A person who exhibits a physiological need to eat is called an “Eating Disorder”.
Eating disorders are characterized by abnormal eating patterns that are based on the desire to either prevent weight gain, achieve weight loss, or improve physical appearance.
This article will discuss how age can influence eating disorder symptoms and what cognitive behavioral therapy might be helpful.
There are many types of eating disorders that also vary in severity, but the most common form is Anorexia Nervosa.
Do you know that a person who exhibits a physiological need to eat is most likely experiencing the sensation of hunger.
People with this type experience extreme fear of gaining weight, often resulting in strict food restriction and binging behavior when they do succumb to hunger pangs. These behaviors occur most often when people try to maintain low weights by restricting calories without adequate nutrition or exercise routines.
Anorexia can have a variety of causes, but the main one is a family that values body image.
Here are some points discussed about A person who exhibits a physiological need to eat-
1. There is a new theory on why anorexia nervosa occurs.
Anorexia nervosa occurs in conjunction with the fear of developing obesity. People with anorexia have trouble believing that they can be happy with their body, even when they do not have an eating disorder.
This creates a vicious cycle of struggle and recovery that seems like it will never end for them and their families. (Lahiri, 2001)
2. The severity of the disorder can be predicted by age.
The younger the patient is, the less likely they are to be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. (Lahiri, 2001).
The prevalence of anorexia nervosa (AN) has increased little since its first description in 1979.
This shows that there is a serious need for treatment for this disorder because it has only become more prevalent over time.
There are factors that could play a role in the increase of this disorder including diagnosing concerning behaviors behind it and faster diagnostic techniques being used now.
3. Treatment for Anorexia includes cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for someone who suffers from anorexia.
CBT is described as a way of learning about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors so that you can begin to control them by changing unhelpful thoughts, attitudes, or behaviors.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the here-and-now and aims at helping people identify and change critical or negative thinking patterns that may cause problems in their everyday lives.
It is a short-term psychotherapy for dealing with a problem in a person’s life through gaining insight into life experiences and personal perceptions.
4. The difference between anorexia and bulimia.
The major difference between bulimia and anorexia is that people with bulimia purge themselves of food.
They do not feel full, sick, or guilty after a binge. Binge eating disorders involve frequent, recurrent episodes of binge eating which usually lasts for three days or longer and is associated with three or more of the following: feeling out of control, feeling distress about overeating, undoing undone.
Or incompletely eaten meals, fasting to prevent weight gain during periods of fasting (such as on certain religious days), increased time spent on food preparation behaviors (including covert bingeing), and depression arising after bingeing.
5. Treatment for anorexia using psychological therapy.
Anorexia nervosa can be seen as a time-limited disorder i.e., a response to a life event that lasts for a few years or maybe less.
Some factors that could be contributing to the onset of the disorder could include early sexual abuse, physical injury, death of family member etc.
The treatment will therefore involve psychodynamic therapy which is also known as psychoanalytic therapy.
It involves the patient sharing their thoughts and feelings with a therapist who encourages them to move forward and learn from their experiences rather than continuing to rely on old patterns which may have caused their problems in the first place.
6. The treatment involved depends on the stage of the disorder.
A person experiencing AN should be encouraged to follow a healthy diet that includes protein, carbohydrates, and fat as well as red meat 3-4 times a week.
Exercise is important to keep the metabolism healthy and is recommended 3-4 times per week. (Kulkarni, 2005)
7. Cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful in long term treatment for anorexia.
Anorexia nervosa can be difficult to treat because once someone begins to develop this disorder, it can be hard to stop the cycle of binging.
So individuals suffering from anorexia will need supportive counseling that can help them with learning healthy ways of dealing with their thoughts and emotions that have caused the disorder in the first place.
