Anorexia is Bad for the Brain November 20, 2008
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Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa
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The medical impact of anorexia is huge and includes:
Amenorrhea – Loss of Menstrual Cycle
This occurs in nearly all women with anorexia. The body simply shuts down its reproductive capacity because it is finding it difficult to sustain one life, let alone, two. Although a woman’s ability to bare children usually returns once sufficient weight is gained, that is not always the case. Anorexia, if engaged in long enough or at a critical time during adolescence, can contribute to infertility.
Anemia
Without sufficient nutrition, the blood is affected and anemia results. Fortunately, this condition is only temporary; blood health returns once food is reintroduced.
Dry Skin and Hair Loss
Dehydration causes the skin to drastically dry out and become flaky. The woman’s scalp, starved for protein and nutrients, often becomes bald or patchy. Paradoxically, extremely fine hair growth often occurs on other parts of the torso; this is an attempt by the body to keep itself warm.
Feeling Cold
Without protective fat stores to keep them warm, those with anorexia are usually cold. In fact, their body temperature is rarely at a healthy 98 degrees; it’s typically a couple of degrees less that normal.
Slowness of Thought/Brain Shrinkage
Although retardation of thought is temporary, due to lack of fuel to keep the brain functioning well, actual brain shrinkage, due to prolonged starvation, is not. Studies show a drop in actual IQ, which does not always return once the woman gets well.
Osteopenia/Osteoporosis
These degenerative bone conditions result from lack of calcium and other dietary deficiencies. Most bone loss is permanent, leaving even young women at severe risk of bone fractures and spinal curvature.
Heart Rhythm Abnormalities, Heart Attacks
Electrolyte abnormalities often trigger arrhythmias in the heart. This is a significant indication that the heart is undergoing stress. When a body is starving, it starts attacking its own muscle tissue in an effort to stay alive. The heart is a muscle and is not immune to this attack. In the case of extreme starvation, the heart simply stops.
If you, or someone you know, suffers from anorexia or bulimia then please seek treatment.
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Eating Disorders and Drugs are very Similar November 20, 2008
Posted by badbulimia in Blog.Tags: anorexia, anorexia and bulimia, anorexia bulimia, anorexia nevosa, anorexic, binge eating, bulemia, bulimia, bulimia anorexia, bulimia effects, bulimia nervosa, bulimia symptoms, bulimia treatment, clinic, eating disorder, eating disorder clinic, eating disorder help, eating disorder statistics, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, effects, nervosa, symptoms, treatment
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Eating Disorder Relapse Prevention
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We know it is possible to experience complete recovery from an eating disorder because we have seen it again and again. However, with that said, we also recognize it’s not unusual for a woman or girl to have multiple slips during the process. A “slip” is a return to unhealthy behaviors that does not last more than a few hours or days. A relapse, on the other hand, is a return to eating disorder behaviors that places the person back where they were prior to entering recovery—where many eating disorder behaviors are being practiced day after day. No one wants a relapse to occur; no one wants to go back to square one. This is why relapse prevention is so important.
Support is key when entering into any recovery process. For those recovering from an eating disorder, three types of support are essential: family, peer and professional. Family support is quite important, especially if the recovering individual is still living with the family. Because eating disorders are complex, family-embedded, and often extremely difficult to understand, family therapy can often help. In terms of friends, peer support must be “recovery friendly.” The third type of support – professional – is often the most important of all. At the very least, an individual should have an outpatient therapist and a dietician for support, guidance, and accountability. In addition, if on medication, a psychiatrist should also be part of the team.
Anyone entering recovery must identify their eating disorder triggers. These are the situations and experiences that provoked the eating disorder in the first place. Triggers are highly individualized, meaning that what might trigger one woman may not affect another. It is important not only to identify these triggers, but also to decide in advance with one’s treatment team how to deal with each of them using effective coping methods.
Recovery from any addiction is not easy, and an eating disorder is no different. But it can be done. Remember… plan your life around your recovery, not your recovery around your life.
