Eating disorders bulimia anorexia treatment. Psychological causes of anorexia

The main eating disorders are:anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The following parameters are common to them:

Preoccupation with weight control own body

Distortion of your body image

Changing the value of nutrition in the hierarchy of values

Anorexia nervosa: - mental disorder, marked by a desire for maximum thinness and weight loss.

Behavior: By at least Half of people with anorexia nervosa lose weight by limiting their food intake, a behavior called restriction. People with this type of anorexia, almost all, without exception, follow a diet. The other half of anorexics lose weight by artificially inducing vomiting after eating, or by using laxatives or diuretics; at the same time, they can even overeat. This pattern of behavior is called gluttony followed by purging of the stomach.

Refusal to eat is associated , as a rule, with dissatisfaction with their appearance, excessive, in the opinion of the person himself, overweight. Considering the fact that the determination of objective criteria for completeness is largely difficult due to the existence of an aesthetic component, we have to talk about the importance of the parameter of adequacy or inadequacy of perception of one’s own body (“body diagram”), orientation to one’s own opinion and ideas about it, or reflection and response on the opinion of the reference group.

Distorted self-perception: Often the basis anorexia nervosa serves as a distorted perception of oneself and a false interpretation of changes in the attitudes of others, based on a pathological change in appearance. This syndrome is called body dysmorphic syndrome. However, the formation of anorexia nervosa is possible outside of this syndrome.

Spreading: Approximately 90 to 95% of all cases of anorexia occur in women. Although the problem can occur at any age, it most often occurs between 14 and 19 years of age. There are a growing number of young men with serious eating disorders, and an increasing number of them are trying to overcome the disorder. However, men make up only 5-10% of the total number of those with such. The reasons for these sex differences are not entirely clear.

Health problems: The habit of fasting in anorexia causes various problems with health. Amenorrhea (absence of menstrual cycles) low body temperature, low blood pressure, body swelling, insufficient bone minerals and slow heartbeat. There may be an imbalance, both electrochemical and metabolic, which can lead to cardiac arrest or vascular failure. The skin becomes rough, dry, and cracked; nails are fragile; hands and feet - cold and blue. Some lose hair, while others begin to grow fuzz (thin, silky hair, similar to the hair of newborns) on their face, arms, legs, and all over their body.

Dynamics: The symptoms of this disease suggest that people with anorexia cannot escape the vicious cycle. Fear of obesity and a distorted image of one's body force patients to starve themselves. Fasting, in turn, leads to a prejudiced attitude towards food, increased anxiety and depression, and health problems. People feel even more fear - such that they completely lose control over their weight, food intake and over themselves. And then they refuse food altogether.

Stages of anorexia nervosa:

1) initial (the individual expresses dissatisfaction with the predominantly excessive, in his opinion, fullness of either the entire figure or individual parts of the body (stomach, hips, cheeks). He is guided by the developed ideal, strives to lose weight in order to imitate someone from his immediate environment or popular people).

2) active correction (eating disorders become obvious to others and deviant behavior develops, the individual begins to resort to various methods of losing weight. First of all, he chooses restrictive food stereotype excluding certain high-calorie foods from the diet, tends to follow a strict diet, begins to use various physical exercise and training, takes large doses of laxatives, uses enemas, artificially induces vomiting in order to empty the stomach of the food just eaten. The value of nutrition is reduced to the maximum, while the individual is not able to control his speech behavior and constantly returns to the topic of losing weight, discussing diets and training in communication).

3) cachexia (signs of dystrophy appear: weight loss, dryness and pallor skin and other symptoms).

4) reduction of the syndrome.

Diagnostic criteria Anorexia nervosa are:

a) reduction by 15% and maintaining a reduced level of body weight or achieving a Kvetelet body mass index of 17.5 points (the index is determined by the ratio of body weight in kilograms to the square of height in meters).

b) distortion of one’s body image in the form of fear of obesity.

c) the intentionality of avoiding foods that can cause weight gain.

Occurs when: Violation eating behavior in the form of anorexia nervosa syndrome, it occurs, as a rule, in two types of deviant behavior: pathocharacterological and psychopathological. In the first, eating disorders are caused by a person’s character traits and his response to the attitude of his peers; in the second, the anorexia nervosa syndrome is formed on the basis of other psychopathological disorders (dysmorfomanic, hypochondriacal, symptom complexes) in the structure of schizophrenic or other psychotic disorders

Bulimia: - a disorder marked by frequent binge eating followed by induced vomiting or other extreme compensatory behavior. Also known as binge-purge syndrome.

Gluttony - an eating disorder in which a person regularly overeats without any compensatory actions.

