What Do You Mean By Anorexia?What Can Be The Treatment?

What Is Anorexia?

Anorexia can be defined as a serious mental illness where people are of low weight due to limiting how much they consumed where they develop the rules around what they feel they can and cannot eat, as well as things like when and when they will eat. It can affect a person of any age and gender.

As well as limiting how much they can eat, they may do lots of exercises which make them sick or those who also misuse laxatives to get rid of the food eaten. Some of the people with anorexia may experience cycles of bingeing and then purging which means eating a large amount of food at once.

The way people with anorexia see themselves may be different from how others see them and they often have a distorted image of themselves where they think they are larger than they really are. People with anorexia experience deep fear of weight gain and usually challenge the idea that they should.

Anorexia can be treated in outpatient facilities where intensive treatment in day patient and inpatient units might become necessary if the condition worsens and if your health does not improve in response to the outpatient treatment. Treatment of anorexia is different for adults and those under 18 years old.

Treatment Of Anorexia- Adults

A number of different therapies are available in order to treat anorexia as its aim is to help you understand the causes of your eating problem and also feel comfortable with food so you can begin to eat more and gain healthy weight. You may be offered any of the following types of talking therapy that includes in the below points:

1) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

If you are offered cognitive behavioral therapy then it usually involves weekly session that is for up to 40 weeks and 2 sessions a week in the first 2 to 3 weeks. It involves talking to a therapist who will work with you to create a personalized treatment plan in which they will help you to:

  •  Cope with your feeling
  • understand the nutrition and the effects of starvation on you
  • help you to make healthy food choices.

They will also ask you to practice these techniques on your own, measures your progress, and also show you how to manage the difficult feeling and situations so you stick with your eating habits.

2) Maudsley Anorexia Nervosa Treatment For Adults

It involves talking to a therapist in order to understand what’s is causing your disorder and it also focuses on what is important to you and helps you to change your behavior when you’re ready. You can involve your family if you think it would for you. You should offer 20 sessions in which the first 10 should be weekly with the next scheduled to suit you..

3) Specialist Supportive Clinical Management

It involves talking to a therapist who will help you to understand what’s causing your eating disorder where you will learn about the nutrition and how your eating habits cause various symptoms. You should be offered 20 or more weekly sessions and your therapist will set you a target with and over the course of the 20 weeks will help you to reach it.

4) Focal psychodynamic therapy

Focal psychodynamic therapy is offered if you do not feel any of the above therapies is not effective for you. This includes trying to understand how your habits are related to what you think, and how to feel about yourself. You should be offered weekly sessions for up to 40 weeks that is up to 9 to 10 months.

5) Diet Advice

During your treatment, you will probably be given advice on healthy eating. However, this advice only will not help you recover from anorexia so you will also need to have talking therapy as well as dietary advice. Your doctors will advise you to take vitamin and mineral supplements so you will get all the nutrients you need to be healthy.

Treatment For Children And Young People

Children and young people will be offered family therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy will be similar to the therapy that is offered to adults

1) Family Therapy

It involves you and your family talking to a therapist by exploring how anorexia has affected you and how your family can support you in order to get back to gain normal weight. It is offered sometimes in a group Where you will be offered 18 to 20 sessions over a year.

2) Adolescent Focused Psychotherapy

This usually involves up to 40 sessions and it normally lasts for 12 and 18 months where you will have more sessions in the beginning.

The therapist will help you:

  • Cope with your fears
  • understand how to get healthy
  • understand the effect of eating less
  • understand what’s causing your anorexia

You can have this therapy alone.

3) Diet Advice

If you have anorexia and you may not be getting all the required vitamins and energy that your body needs to grow and develop properly which is the most important as you reach puberty.

During your treatment, your doctor will advise you about the best food to eat to stay healthy and they will probably advise you to take vitamin and mineral supplements. They will talk to your parents about your diet so they can support you at home.

Last Updated on October 9, 2023 by anup