Anorexia+Nervosa

=Anorexia Nervosa = = = 

Anorexia Nervosa falls under the eating disorders category. It is a psychological disorder that goes beyond the concern about obesity or out-of-control-dieting. A person who has this disorder usually begins with dieting to lose weight. Striving to become thinner soon becomes secondary to the concerns about the control and fears that relate to their body.

95 percent of people with this disorder are females, but there is a possibility that males have it too.

Signs and Symptoms

 * An individual can become very underweight, which can lead to depression and social withdraw.
 * The individual can start to become irritable and very upset.
 * Sleep can become disruptive.
 * Attention and concentration can begin to decrease.
 * The person becomes obsessed with food and thoughts of food.

Causes
There is no definite cause for Anorexia. They believe that it might be a dysfunction in the brain. They continue to research the topic to come up with possible causes. Genetic makeup may play a more significant role in this mental disorder.

The General Public Perception
Society leads young girls to believe that being pretty and beautiful means that you have to be skinny with a perfect body. For example, to be a ballet dancer, a great pressure is to be very lean. They are pressured by the industry to have beautiful figures, no acne, or no birthmarks. Also, in order to be a model, one must be extremely skinny and lean

Available Treatments
Some available treatments are medical, psychological, and nutritional therapy. This will help the person regain health and develop healthy eating behaviors. Family counseling is also an available treatment.

Links
@Bulimia Nervosa @Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Sources
Lifetime Health, page 205 http://www.medicinenet.com/anoreia_nervosa/article.htm http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/ballet.php

emily katie