Eating disorders can be extremely dangerous for the health of the sufferer. Anorexia nervosa has a mortality rate of approximately 10 percent, which is the highest rate of any mental disorder. While some sufferers die from starvation, others die from suicide, which is very common in women with anorexia. Mental Health Network Eating Disorder Coverage can help patients to recover from eating disorders and also treat the underlying low self esteem.
The most prevalent eating disorders include:
- Anorexia nervosa
- Bulimia nervosa
- Binge eating disorder
- Restrictive food intake disorder
The lifetime rate of anorexia nervosa in women is about .9 percent and about .3 percent in men. Bulimia afflicts about 4 percent of women at some point in their lives, and many patients with bulimia go on to develop anorexia later. There is no single cause of eating disorders–a combination of genetic, environmental and personal factors leads to the problem. A history of being abused sexually often contributes to the formation of an eating disorder.
Patients with anorexia skip meals, develop eating “rituals”, eat only tint portions or only certain foods. They usually do not eat in front of other people, and withdraw from social activities. Anorexics lose a great deal of weight but still consider themselves fat. They exercise compulsively and often wear baggy clothes that cover up their emaciation. They hate their bodies and think of them as repulsive.
Bulimics typically binge eat and then purge the food by inducing vomiting or using laxatives. They too often exercise compulsively. Bulimics may appear to be of normal weight and since they usually binge in secret, bulimia may be hard to detect. Watch for running water to cover the sounds of vomiting or an excessive number of empty food cartons and packages.
Mental Health Network Eating Disorder Coverage helps by addressing low self esteem and helping to balance brain chemicals that can lead to eating disorders. Since patients with these conditions often suffer from depression, anxiety, alcohol or drug addiction as well, treatment must be comprehensive to prevent relapse. Effective treatment may involve family therapy as well as individual treatment to help address the complex familial interactions that may lead to an eating disorder. Mental Health Network Eating Disorder Coverage includes the necessary treatment to help patients with eating disorders recover.