Eating Disorders: Anorexia

It has been stated that nearly half of both Ameri bottom of the innings personally get it on some unitary with an eating disorder. This paper will put down the danger and effects of Anorexia Nervosa. A study by the National acquaintance of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that ten percent of anorexics die within ten eld after contracting the disease. Anorexia has quaternary primary symptoms Resistance to maintaining consistency clog at or above a minimally normal cant for age and extremum. Intense idolise of metric cant unit gain or universe fat, even though under burden.Disturbance in the experience of body encumbrance or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight, loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty. Eighteen to twenty percent of anorexics will be deceased after twenty years and just now forty percent for of all time full recover. Treatment of an eating dis order in the US ranges from % five hundred per day to nigh $2,00 per day. The fair cost for a month of con treatment s near $30,00. It is estimated that individuals with eating disorders need anywhere from terce o six months of inpatient cargon.Health insurance companies for several reasons do not typically cover the cost of treating eating disorders. Do you ever think that right now, one percent of all women atomic number 18 sharp-set themselves, some literally starving and exercising themselves to death? Eating disorders are meet an epidemic they are confusing, complex diseases that many an(prenominal) stack know little well-nigh. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that possesss people to obsess about their weight and the food they eat. To prevent weight gain or to continue losing weight, people with anorexia nervosa may starve themselves or exercise excessively.Anorexia Nervosa is described as one of the least understood and most intractable of all mental illnesses (Schindehette, Sandler, Nelson and Seaman, 2003, p. 136). many a(prenominal) of the victims of this disease will battle it for the rest of their lives. However, if Anorexia Nervosa is diagnosed early, during the teen years, it is possible to recover it with appropriate treatment (Cooper, 2001). Over time, the weight loss becomes a reduce of mastery and control. The drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control and/or fears relating to ones body.Therefore, women struggling with Anorexia Nervosa need effectual treatment, and after four decades of research, there is an increasing number of treatment options ranging from counseling, to nutritionary therapy, to practice of medicine. Yet, some researchers and victims let off advocate that there is a need for further research in this area (Kaplan, 2002 Hendricks, 2003). In order to formally diagnose an individual with Anorexia nervosa, clinicians bring out to the fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Associations symptomatic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, 1994).The DMS-IV lists four criteria that an individual must witness in order to be diagnosed as anorexic, primarily A. The individual maintains a body weight that is about 15% below normal for age, height and body type. B. The individual has an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they are underweight. Paradoxically losing weight can line the fear of gaining even worse. C. The individual has a distorted body image. whatsoever may feel fat all over, another(prenominal)s recognize that they are generally thin but see specific body parts as being too fat.Their self worth is base on their body size and shape. They deny that their low body weight is serious cause for concern. D. In women, there is an absence of at least three neat menstrual cycles. A woman also meets these criteria if her period occurs only mend she is taking a hormone pill (Orstoff, M & Hall, L. 1999). Recognizi ng symptoms, such as strict dieting, weight loss, binge eating or fasting, feeling dizzy, weak, and/or depressed, in addition to insomnia family members should seek out the advice of a health circumspection provider.The health care provider will take a fare medical history as well as do a physical examination (Cooper, 2001). After this process is complete, then the doctor can begin treating the patient with Anorexia Nervosa, which may include referrals to specialists in counseling, nutrition and other medical fields. One traditional forms of treatment is counseling, the goal of psychotherapy is to realise with the patient so that through therapy she or he will be able to control eating and maintain body weight. There are two primary types of psychotherapy, and they are individual therapy and family therapy.Individual therapy counsels one on one with the patient. Sometimes there is a team of medical specialists, withal the therapy sessions are between the patient and her doctor(s) . This type of therapy has mixed results. According to an denomination in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent psychopathology (1999), individual therapy is superior when used in treating of age(p) adolescents and those who have late-onset Anorexia Nervosa (Robin et al. ), and a 2003 publication in The American Journal of psychiatry concurs with this finding (Pike, Walsh, Vitousek, Wilson and Bauer).However, both articles findings state that individual therapy is not the top hat treatment for young adolescents or those with early-onset Anorexia Nervosa. While individual therapy does not work well with young adolescents or patients with early-onset Anorexia, family therapy seems to have made significant strides in treating this group of patients. In position the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry stated, without the involvement of the parents and family as therapeutic allies, weight gain is extremely difficult to achieve (Geist, Heinmaa, Stephens, Davis and K atzman, 2000).Family therapy may not only employ the assistance of parents and other family members, it can also call on schools and friends as part of the treatment strategy. One such strategy is a program called the Maudsley Method. This radically new treatment option was developed in the 1980s at the get of Psychiatry and Maudsley Hospital in London. This method coaches parents to help their kids gain weight by whatever means requirementby preparing their favorite foods, with 24-hour monitoring to prevent purging and hours of cajoling at the dinner party table (Schindehette, Sandler, Nelson and Seaman, 2003, p. 36). Many studies report significantly greater success with family based therapy. People magazine (2003) reports that while the mortality rank for AN still average around 5 to 20 percent, the Maudsley Method is reporting success rates as high as 90 percent five years after treatment was initially sought. Other studies agree that family therapy is one of the best treatm ents for young adolescents and those with early-onset AN (Robin et al. , 1999 Geist, Heinmaa, Stephens, Davis and Katzman, 2000).While individual and family therapy two of the more traditional methods of treating Anorexia Nervosa, nutritional therapy, which is called psychoeducational therapy, is also commonly used. The aim of psychoeducation is the process of giving information about the nature of the disease in hopes to cultivate behavioral and attitudinal changes in the patient. Furthermore, a study has reported that family based psychoeducation produces the same results as family therapy while be less (Geist, Heinmaa, Stephens, Davis and Katzman, 2000).However, these results may not be replicated with a group of older adolescents (Pike, Walsh, Vitousek, Wilson and Bauer, 2003). Medication Medication is another method used to treat AN. utilize medication, pharmacological therapy, to treat AN also has some promising results. According to European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , recent evidence suggests a role for medication in the relapse prevention stage of the illness (Kotler and Walsh, 2000). Medication is commonly used along with another form of treatment, as are many of the treatments, too. This is referred to as a multidisciplinary approach.Pharmacological therapy uses medicines that help the patient reduce the fear of becoming fat, depression and anxiety as well as weight gain (Cooper, 2001). While each of these treatments reports success in various groups or when combined with other treatments, there are still individuals who do not feel that the treatments are effective. One such person is Jennifer Hendricks who authored Slim to None, which is a book that chronicles her daily struggle with AN. Many times throughout the text Hendricks stated that she did not feel that the treatments she was receiving were of any benefit.Christopher Athas, President of the American Institute of Anorexia Nervosa, stated in the foreword of Slim to None, There is a flagrant inadequacy of the mental health system to treat and fully recognize this disease (2003, p. ix). Eventually Jennifer lost her battle and died. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry also states that there is a significant need to find effective management that truly impacts on long-term outcome (Kaplan, 2002, p. 236). Anorexia is not about feeling thin, proud or beautiful take the time to see to an anorexic and hear that they are feeling fat, unattractive and inadequate.