Characterized by: repeated bouts of overeating, the inability to even a short time going without food and excessive preoccupation with controlling body weight, which leads the person to take extreme measures to mitigate the “fattening” effects of the food eaten. The value of this side of life comes to the fore, subordinating all other values. At the same time, there is an ambivalent attitude towards eating food: the desire to eat a large number of food is combined with a negative, self-deprecating attitude towards oneself and one’s “weakness”.

Spreading: Like anorexia, bulimia predominantly affects women (90-95% of cases), begins in adolescence (most often between the ages of 15 and 21) and is the result of intense dieting. Bulimia affects 1-4% of adolescent girls and young women. Over 90% of bulimia sufferers are women. But basically the weight of these women does not go beyond the norm.

Dynamics: Usually the disease continues for several years, with periodic “respite”. The weight of people with bulimia, as a rule, does not exceed the norm, although it can fluctuate noticeably within a certain range. However, it happens that people with this disorder begin to weigh too little and eventually become diagnosed with anorexia (Figure). Doctors note that some of their patients engage in binge eating without resorting to vomiting or any other compensatory behavior; they simply eat too much. However, this category is not officially mentioned in DSM-IV.

Rice. Co-pattern of anorexia, bulimia and obesity.

Some people with anorexia binge eat and empty their stomachs to lose weight, while others simply overeat. Meanwhile most of people with bulimia are not obese, and most overweight people are not bulimic.

In the structure of the addictive type of deviant behavior: As can be seen from clinical descriptions, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have a number of common features, as a result of which we can talk about a single complex of eating disorders. However, bulimia nervosa, unlike anorexia, can be part of the structure of an addictive type of deviant behavior. If refusal to eat plays the role of a painful confrontation with reality (an essential parameter of pathocharacterological and psychopathological types of deviant behavior), then an irresistible craving for food can reflect both confrontation (in particular, relieving symptoms of anxiety, depression in neurotic disorders) and withdrawal from reality. With addictive behavior, increasing the value of the eating process and overeating becomes the only pleasure in a boring, monotonous life.

Compensating actions: After overeating, people with bulimia try to compensate for its effects. Many induce vomiting. But in fact, vomiting is not able to prevent the absorption of at least half of the calories consumed during a large meal. In addition, repeated vomiting makes people feel hungry again and leads to more frequent and intense overeating. Likewise, the use of mild laxatives or diuretics fails in preventing the absorption of calories from overeating. Vomiting and other compensatory actions can temporarily relieve the unpleasant physical sensation of fullness in the stomach, relieve anxiety and feelings of self-loathing, and prevent the loss of self-control that usually accompanies gluttony. However, after some time, the cycle will repeat itself, with stomach cleansing leading to even more gluttony, and more gluttony requiring more cleansing. Ultimately, such repeated cycles will make a person feel powerless, worthless and disgusting.

Compensatory actions are primarily reinforced temporary relief, relief from anxiety, relief from the feeling of fullness in the stomach, self-loathing and loss of control that accompany gluttony. But the feeling of guilt and self-loathing returns again and most often haunts a person suffering from bulimia nervosa.

More and more larger number psychologists say that mild and perhaps even moderate obesity should be “left alone,” or at least that we should set more modest and realistic goals. In addition, it is very important that society overcomes prejudice against overweight people. Others should perceive this as another normal human condition.

Diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa:

a) constant preoccupation with food and irresistible cravings for food even when feeling full.

b) attempts to counteract the obesity effects of food intake through techniques such as: inducing vomiting, laxative abuse, alternative fasting periods, and the use of appetite suppressants.

V) obsessive fear obesity.

In the article we discuss bulimia. You will find out what it is and what causes it. We will tell you by what signs and symptoms you can recognize the disease, how to treat it with medication and psychological ways. By following our advice, you will learn to prevent pathology, eat right and control weight with this diagnosis.

Many people are interested in the question - what kind of disease is bulimia? In the 21st century, this disease has become as common as anorexia.

Bulimia is a condition where a person feels hungry almost constantly.. At the same time, the food consumed does not provide satiety for long, no matter how much it is eaten. After each meal, a person forcibly induces vomiting to empty the stomach.

Bulimia is a disease in which you always want to eat, but at the same time there is a fear of excess weight.

Any form of bulimia suffers greatly digestive system. There are disturbances in the functioning of the psyche against the background obsessive thoughts about eating in tandem with a reluctance to gain excess weight.

Sports bulimia is one of the most complex forms of the disease, as it additionally presents symptoms of anorexia. This pathology appears against the background of excessive physical exertion in pursuit of ideal forms.

Bulimia nervosa most often occurs against the background of frequent and deep stressful situations. Often in this pathology they outgrow strict diets and hunger strikes.

You learned what bulimia is and how it manifests itself. Let's talk about the reasons for its appearance.

Causes of bulimia

Bulimia is associated and mentioned in the same context for a reason. These diseases are of a similar nature.

