Understanding Anorexia, not penalising it
View(s):By Randima Attygalle
Do you feel ‘fat and bloating’? Are you terrified of gaining weight? Do you lie about how much you eat or hide your eating habits from others? Do you diet, compulsively exercise, or purge when you’re feeling overwhelmed or bad about yourself? Do you feel powerful or in control when you go without food, over-exercise or purge? Do you base your self-worth on your weight or body size? If it’s a ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you could be anorexic.
Chrishara Paranawithana
Unlike in healthy dieting where a person is attempting to control weight in a healthy way, anorexia can result as a survival mechanism to help a person cope and regain control of life and emotions. While a person on a healthy diet will aspire to improve health and appearance, an anorexic will view weight loss as a ticket to achieve happiness and control in life. “In case of Anorexia nervosa, a person habours irrational or extreme fear about weight gain, so much so, those around could identify a distorted image in that person. The self image is so distorted that despite being unnaturally thin, anorexics may see themselves in the mirror as extremely fat. However there are no simple answers to the causes of the disorder,” explains Clinical Psychologist, Chrishara Paranawithana.
Although widely known to be a ‘serious eating disorder’ which could affect men and women of all ages, anorexia is more common in women and is a complex condition that arises from a combination of many social, emotional and biological factors. While the idealization of thinness or ‘the thinness culture’ may play a big role in the disorder, several other issues including the family environment, emotional difficulties, low self-esteem and traumatic experiences a person may have gone through in the past, could be contributing factors, notes Ms. Paranawithana. “In case of anorexia, there is an attempt to cope with an underlying psychological issue and anorexics use their bodies as a vehicle to achieve this.”
In anorexia, the weight loss leads to maintenance of body weight less than 85% less than what is expected. Apart from emotional factors such as low self-esteem and traumatic experiences in the past, other coexisting factors including mental disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorder or depression can cause anorexia. Body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, family history of eating disorders and difficulty in expressing feelings are other contributory factors. Research has also revealed that children of severely controlling mothers are at a higher risk of developing anorexia.
Anorexia is of two types as the psychologist explains. “In the restricting type of anorexia, weight loss is achieved by restricting calories (following drastic diets, fasting, and exercising to excess). In the purging type of anorexia, weight loss is achieved by vomiting or using laxatives and diuretics.” Anorexics are extremely preoccupied with searching for diets with no carbs or sugar, so much so they would fear eating out with family and friends and tend to avoid social gatherings.
Seeking collaborative professional help is vital in treating anorexia which otherwise could cause adverse health issues, warns the psychologist. These include heart problems, acid reflux, brain damage, low blood pressure and in extreme cases, even death. “Once an eating disorder takes hold, it can start a cycle of unhealthy behaviour which makes it even more important to seek treatment as soon as possible. With the help and support of trained professionals, or a residential treatment programme, the likelihood of successfully treating an eating disorder is significantly increased,” says Ms. Paranawithana who further notes that treatment is essentially a ‘team effort’ with the involvement of a physician to look into the health adverse outcomes, a psychologist to facilitate follow up psychotherapy and counselling and a nutritionist to address dietary and health food habits and ensure that these healthy eating patterns are sustained.
Recovery tips from the Clinical Psychologist
“Even though anorexia isn’t fundamentally about food, over time you’ve developed harmful food habits that can be tough to break. Part of the recovery is developing a healthier relationship with food. This entails getting back to a healthy weight, starting to eat more food and changing how you think about yourself and food.” Despite the fact that professional intervention is required to help someone with anorexia, only a very small percentage actually receives treatment, says Ms.Paranawithana who urges family and friends to be supportive. “They should be mindful that anorexia is often a symptom of extreme emotional distress and an attempt to manage such pain, hence compassion and support is what is required and not an authority figure standing over the table with a calorie counter,” she warns. Threats to eat, scare tactics, angry outbursts and put-downs should be avoided at all times, she says. “A better approach is to convince the person that you are ready to lend an ear without judgment, however much out of touch your loved one sounds.” | |