to death while feeling that they are still fat. 

*The nervosa anorexia can occur at any age, but is more common in teens between 13 and 20 years (92% of the victims are women and only 8% are men).

Signs of Anorexia

1. Weight loss (more than 10% of original) associated with a strong desire to deter from eating.

2. Incorrect estimation (distortion) for weight and body shape to such an extent that the victim can see the 'fat' even when the body is boned.

3. The average patient constantly discusses about weight and food, avoids eating in public, is unsocial, has sudden mood changes and suffers from depresion.

Does a cure to anorexia exist? 

Nervosa anorexia treatment tries to address three main areas.
1) Restoring the person to a healthy weight.
2) Treating the psychological disorders related to the illness.
3) Reducing or eliminating behaviors or thoughts that originally led to the disordered eating. 

Drug treatments, such as SSRI or other antidepressant medication, have not been found to be generally effective for either treating anorexia, or preventing relapse although it has also been noted that there is a lack of adequate research in this area.
Family based treatment has also been found to be an effective treatment for adolescents with short term anorexia. At 4 to 5 year follow up one study shows full recovery rate of 60 - 90% with 10-15% remaining seriously ill. This compares favorably to other treatments such as inpatient care where full recovery rates vary between 33-55%.