The main causes of bulimia are hidden in mental disorders. The impetus for the formation of pathology can be low self-esteem, lack of understanding and support from relatives and others, and frequent and severe stress.

Among patients with bulimia there are often lovers strict diets. Systematically restricting yourself in food leads to a shortage nutrients and constant thoughts about food.

Bulimia during pregnancy can have Negative influence not only on the physical health of the baby, but also to appear hereditary factor for its development in the child in the future. Therefore, children born to women with this pathology must be periodically checked by a psychiatrist.

What happens during a bulimia attack

Bulimia is characterized by periodicity. For changing calm state come severe attacks hunger, reaching the point of manic craving for any food. This often happens even with a full stomach.

At the same time, a person cannot think about anything other than food. His attention is drawn to grocery store windows, snack bars, and any reminders of food.

When experiencing a breakdown due to bulimia, a person attacks any food and absorbs it in unlimited quantities, without regard to the compatibility of the products. This cannot but have negative consequences for the body.

Bulimics eat until the food runs out or the greatly enlarged stomach begins to put pressure on other internal organs, causing severe discomfort. With bulimia, the consequences for the stomach and intestines are the most unfavorable. The organs are greatly stretched, and over time their walls become thinner, which leads to severe pain.

Such breakdowns are followed by psychological exhaustion. The patient begins to experience a strong sense of guilt and self-contempt.

The psychological consequences of bulimia are manifested in the fear of gaining weight. In order to prevent the absorption of calories, bulimics induce vomiting. In this case, the mucous membrane of the esophagus and larynx suffers greatly.

You learned what the consequences of bulimia are for the body and appearance. Now we will talk about the signs and symptoms of the disease by which it can be recognized.

Other signs and symptoms of bulimia

The first signs of bulimia are changes in a person’s habitual behavior. He becomes more depressed and irritable. When communicating with him, it is noticeable that he often feels guilty.

A clear sign of bulimia is increased self-criticism, bordering on hatred of one’s own appearance, in particular the body. For such people, the opinions of others are often very important and they need the approval of loved ones.

Main symptoms of bulimia:

constantly changing weight;
swelling of the parotid gland;
dental diseases (bleeding gums, tooth loss);
hemorrhages under the eyes;
bowel dysfunction;
muscle pain and decreased endurance;
frequent seizures;
constant irritation of the throat mucosa.

Knowing what bulimia is and what symptoms accompany it, you can notice this disease on early stage. This will allow you to get rid of it much faster without the risk of negative consequences.

Bulimia test

To determine at home whether this disease threatens you and whether you have a tendency towards it, we suggest taking a test for bulimia. To do this, answer the questions below. For each positive answer, give yourself 3 points, for sometimes - 1, for negative - 0.

Are you afraid of getting fat?
Do you closely monitor your caloric intake?
Do you often think about food?
Do you often think about losing weight and about being overweight?
Do you feel like your loved ones are feeding you?
Do you refuse to eat even when you feel hungry?
Do you avoid foods rich in carbohydrates?
Do you only eat diet foods?
Do you specifically not eat sweets?
Do you react sensitively to questions about food?
Do you only eat small meals?
Do you have uncontrollable hunger pangs?
Do you eat slowly, savoring your food?
Do you experience vomiting after eating?
Do you feel guilty after eating?
Are your loved ones forcing you to eat more?
Do people around you often tell you that you are thin?
Is eating a whole ritual for you and takes a lot of time?
Do you follow strict diets?
Do you think about the calories you burn while exercising?
Are you sure you don't have problems eating?
Do you like the feeling of hunger?
Do you experience discomfort when eating sweets?
Are you sure you need to lose weight?
Do you feel like emptying your stomach after eating?

If your total score is more than 17 points, this indicates eating disorders and a high risk of developing bulimia. In this case, you should not postpone your visit to the doctor.

How are bulimia and anorexia related?

The psychosomatics of bulimia and anorexia are similar in nature, so they are often viewed in the same light. Often one disease develops into another. Often, after incomplete treatment, anorexia develops into bulimia.

Both of these pathologies are based on a categorical dislike of one’s own body and an obsessive desire to lose weight and change one’s appearance, despite Negative consequences. In this case, the patient does not recognize the problem and does not consider himself sick.

Despite the similar psychological nature of the diseases, bulimia and anorexia have a number of differences. First of all, they differ in their eating behavior. Patients with bulimia are not able to cope with the feeling of hunger, but anorectics, on the contrary, can completely calmly go without food.

By psychological factor these two pathologies also have differences. For patients with bulimia, the fear of gaining weight is not paramount, unlike anorectics. They are not so zealous about watching their figure and do not burden themselves with exhausting workouts. Therefore, they have a lower risk of death. But, nevertheless, you can die from bulimia.

Treatment for bulimia

An important part of treating bulimia is psychotherapy.

