Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is a mental illness whose main characteristic is extreme abnormalities in the afflicted individual’s eating habits. The individual suffering from anorexia nervosa refuses to consume a sufficient amount of nourishment to maintain the minimum weight considered normal for his or her height and age. Insufficient weight along with an extreme fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of his or her body and shape are all characteristics of anorexia. Anorexia can have dangerous psychological and behavioral effects on all aspects of an individual’s life and can affect other family members as well. There is treatment available for anorexia and without treatment it can possibly lead to death.

The diagnosis of anorexia nervosa is contingent on four criteria stipulated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders. Criteria A include the refusal to maintain a normal weight by failing to sustain a weight which is equal to 85% of what is expected for his or her height and age. Criteria B include the extreme fear of gaining weight or becoming fat even though the individual is clearly underweight. An individual meets Criteria C when he or she is in denial about his or her illness, has distorted perceptions about his or her appearance or weight or exhibits an obsession pertaining to his or her appearance in regard to weight. The final criteria is met when a female anorexic is of menstrual age and has missed the menstrual cycles due to her illness (American Psychiatric Association, 2009).

There are two sub-types of anorexia nervosa along with the previous diagnosis criteria. These two sub-types include restricting anorexics who limit nutritional intake without the use of diuretics, enemas, or laxatives. The restricting anorexic will not resort to binging or purging to

control his or her weight. A binge-eating/purging type anorexic is the term for the individual who does not resort to binging and purging. (American Psychiatric Association, 2009).

Evidence proves people have been suffering from the mental illness known as anorexia nervosa as well as other eating disorders for hundreds of years. This evidence shows these eating disorders are not new illnesses. In 1903, Pierre Janet wrote of four patients who displayed weight phobia characteristics, one of the most famous of these patients is a woman named Nadia (Habermas, 2005). Nadia conveyed, in her own words, her need to consume only vinegar, tea, and soup for fear of gaining weight. Nadia spent numerous hours reading and thinking about food though denying herself the comfort of food and nutrition which clearly showed an obsession with food. Janet while working with Nadia proceeds to write his thoughts about her disorder indicating “her refusal of food to be consequence of idea, a delusion” (Habermas, 2005). Additionally, Janet conveys Nadia’s fears to originate