Health Hunch All you need to know to stay healthy

• Anorexia is a problem that affects countless kids today. If your child seems to suffer from an eating disorder, it is important for you do everything you can to be supportive and encouraging, and help your child to get rid of the problem.
• First, you need to understand anorexia.  When anorexia begins, your child will begin to eat less and less without a particular reason (expect to hear “I’m not hungry” a lot). She feels “fat” although she may even be underweight. It can cause hair loss, cramps, coldness, and general weakness or frailness.When you think someone is anorexic, it is a good idea to seek professional help as soon as possible. It is important to establish the anorexia as a solid fact – a dangerous disease that must be treated. Therapists will be able to work out the best way to help your child.Once you have established the person as an anorexic, you will have to change the way you interact with them. Since anorexia is as mentally ravaging as it is physically, you need to make an effort to re-establish the confidence and self-esteem of the victim. Don’t set goals for your child (i.e a target weight). Don’t focus on weight or appearance at all, but rather on health and well-being.
• You should always remember that the psychologist or therapist has a specific treatment plan laid out for your child. While you need to be central to the recovery of the child, you shouldn’t do anything that cancel out the actions of the therapist. So keep a clear line of communication open, and find out what you can do to add to the therapist’s work while helping your child regain a healthy lifestyle.

Before starting,let me first ask you a question.

Are you really concerned about curing your beloved ones from anorexia,but do not know what to do and where to go? I will therefore suggest not to lose hope. There are treatments available, but it becomes easier if the victim herself  searches for methods on how to cure anorexia. Most of the time, the individual having this eating disorder  denies that she is suffering from any ailment. The victims of anorexia are perpetually in a starving mode as they are obsessed with their body weight.The victims of anorexia look very thin,their skeleton may be showing through,but they think that they are putting on fat.The anorexic person has a massive fear of becoming fat and to avoid it, she may go to any extent. This could start from doing excessive exercise, dieting, or abusing laxatives. Their main aim is to avoid the intake of food. They cannot concentrate on anything else as most of their time is spent on thinking about how much they should eat or what it should be so as not to put on weight.

Psychotherapy or psychological counseling  combined with medical and nutritional support and guidance appears to be the most effective way of treating anorexia. The treatment  may vary from patient to patient depending on the severity of the disorder.Psychological counseling should address both the eating disorder symptoms as well as the underlying psychological, interpersonal and cultural forces that contributed to the eating disorder in the first place. The individual suffering from anorexia should be helped to learn how to live peacefully and healthily with themselves and food.Therefore, most of  the time, family therapy play a vital role. The immediate family members, spouse or the parent can help the individual suffering from this eating disorder, see that their body shape and weight are perfectly normal and they are valued for what they are. And that they need not lose weight dangerously to garner respect or loved from their near ones.Care should be provided and requires a proper coordination with a professional who has expertise and experience in dealing with eating disorders. An adequate monitoring is a must by the trained professionals for an effective treatment of anorexia, as victims of this eating disorder are subjected to various physical and medical concerns.

These are very simple steps to follow,yet very critical, and when followed sincerely can help the anorexia patients.

As I have already mentioned previously that the eating disorder anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder affecting many people,and many of them remain undetected, now I will tell you few facts about it,which all of us need to know.Early diagnosis and treatment increases recovery rates dramatically and knowing how to recognize signs and symptoms of anorexia assists all concerned to combat the condition effectively.

Facts about anorexia are:

*  Hispanic and Caucasian females show a greater prevalence of the disorder as compared to Asian and Black females. |

* Females between the age group 15 and 23 are more frequently affected by the disorder (alarming statistics show that a younger age group is emerging). Studies show that 1% of females from teenagers to early 20s develop anorexia nervosa,and as result of complications between 10% and 15% anorexia cases die . An estimated 4 people out of every 10 with anorexia will make a full recovery.

*  Anorexic patients weigh at least 15% below what is normal for their height (sometimes a higher percentage).

* Slower heart rates, lower blood pressure and body temperature as well as electrolyte imbalances are common among anorexics.

*Anorexics have a diet lacking in essential minerals and vitamins and as a result  may have hair growth which is soft and downy (called lanugo) on various body areas and arms.

* Menstrual irregularities may be found in women suffering from anorexia.

* Male anorexics are frequently misdiagnosed eventhough they do occur.