Treatment for bulimia is based on integrated approach in a combination of medication and psychotherapeutic methods. Medications necessary for faster and painless recovery normal operation internal organs and systems. The help of a psychiatrist is necessary to eliminate the main cause of the formation of pathology.

First of all, before curing bulimia, you need to see a doctor. You may need consultations with a therapist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, gynecologist and psychiatrist. So wide list specialists is due to the fact that this disease disrupts the functioning of most body systems.

Depending on the severity of the disease and its progression, inpatient therapy may be required. Therefore, before treating bulimia at home, it is important to seek advice from a specialist.

Drug therapy

Antidepressants are used to treat bulimia with medication. They improve the conduction of nerve impulses and help relieve attacks of the disease. The most commonly prescribed drugs are Prozac and Fluoxetine.

For a calming effect, tricyclic antidepressants are used: Amitriptyline, Imizin. They effectively reduce the number of attacks and cope with depressive disorders.

At complex treatment appoint antiemetics: Zofran, Cerucal. They are especially necessary in the initial stages of treatment, when antidepressants have not worked fully.

Have you learned how to cope with bulimia with help? medicinal method treatment. Now let's look at psychological therapy.

Psychological treatment

Depending on the stage of the disease, treatment courses of different durations are required. Most often, in order to help the patient get rid of obsessive thoughts and relieve it psychological condition, requires from 10 to 20 sessions. Meetings with the doctor are held regularly 1-2 times a week.

An important step in psychotherapy is to identify the causes of the disease. The psychotherapist analyzes the patient’s dreams, his pattern of behavior in the family, and childhood memories. Based on the information received, a treatment regimen is determined.

The next step is to change the patient’s behavioral model and thinking. The doctor’s task is to use cognitive behavioral therapy to minimize negative self-perception and help a person accept himself as he is.

For successful treatment bulimia is important family therapy. The closest relatives who directly live with the patient must also undergo psychological rehabilitation. The doctor will explain how to behave correctly with a patient with bulimia and how to help him overcome the disease faster. The success of treatment directly depends on the support of loved ones.

Using the example of other people who have recovered from bulimia, psychotherapists show how you can live with this disease and how your quality of life will change after recovery. To do this, they resort to the method of group psychotherapy.

You have learned how to deal with bulimia through psychotherapy. Now let's talk about the nutritional features of this disease.

Nutrition for bulimia

Nutrition should be balanced

Eating healthy is important to recovery from bulimia. Food must contain enough calories to support healthy functioning.

On initial stage treatment and recovery, foods that the patient intentionally excluded from it are gradually introduced into the diet. This is important for the formation of healthy eating behavior and it is better if this happens under the supervision of a specialist, so as not to provoke another breakdown.

A diet for bulimia should contain all food groups. During the day, it is important to eat at least 3 times, that is, there should be a full breakfast, lunch and dinner. In between, you can have small snacks of fruits or vegetables.

Start off proper nutrition after illness follows vegetarian dishes. Vegetable soups and main courses are ideal for this purpose. Poultry, fish and meat are gradually added to the patient’s diet.

Important for maintaining health normal weight. Excess or lack of mass inevitably leads to disruptions in the functioning of most organs and systems. The main tools for weight control are exercise and proper nutrition.

With a height of 150 cm, the normal weight for women is 45 kg. In order to calculate the norm for yourself, for each subsequent 3 cm of height, add 2.3 kg.

For men, the norm is a weight of 48 kg with a height of 150 cm. To calculate, 2.7 kg of weight is added for every 3 cm.

For optimal weight control, you need to rely on physical activity. There are 3 load levels:

high - playing sports 4-5 times a week for an hour or more;
moderate - systematic training for 30 minutes (running, swimming);
low - rare and short-term exercise.

To control your weight, it is important to monitor your caloric intake and not consume more than your body needs. Use the following tips to calculate your daily calorie needs.

With high physical activity and strong physical activity calorie content is calculated using the formula - 18 kcal for every 0.5 kg of desired body weight (WBW).
With moderate physical activity daily requirement in calories it is calculated as follows - 15 kcal x 0.5 kg of body mass.
People over 55 years of age and those who maintain low physical activity should use the formula - 13 kcal x 0.5 kg of body mass.
If you are overweight, the number of calories must be reduced to 10 per 0.5 kg of body mass.

Prevention of bulimia

To prevent bulimia, proper nutrition, which we discussed above, is important. A varied diet, rich in all the substances necessary for the healthy functioning of the body, ensures the normal functioning of the body.

It is important to monitor your diet. There should be no constant snacking on the go or because there is nothing to do. They lead to uncontrolled eating and weight gain.

Do not overuse foods that stimulate your appetite. These include spices, pickles, marinades, and smoked products.

Chew foods slowly and thoroughly. This way the stomach will be full faster and will need less food for this.

