Recognising anorexia and getting treatment

Anorexia, also known as anorexia nervosa, is a condition that affects 10 per cent of the 1.24 to 3.4 million people in the UK that have an eating disorder.

Here to provide a comprehensive look at this condition - and highlight ways to recognise anorexia and how to get treatment - is leading London and Maidstone psychiatrist Dr Ramesh Muthuswamy. 

What is anorexia nervosa? What does it mean?

Anorexia nervosa is a mental disorder. It is classified as an eating disorder characterised by:

• an intense fear of gaining weight;
• severe restriction of calorie intake leading to low BMI.

It’s associated with a distorted perception of body weight, shape, and image.

What can cause anorexia?

Anorexia can affect anyone irrespective of age, gender, and race. It is more common in adolescents and young adults. A family history of an eating disorder or any psychiatric disorder, extreme dieting, traumatic life experiences, perfectionistic traits, and certain careers such as modelling, and sports may increase your risk of developing an eating disorder.

How does anorexia nervosa affect people physically and mentally?

Anorexia nervosa is a mental disorder and can lead to severe complications if left untreated. You may experience significant mental distress as you are likely to be fearful or frightened of gaining weight, you would be preoccupied with your body weight, shape, and image. You may see yourself as overweight despite being lower weight and may feel shame, guilt, isolated, and suffer in silence.

It can lead to severe physical health complications due to malnutrition, including:

• feeling tired;
• dizziness;
• feeling cold;
• slow heart rate and low blood pressure;
• bloating;
• abdominal pain;
• irregular or absent menstrual periods;
• dry skin;
• thinning of hair, and;
• bluish or purple hands and feet.

What can anorexia lead to?

Anorexia can lead to serious mental and physical health deterioration as described above. If you have a severe form of anorexia nervosa and are left untreated it can lead to multiple organ failure and even death.

How is anorexia treated?

The first and most important step is to recognise the disorder and accept the need for specialist support and treatment for anorexia as many people would be in denial and may not believe they are unwell enough to receive treatment.

The goals of anorexia treatment usually include:

• stabilising weight loss and restoring healthy weight;
• reducing eating disorders behaviours with the help of regular psychotherapy;
• dietetic input;
• medication;
• nutritional supplements, and
• may need hospital admission if you have a severe form of anorexia.

Anorexia treatment is based on individual needs and it’s important to remember it is possible to recover from anorexia, especially if treated in the early stages of the illness.

If you’re looking for leading anorexia treatment in London or Maidstone, visit Dr Muthuswamy’s Top Doctors profile to arrange an appointment.