* Anorexia sufferers have fear of gaining weight and becoming fat and as a result restrict their diet a lot. Even when drastically thin these people see distorted self images in a mirror, usually seeing a heavy body.

* Tooth enamel erosion and increased cavities are quite frequent among these people.

* You may have kidney failure or kidney infections.

* Around fifty percent of these people may suffer from osteoporosis (bone thinning).

* Anorexics have shrinkage of stomach as a result of which they feel bloated even after taking a small meal.

* Anorexics often avoid social gatherings because of possibly having to face a situation where they must eat.

* Anorexics have a low body weight as a result they frequently display intolerance to cold temperature.

* Younger anorexics have  short stature as they may experience slow growth rate .

* Severe anorexia cases may require hospitalization.

* They may suffer from severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder for which medication may be required,thus giving rise to psychiatric complications.

* Proper and appropriate medical treatment that involves coordination among psychiatric professionals, physicians, family and friends plays a critical part in achieving successful recovery of people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa.Research suggests that genetics could play a part in the development of anorexia nervosa and that particular genetic components can make women or men more prone to use it to control stressful situations and to cope with the pressure of perfectionism.Psychiatric treatment helps a lot.

Hope this much information will help you.

Is it possible to cure?

The question is tough as the origin of the  disorder centers in the way a person thinks, much like drug and alcohol addiction, and we never fully remove the part of our brain that causes our addictive thoughts.What might happen is that a person,  suffering from anorexia, can identify the origins as to where the thoughts of warped self-body image began, and can work on the root causes for those thoughts.|The mind can be retrained in various ways to think, which can result in an alleviation of the disorder, but I would hesitate a bit to say that there is a way one can completely cure anorexia.

Even in today’s highly advanced technological times, there are no medications that one can take to relieve them of compulsive behaviors. There are no magic potions or any amounts of shock therapy that will rid someone of this disorder until they  choose  to do so.If the question were more along the lines of, can you cure anorexia for someone else? The answer would be a definite, no. But the fact that there is hope for the person with anorexia to stop their destructive behaviors is a ray of hope.The most cumbersome part about dealing with the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, is that when someone is engaged in the self-destructive behaviors of the disorder, they are often in complete denial of their behavior. Again, because this disorder has its origin in the mind, it is often very difficult for the sufferer to be shown the reality of their choices.More often than not, people with anorexia do not see themselves as thin, even if their skeleton is visible just below the skin. Because  this disorder originates, in the mind, the mind can play very powerful tricks on itself and can convince the sufferer that what they see in the mirror is not what is actually in their view. So, if you are trying to find a cure for anorexia for someone else, it will be nearly impossible to find one.But be hopeful , because if  the anorexic persons  are themselves searching for a cure, then there are definite places to go. It is best to always keep in mind that unless there is a total lobotomy and the sick thinking mind is removed, the part that makes the person think like an anorexic is still remains.

The anorexics can be cured, if the part of their mind which tells them to live like anorexics is shown a healthy way.

Eventhough  a lot of resources and information about eating disorders are available to teens, teachers and parents, this is still a critical issue that affects many  teens all over the globe, mainly the American teens.  Eating disorders usually develop between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, but children as young as eight years have developed it. Eating disorders are characterized by extremes in eating behaviors like someone takes a lot of food while another just avoids it,sometimes even upto starvation.                        Why does an individual develop eating disorder???. The reason for this is not clear, but, there are some Risk Factors which increase one’s chances of developing an eating disorder:                                                                                                          First of all, adolescence itself is a risk factor because of the significant changes that take place in one’s body during this time. It is very normal for  adolescent girls to gain body fat during puberty as a result they feel that they do not fit into the frame what a teenage girl is supposed to look like according to the media.

Secondly, teens also face a lot of emotional stress related to school pressure, peer pressure and a general sense of feeling very uncertain and out of control with all the changes they are experiencing. These individuals  will at times work to control their food ,that according to them help them feel in control.

The third risk factor, is an individual having puberty at a younger than average age. For them, the changes in their bodies can be even scarier because they are not seeing others change in the same way. They may limit their food intake to a very great extent in an effort to prevent their bodies from growing more.

The fourth one-   Many teenagers,particularly those involved in athletics, dancing, etc. have a greater chance of having the disorder, because they are often of the idea that the changes in their bodies will hamper their overall performance.