To prevent the disease, it is important to maintain physical activity. These can be any sports that bring pleasure and lift your spirits.

For more information about bulimia, watch the video:

What to remember

Bulimia and anorexia have similar causes - psychical deviations caused by a lack of love for yourself and your body.
Before treating bulimia yourself, it is important to consult a specialist. If the disease is not progressive and the patient is committed to treatment, then only the help of a psychiatrist may be required.
To prevent bulimia, a varied diet, diet and physical activity are important.

Bulimia- this is “wolf hunger”, a sharp increase in appetite. People suffering from bulimia eat at night, or in sudden attacks, or constantly, without leaving the cash register at all. It is clear that this behavior leads to obesity.

This is bad not only for a young girl who is “actively searching”, but for any person in general - it causes problems with the heart, joints, cholesterol, diabetes... Therefore, cunning people struggle with their bulimia. And it would seem to be easier to fight here - you just need to induce vomiting. Oil painting: you eat, eat, get high, and then five minutes in the toilet - and again you’re ready for the next change of dishes.

The main thing here is not to overdo it. A bulimic patient who struggles with obesity too seriously throws out everything he has eaten along with vomiting. But the body needs to eat! This is not far from bulimia to anorexia!

Anorexia- This mental illness, in which a person considers himself too fat and does everything to lose weight. An anorexic girl declares her body’s completely legitimate desire to eat bulimia (an unhealthy, “wolfish” appetite) and fights it to the fullest extent of her character: she causes vomiting, or diarrhea, or simply refuses to eat.

Why do girls do this

Bulimia can be caused by very real organic disorders - diseases of the nervous and endocrine systems. Or it may also have a psychological nature - people “eat stress.” Taking antidepressants helps with bulimia, it's proven.

Anorexia is more difficult; it is a disease of girls with a will of steel and powerful self-hypnosis. They don’t have any depression, but they have a frantic desire to succeed in this life, and they know what this success looks like: all channels of television, cinema and fashion magazines I'm constantly being told to lose weight. Whoever has been the main character of a Hollywood film - black women, Chinese women, lesbians, and God knows who - but not a single fat one! - Why is that?

Because the problem of obesity and related diseases is very acute in America. A third of the US population is obese, causing an epidemic diabetes mellitus, up to 10% of all healthcare spending is spent on combating obesity and its consequences.

Accordingly, Hollywood is doing what it is supposed to do - promoting. It doesn’t matter who the actress plays - a policewoman, or a victim of a serial killer, or the serial killer himself - she will definitely be fit, fresh from the gym, or from yoga, or from the pool. - Distortion of American reality? - This is the American dream, fuck off.

Various somatic structures are involved in the feeling of hunger and food intake. The work and movement of muscles, heat exchange in the body and other forms of activity are carried out under the condition of energy balance, in this case food intake is mandatory. The feeling of hunger is regulated by the central nervous system through the cerebral cortex.

Also, the person’s personality and the surrounding situation also participate in these processes. Conducted special studies, in which animals took part. In order for the body to take food, a special atmosphere must be created.

You should make sure that there is no danger, you need to ensure comfort and good relationships with others. Even pets should feel safe while eating.

The act of eating involves biting and sucking, chewing and swallowing. All these processes occur together and are also quite stressful. From childhood, every living being feels joyful satisfaction from food. Eating behavior and various deviations are expressed in protests and rage, adoration and hatred.

When a baby touches his mother's breast for the first time, he feels unity with the person closest to him. After this, the child learns to eat socially, he needs to create a sincere and pleasant atmosphere at the table. For other people, eating may improve their appetite.

Eating directly depends on the emotional state of a person and the environment. Appetite is not just a feeling of hunger; food culture can easily be destroyed. When eating great importance have the values of a person and his habits. Different cultures get used to different taste sensations and areas that have a direct relationship with experience.

Psychophysiology also influences appetite. Some people view food as a gift from God, but sometimes people give up food completely to overcome themselves. There are individuals who perceive food as an animal and a base instinct, but a feast makes it more humane.

Some people also experience shame when eating, which is very similar to sexual shame. From childhood, a child feels the great importance of food in life, this can provoke internal conflicts.

It is quite possible that it was the parents who provoked obesity. In response to any children's hysterics or discontent, mom and dad offered the baby food, this is how they showed love for their child. As a result, the child did not feel his independence and his own needs; all he had to do was eat in time.

Eating disorders and obesity mostly occur in those people who have a strong attachment and dependence on their mother. The woman in the family takes a leading position and forces everyone to obey. The mother cares too much about her child, does not respond to the father’s comments, the baby becomes passive and apathetic.

In such cases, patients feel their imperfection and vulnerability; they prefer to lead a passive lifestyle and eat away all their problems. Also, obese people think that the more they weigh, the more protection they provide themselves from the outside world. The psychosomatics of obesity can be short-term and long-term.