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I Needed Help for Eating Disorders November 20, 2008
Posted by badbulimia in Blog.Tags: ana, ana anorexia, anorexia, anorexia and bulimia, anorexia bulimia, anorexia how to, anorexia nevosa, anorexia pictures, anorexia pro, anorexic, anorexic bulimic, binge, binge eating, binge eating disorder, bulemia, bulimia, bulimia anorexia, bulimia effects, bulimia nervosa, bulimia symptoms, bulimia treatment, clinic, disorder, eating, eating disorder, eating disorder clinic, eating disorder help, eating disorder statistics, eating disorder support, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, treatment
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Treatment for Anorexia
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In the United States, eating disorders are far more than prevalent – they’re epidemic. Today, 10 million women and girls have eating disorders and up to one million of them will die from the disorder. That’s right: DIE. These diseases are not confined to a certain segment of society or age group. Anorexia and bulimia cross all racial, ethnic, cultural and religious lines and are now being diagnosed in children as young as six.
Anorexia, perhaps the most devastating of these diseases, is characterized by self-starvation. People suffering from this disorder literally starve themselves to a state of severe emaciation, and even, death. This disease impacts every facet of a person’s life; indeed, a woman can become so ill that she is unable to work or care for her family.
Professional care is usually required to break the compulsive behaviors and addiction. Outpatient therapy is usually the first approach to treatment. A patient can often make substantial progress with the support of a good therapist, especially one who specializes in treating eating disorders.
For the best possible outcome, a medical doctor and nutritionist or registered dietician should also be part of the team. For approximately 70% of eating disorder patients, this treatment will prove effective. However, for the other 30%, inpatient treatment at a residential center is often recommended.
Lasting recovery is the goal for every single patient. Toward that end, Remuda Ranch utilizes every cutting-edge therapy and innovative treatment approach. In addition to individual and group therapy, patients engage in experiential therapies such as art, body image, equine and challenge course.
A key and critical component of treatment is family involvement. Remuda Ranch wants family members to experience healing through growth, understanding and change. This is accomplished not only through therapeutic phone calls, but during an intensive Family Week, which occurs half-way through treatment.
Remember, anorexia is an extremely serious disease. Therefore, if you have a friend or family member who may be struggling with anorexia, please get help.
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The First Signs were Anorexia November 20, 2008
Posted by badbulimia in Blog.Tags: anorexia nevosa, anorexia pictures, anorexia pro, anorexic, binge eating, binge eating disorder, bulemia, bulimia, bulimia anorexia, bulimia effects, bulimia symptoms, bulimia treatment, disorder, eating, eating disorder, eating disorder clinic, eating disorder support, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, treatment
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Anorexia Symptoms
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For most people, anorexia is extremely difficult to understand. It is not a diet gone too far or a game played by a young girl to get attention from friends or a member of the family. Anorexia is a psychiatric disorder, not unlike depression or anxiety.
Very simply defined, anorexia is self starvation. Those with this disorder literally starve themselves to a state of severe emaciation, or even death. And the thing is … once they start, it is very difficult to end the behaviors and go back to normal eating. This disease impacts everything: work, home, health, friendships … life.
Anorexia symptoms are physical, biological and behavioral. Because dieting is a key part of anorexia, many of the most common symptoms surround food and dieting. A female with anorexia diets obsessively, when she is not overweight. In fact, she may have experienced a recent rapid weight loss — 15% or more below her normal body weight. Yet, she will constantly complain that she feels “fat,” when this is clearly not a reality.
It is not unusual for a girl with anorexia to engage in strange food-related behaviors. These include cutting food into little tiny pieces, only eating one food at a time, or placing unusual condiments on food items. Episodes of binge eating can also occur, simply due to a loss of control. Remember, these individuals are hungry, so when they finally give in and eat, it is sometimes very difficult to stop.
Not eating is hard enough on the body, but the problem is, she may also exercise to an extreme degree. As a result of low nutrition and high levels of exercising, she will probably experience amenorrhea, which means loss of her menstrual period. Strangely, though the hair on her head may fall out, she may undergo unusual hair growth on her arms and legs; basically, this is an effort by the body to make itself warm.
Although she may try to convey that she is at the top of the world, depression is often a symptom of anorexia, as is slowness of thought and memory difficulties. Most people feel this way due to the brain’s inability to function without adequate nutrition.
If someone you know has anorexia, please encourage them to get help.
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