Fifth–Eating disorders can also develop in teens who belong to home where there is abuse, substance abuse or poor communication. Very often these teens will limit their food intake as a way of feeling more in control or they will turn to food for comfort which may result in binge eating.

Next to be at risk of developing eating disorders are the  teens living in homes where there is excessive pressure to succeed . It is completely acceptable for parents to push their children to work hard and have goals, however, whenever the push on the children by the parents is excessive and extreme, in can make the teen to feel out of control and  which results in their trying to gain some control through food.

Although ,whatever I have mentioned above  is not exhaustive still it does outline some of the risk factors which may make a teen more likely to develop an eating disorder.

Two eating disorders called  Anorexia Nervosa (“Anorexia”) and Bulimia Nervosa (“Bulimia”) are the most common. I am going to mention below some common characteristics of each:                                                                                Anorexia Nervosa: is characterized by individuals who are stuck up with the idea of  being thin. the individuals with this disorder have an extreme fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image. This means that, however thin they may be, they still view their body as being too big. Individuals with Anorexia have a very thin appearance. Restricting food, fasting, obsessively counting calories, exercising excessively, using diet pills or laxatives or vomiting after eating are some of the behaviors which may be commonly seen in these kind of individuals. Individuals with Anorexia do not eat enough to allow their body to function properly.

What are the health risks associated with Anorexianervosa?                                         A lot of  health risks are associated with not feeding the body enough food. These include:  Lowered blood pressure and pulse , brittle hair and nails ,lightheadedness or fainting ,swollen joints ,low temperature,loss of hair on the head ,depression ,lanugo (the growth of soft furry hair on the face, back and arms),  slow or stunted growth ,menstrual irregularities.                            Bulimia Nervosa: is characterized by individuals binge eating (eating a lot of food even when not hungry) and then purging or engaging in excessive exercise following binge eating. Individuals with Bulimia have a distorted body image and may actually appear to be of a healthy weight or even slightly overweight. To be diagnosed with this eating disorder,the individual must be binging and purging regularly. Many a  times these individuals will eat secretly as they are ashamed of their inability to control the amount they are eating.

What can be the health risks associated with Bulimia Nervosa?                                      There are many health risks associated with eating excessively and then purging. Some of these include:  1)Stomach pain  2)Permanent damage to the stomach and kidneys 3) Irregular menstrual cycles  4)Dehydration  5)Swollen face  6)Sore Throat  7)Dry, flaky skin  8) Electrolyte imbalance-Low potassium levels  9)Cardiac arrhythmias  10)Tooth decay  11)If gaining too much weight could develop diabetes or heart disease.

How can eating disorders be treated?                                                                                                As the health risks are great therefore professional help is necessary in case you believe your teen has an eating disorder. Successful treatment usually involves a coordination of work between a medical doctor, a therapist and a dietitian or nutritionist  to address the eating disorder. If a teen has anorexia, the initial step will be to work with them to get them back to a healthy weight where they are medically stable and safe.

The doctor should check height, weight and may also run an ECG or check the body’s chemicals to make sure they are at health levels. The me doctor will work together with a nutritionist to discuss healthy eating, vitamin supplements if needed and to make sure healthy eating becomes part of someone’s lifestyle. Psychotherapy is an extremely important component in the treatment of eating disorders because the emotional component to the issue related to self esteem and body image  needs to be addressed. Besides that, there may be an associated mental health issue which can be assessed by a trained therapist. Family therapy  along with individual therapy  can help family members better understand the issue and ways in which they can help support the treatment process.

The treatment of eating disorders may be a slow process but  important to both the physical and emotional well being of an individual.  You should first seek medical attention as soon as possible, if you believe that your teen has eating disorder. There are many expert therapists who specialize in working with teens and in working with eating disorders who can be located through physicians or by researching them on the internet. You and your teen have a right to as questions to your treatment providers to make sure you find individuals who you feel are a good fit for you which will increase the success of the treatment process. You will be working closely with your child’s treatment team but should also make sure you have your own support network during this challenging time which may include close friends or family, a therapist, a coach or a group where you can take time to just focus on yourself. It is also critical for your child’s treatment that you stay healthy, both physically and emotionally.

Hope this amount of information helps.