A person tries to protect himself from food with the help of food. negative emotions, his state of mind is unstable, he cannot accept himself at his weight, thereby only worsening the situation.

There are several most common causes of obesity:

Frustration when the object of adoration is lost. Typically, women begin to suffer from obesity after the death of a spouse or separation from a permanent partner, or when their parents leave home. Usually after divorce or loss loved one is in a depressed state, so his appetite greatly increases. Many children begin to actively eat food when a brother or sister is born.
A person feels depressed and afraid, is very afraid of being alone and worries about this, sometimes without any reason. That is why he begins to eat food in huge quantities. This can also occur during periods of intense brain activity and overstrain, preparing for exams or passing a project. People start eating or smoking too much.

All these situations reveal food as a substitute for satisfaction. It is nutrition that strengthens self-confidence and a sense of security, helps to weaken mental and physical pain, disappointments.

From childhood, children remember that during illnesses they were given the best and most delicious things. Many people who are obese were addicted to food as children and had poor eating habits. As a result, they developed psychomatic illness and unconscious reactions.

Most obese patients consider it important that they have always had overweight, from childhood, food replaced pleasure for them. Parents suffer from this no less than their child, so the problem of obesity becomes a problem for the whole family.

Psychological illness here implies only oral satisfaction of human needs. Food replaces the lack of attention from family and friends, protects the child from depressive state. Children perceive food as self-affirmation; it helps get rid of excess stress and provides support to the mother.

Many obese individuals are highly dependent on their mother and are afraid of losing her. It is worth considering that about 80% of parents are also obese, which is why you might think that they are predisposed to becoming obese. In these cases, there are no manifestations of love and care; they are simply replaced by oral satisfaction. Adopted children are less likely to be obese than their parents.

The causes of obesity according to somatic data in children can be an overly caring or indifferent mother. Some parents allow their child everything; the father cannot say anything. Mothers believe that they give too little to their children, are alienated from them on an emotional level, and are tormented by feelings of guilt. That is why feeding becomes exclusively an expression of love for your child.

Psychotherapy

Typically, weight loss courses do not have a positive effect if an obese patient is not able to change his own emotional behavior. He feels that excess weight is vital for him. Therapy often does not produce any results, because the patient experiences real pleasure from eating. He strives for psychological level maintaining your own weight, because it’s easier than getting rid of psychological problems. During the diet, patients show symptoms of nervousness and irritation, quickly get tired and become depressed.

Reasons for the lack of treatment results in psychotherapy:

a person does not feel sick, he is satisfied with everything on a subconscious level;
the specialist cannot carefully analyze the patient’s behavior and motivations when treating behavioral disorders;
a person cannot overcome sociological factors, he is simply not able to refuse to eat fatty foods with his family;
patients refuse to follow the specialist’s instructions during behavioral therapy;
some patients cannot understand what the doctor suggests, but are embarrassed to ask again and ask for additional explanations.

You need to take an active part in therapeutic treatment. The psychotherapist should establish contact with the person. He must understand him and his motives. The specialist is also obliged to determine how the loss of his usual way of life affects the patient, and whether he suffers greatly from this. After this, an individual treatment plan is drawn up. The patient must learn to control his behavior.

Eating disorders

Obesity, anorexia and bulimia occur due to eating disorders. They are worth paying attention to Special attention in psychosomatics. A person may not even realize that he is sick, which is why specialists cannot always name somatic reasons namely a disease. It is imperative to identify the psychological causes of unhealthy eating behavior in order to eliminate the psychosomatic disease.

Anorexia and bulimia are very well-known diseases, but few people think about the fact that a huge number of people dream of getting them. Anorexia and bulimia are psychosomatic disorders, people experience a strong fear of being fat. Their energy depot is greatly weakened; people believe that if the soul suffers, then the body should not feel good.

With anorexia, a woman always considers herself too fat and completely refuses to eat. She may be very thin, but she doesn’t consider herself that way. Usually young girls suffer from this disease. Some end up dying, others instinctively start eating a lot and become fat.

Then they look at themselves in the mirror and are horrified. They induce a gag reflex in themselves in order to get rid of food in the body and dream of becoming thin again. This provokes bulimia. Signs of bulimia are that a person constantly wants to eat, he cannot control it, he eats in incredible quantities, as if the last crumb is about to be taken away from him.

The personality picture of an anorexic patient shows that the person generally refuses to eat. General features of these diseases is that a person’s image of his body is subject to distortion. Even if a person is very thin, he still thinks he is fat. Great amount women suffering from anorexia and bulimia categorically refuse to consider themselves sick, they are sure that everything is fine with them in perfect order. This is why they are very difficult to treat.

