Anorexia Nervosa can also be defined as experiencing excessive weight loss by refusing to eat as a result of deteriorating body image and perceiving himself as fat. Not eating, sleeping little, and yet being very active are clear initial indicators of Anorexia Nervosa. In the next stage, the person starts to apply an exaggerated diet with the belief that he is too fat. In addition to making himself vomit, he also uses exaggerated food regimen and excessive exercise, laxative, diuretic and appetite suppressant drugs. The appetite, which could be controlled before, really disappears after a while and weight loss exceeds health measures.
Although anorexics do not eat, they have an appetite and are constantly interested in food. They read recipes, collect recipes they would never cook, and prepare meals for their friends and family with great care. However, they do not eat themselves.
Anorexics see themselves as much heavier than they are. In fact, when asked to draw the body wall in front of a full-length mirror in a clinical setting, they draw their body walls much wider than they actually are.
Supported sexual infantilism during the growth period of Anorexia Nervosa patients; strong fears of having sexual intercourse and getting pregnant; strong fears of growth, separation from the mother and individuation may be detected.
In fact, for patients, Anorexia Nervosa is a resistance they can resist to the decision of others. Anorexics believe they are in control of their own body, the only area left to them where they can have a say.
When we look at the mother-daughter relationship in most anorexics, we see that the mother prioritizes her own needs and satisfaction over her daughter’s. For this reason, the child cannot form a healthy self-perception and chooses to perceive himself as an extension of his mother, since he does not receive feedback from his mother who values, cares, accepts and realizes his own existence and can improve it.
When we look at the father-daughter relationships of anorexics, we see that fathers generally seem caring and supportive, but when their daughters really need them, they cannot support their daughters emotionally and leave them alone.
Anorexia Nervosa is a life-threatening and potentially fatal disorder. Unfortunately, the majority of anorexics tend to avoid treatment. If they receive treatment, they know that they need to gain weight and they perceive this as losing control of their body, which is the only area that is left to them, and they are fiercely afraid of this situation, so the rate of avoiding treatment is very high. The fact that patients with Anorexia Nervosa do not accept the disease and therefore help negate the course of the disease and cause life-threatening risks.
After the creation of a healthy diet chart, before the new diet starts, psychotherapy comes into play with the necessary methods. Psychotherapy initially relies on replacing the person’s wrong thought patterns and negative body image with cognitive-behavioral therapies, in which other matching problems are also processed. The dynamic approach is also of great importance in the creation of psychotherapy. It is very important to bring the subconscious conflicts that make up Anorexia Nervosa to consciousness and to ensure the healthy and free development of the personality. In addition to individual therapy, absolute family therapy should also be included in the treatment protocol. Almost all patients with Anorexia Nervosa have family problems.
When necessary, psychopharmacotherapy is the supporter of psychotherapy, especially in cases of depression and obsessions.
Dr.phil. R. Meltem KAVCAR SIRALI