Women have a strong degree of denial. They can persistently prove for several years that they are absolutely healthy and look great, they just need to lose a little weight. People begin to constantly keep their weight under control, this is for them main goal in life. In some cases it occurs death, but still women believe that in this way they can get rid of their problems.

Model of behavior that provokes psychomatic illnesses:

unresolved emotional and psychological problems, inability to get out of a stressful situation;
dislike of parents in childhood provokes rejection and non-compliance with standards;
a tragic situation or loss of a loved one.

A person perceives the world through his own beliefs and beliefs. This is what influences emotional condition and physical health. If a person experiences negative experiences and emotions, then he becomes unsure of himself, his energy field is destroyed. A person believes that there is nothing to love him for, he cannot open up.

Bulimia shows a person’s inner fears, because he is afraid that he will not be able to keep his own life under control. A person loses his purpose in life and completely switches to his own body. He experiences satisfaction from eating, but then begins to reject and vomit.

Each person independently sets the boundaries of his own reality and controls his health. His beliefs and views on life, awareness of spirituality, all this affects the state of the body. Such diseases must be eliminated and a person’s internal problems must be solved through long work.

Psychosomatics of anorexia and bulimia

When a person sees a girl who is too thin, he thinks that she doesn’t eat anything. However, this is absolutely not true in most cases. The girl can eat a lot more than people can imagine, she just induces a gag reflex and suffers from bulimia.

Difference between anorexia and bulimia

Bulimia and anorexia are psychosomatic disorders in which eating behavior is disrupted. With anorexia, a person loses appetite and completely refuses to eat. The consequences of this can be severe and almost irreversible. First, a person strives to lose weight, goes on a diet, then reduces food intake, and subsequently the appetite completely disappears. Such individuals can also cause themselves to vomit, despite eating a tiny amount of food.

With bulimia, a person is unable to control his gluttony, but then forcibly rids the body of food. Such people do not always suffer from being overweight or underweight. Gluttony occurs due to psychological reasons, emotional stress. Patients pounce on food, swallow large pieces, and then feel a strong sense of guilt.

Psychosomatics of bulimia

What causes bulimia? Some psychological problems contribute to this:

Violation of family relationships. Mother can't find mutual language with his children, he eventually develops gluttony. Children eat too much, if they lack maternal attention, they consider themselves abandoned and unnecessary.
Psychological isolation of the child. He was sent to a camp or boarding school, the only source of joy is eating in huge quantities.
An adult experiences dissatisfaction with life, he is haunted by failures, interest in life decreases, and he begins to eat to get pleasure.

Psychosomatics of anorexia

Anorexia is female disease. Usually girls begin to give up food in order to become beautiful, attractive and slim. However, many on a subconscious level strive for exactly this. To be loved and worshiped by men.

Anorexia usually occurs in those who have many unresolved psychological problems. The man didn't feel sufficient quantity love in childhood, he had a difficult relationship with his mother, he felt betrayed and unnecessary, inferior in society.

As a result, the woman decides to change her own appearance in order to change her life. Eating is tightly controlled and anorexia occurs.

Suggestive therapy

It is imperative to help patients with anorexia and bulimia, because almost all patients, without exception, do not understand that they are seriously ill. Most girls believe that they are infinitely happy in the form of a skin-covered skeleton and do not want to change anything.

Patients cannot realistically look at the situation and begin a normal life again. It often happens that a person has bulimia and anorexia at the same time.

Positive therapy

Anorexia and bulimia nervous soil are the abilities to use minimal amount food and maintain world hunger.

Conflict situation

With psychosomatic fasting, it is necessary to judge not only the individual, but also the situation of the family as a whole. The starving person carries a symptom within himself; through his behavior he expresses all the suffering of his family, but no one says this out loud. If you judge a person from this point of view, you might think that the patient is the strongest among his family and friends. He puts his own life at risk to show family problems and unfair treatment.

Only truly strong individuals are able to almost completely refuse to eat and protest against normal behavior. They are able to control their body much better than others and not succumb to provocations. However, control also plays a bad joke on them. They break down, consume countless amounts of food, and then throw it out of themselves, suffering from remorse.

Basic problems

Typically, families in which there is a hungry person have a stable financial situation. Parents are serious about raising their children, forcing them to be impeccably polite and neat, obedient and religious individuals. All this is aimed at being no worse than others, and possibly better. In such families there is no place for tenderness and sensuality, it is not customary to show one’s love, and as a result, children lack the attention of their parents. They begin to feel worthless.

Conflict concepts

When children grow up in such families and become independent, they leave their parents' home and find themselves in an unusual situation. After all, in the world around us, everything is far from being as calm and joyful as they are used to thinking. As a result, psychosomatic deviations occur, people begin to protest against generally accepted norms and rules.

Therapy is carried out together with the family of a starving person, so that all relatives and friends reconsider their attitudes, life principles and concepts. Only in this case will it be possible to see a positive result. After all, a person first of all seeks, through fasting, to attract attention to himself or to show the real surrounding reality.

Those people who suffer from psychosomatic anorexia show that it is quite possible to exist in all alone and making do with too little. They also enjoy cooking for others while sharing in world hunger.

Fight for justice

Justice is a person’s ability to equally distribute his own interests and the interests of others. Every person has these feelings.

In therapy, many questions are asked about a person’s perception of fairness, whether he believes that life is unfair to him and for what reason.

Typically, sick people feel disadvantaged and unsure of themselves. The roots of this come from deep childhood; often a person does not even realize it without the help of a specialist.

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They are often called fashionable diseases of our time. And this is true, since the reason is the modern fashion for very thin women. Trying to match it, many girls are horrified by the few kilograms they have gained and urgently try to get rid of them by any means necessary.

In an effort to look like incorporeal creatures, they use literally everything: they regularly drink laxatives and diuretics. They do not eat anything or induce vomiting. From this, many get not only problems with physical health, but also acquire mental problems. These include bulimia and anorexia.

These forms of eating disorders are usually accompanied by somatoendocrine disorders, which lead to persistent social maladaptation, and also become real threat for the life of the sick. So what is it - bulimia and anorexia? Let's figure it out.

What is bulimia?

This is a mental disorder characterized by constant preoccupation with the process of eating food. A person’s thoughts are almost all about food and the fear of gaining weight. Conversations and interests are also devoted to this. They are only interested in topics about calories, diets, methods of losing weight, and weight loss medications. Patients are terrified of gaining even a few grams of weight.

It can manifest itself in attacks of a sharp increase in appetite, usually after abstaining from food. In this case, the person cannot control himself and begins to eat everything, large quantities. After satiation, panic occurs about what has been eaten, and patients induce vomiting. Patients diagnosed with bulimia regularly take laxatives, diuretics, drink various drugs, hoping to lose weight.

These patients are characterized by a certain ambivalence in relation to their own illness. On the one hand, they strive to get rid of the manifestations of the disease, and on the other, they passionately desire to maintain a minimum body weight. At the same time, they are well aware that they need to give up constant fasting and not abuse different ways weight loss.

Patients with bulimia do not achieve any significant loss of body weight, but there are constant weight fluctuations within 2-3 kg. This is the result of alternating bouts of overeating with starvation diets.

What is anorexia?

This condition is also defined as a mental disorder, characterized by a complete refusal to eat, or a sharp limitation in the amount of food consumed. The purpose of this behavior is strong weight loss, subsequent retention of the resulting weight.

This pathology is characterized by a perverted, incorrect idea of the shape and weight of one’s own body, as well as a strong, obsessive fear of gaining a few extra pounds. At the same time, patients are constantly dissatisfied with their body weight. They sincerely believe that they are overweight. Anorexia most often affects girls aged 12-24 years.

IN Lately There has been an increase in the number of patients worried about the size and shape of their abdomen. They are dissatisfied with what they have and want to have a flat, retracted, or, as they say, a “girlish” belly. Such patients are influenced by new fashion trends, changes in the attributes of external attractiveness, and the style of youth clothing - tops, tight-fitting trousers and low-waisted jeans.

Highlight two types of this pathology:

Restrictive. Characterized by conscious restriction of food consumption. A person eats very little, excluding very important things from his diet. necessary products.

Cleaning type. Characterized by a constant desire to empty the stomach of what has been eaten, causing vomiting or taking a laxative.

Enough dangerous disease, causing serious disturbances in the body. These include pallor of the skin, decreased tone, general weakness, and muscle spasms often appear. This is not the case with bulimia.

The disease is accompanied by constipation and bradycardia. Swelling is observed, prolapse may develop mitral valve, as well as anemia, hypoalbuminemia. At sudden weight loss, with signs of exhaustion, there is a risk of sudden death due to impairment heart rate. This is not the case with bulimia.

Treatment of these pathologies

Therapy for anorexia and bulimia is complex, includes psychotherapy sessions, special therapeutic diet, use of antidepressants. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the stage of the disease, its course and possible complications.

Treatment is carried out in a hospital setting, as there are the necessary conditions for this. After all, in modern clinics, experienced specialists - psychologists, psychotherapists, nutritionists - work with patients.

An individual treatment plan is drawn up for each patient and a specific diet is used. Psychotherapy sessions are combined with medications. Thus, hospital treatment can help even in the most advanced cases.

In addition, you need to remember that for a successful recovery you need the help of loved ones, relatives of the patients. They are called to create correct mode and monitor the progress of treatment.

After completing the therapeutic course, patients and their relatives attend a mandatory consultation with a qualified nutritionist, after which they follow a dietary regimen prescribed in accordance with the health status and characteristics of the patient’s body.