People’s Democratic Republic Of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

University of El Hadj Lakhdar – Batna 2

Faculty of Social and Human Sciences

Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences and

SpeechTherapy

Third year Clinical Psychology

A research about :

Anorexi
Presented by : Supervised by :
Mokrani Med. Lamine Safia Khendoudi
Chettouh Douaa Group :01
Merdja hakima

Rahmani Nourelhouda

Bououn Dounia Amina

Tahtouh Manel

Abrazi Chahinez

Academic year : 2020/2021

Search elemnts

1. Introduction
2. Definition
3. Symptoms
4. Causes
5. Diagnosis
6. Treatments
7. Prevalence
8. Risk and prognostic factors
9. Prevention
10. Conslusion
Introducion

We, as human beings, are sociable creatures by nature. We live together and intertwine
with eachother’s thoughts, beliefs, perspectives etc. But sometimes, one’s feeling of fitting in
overpass the feeling of being himself especially around a society that does not understand
what a person is going through, which in worst case scenarios cost lives. For instance, beauty
standards that are « imposed » by social media influencers, family members, celibrities, are in
actually in perpetual change. Today people worhip skinny white girls and tomorrow they brag
about dark skinned women with curves. This does nothing but proves that following actuality
is a living hell. Unfortunately, there is a category of people who are easily misled and
triggered because they have an extreme difficulty accepting their body image. They could
express that by cutting themselves, their hair, chopping off their nails or simply boycotting
food, which leads to Anorexia, aka our subject. Anorexia is an eating disorder characterised
by an intense fear of gaining weight and disorted view of body image. In this research we will
give more than this small definition, we will talk about its symptoms, causes, diagnosis,
treatments, prevalence, risk and prognostic factors and finally, prevention.
Definition

Anorexia nervosa is a disorder which makes eating very distressing. It makes people
obsessively anxious to maintain or reduce their body weight through rigid control of their
calorie intake. People with anorexia nervosa often have a very distorted perception of how
they look and continue to feel the need to lose weight even when they are so thin that their
health is very seriously at risk. They have an intense fear of gaining weight and feel that their
value as a person is directly affected by their body shape. (Mental Health Foundation,
2000 :3).

The picture below shows how anorexic people see themselves :

e
 1. Symptoms (NIH, 2018 :2-3)

They include :

 Extreme thinness (emaciation)

 A relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy
weight
 Intense fear of gaining weight
 Distorted body image, a self-esteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions of body
weight and shape, or a denial of the seriousness of low body weight

Over time, these symptoms may also develop:

 Thinning of the bones (osteopenia or osteoporosis)

 Mild anemia and muscle wasting and weakness
 Brittle hair and nails
 Dry and yellowish skin
 Growth of fine hair all over the body (lanugo)
 Severe constipation
 Low blood pressure, slowed breathing and pulse
 Damage to the structure and function of the heart
 Drop in internal body temperature, causing a person to feel cold all the time
 Lethargy, sluggishness, or feeling tired all the time
 Infertility
 Brain damage
 Multiorgan failure

Anorexia can be fatal. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality (death) rate of any mental
disorder. People with anorexia may die from medical conditions and complications associated
with starvation; by comparison, people with others eating disorders die of suicide.
 2. Causes

Anorexia has no single cause, it seems that a genetic predisposition is necessary but not
sufficient for development of the disorder. Twin and family studies, brain scans of affected
and unaffected family members, and a current multicentre gene analysis support observations
that anorexia is found in families with obsessive, perfectionist, and competitive traits, and
possibly also autistic spectrum traits. Anorexia nervosa is precipitated as a coping mechanism
against, for instance, developmental challenges, transitions, family conflicts, and academic
pressures. Sexual abuse may precipitate anorexia but not more commonly than it would
trigger other psychiatric disorders. The onset of puberty and adolescence are particularly
common precipitants, but anorexia is also found without apparent precipitants in otherwise
well functioning families. (Sara, Jane, 2007 :3)

2. Diagnosis

If your doctor suspects that you have anorexia nervosa, he or she will typically do
several tests and exams to help pinpoint a diagnosis, rule out medical causes for the weight
loss, and check for any related complications.

These exams and tests generally include:

 Physical exam. This may include measuring your height and weight; checking your vital
signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature; checking your skin and nails
for problems; listening to your heart and lungs; and examining your abdomen.

 Lab tests. These may include a complete blood count (CBC) and more-specialized blood
tests to check electrolytes and protein as well as functioning of your liver, kidney and
thyroid. A urinalysis also may be done.

 Psychological evaluation. A doctor or mental health professional will likely ask about
your thoughts, feelings and eating habits. You may also be asked to complete
psychological self-assessment questionnaires.

 Other studies. X-rays may be taken to check your bone density, check for stress
fractures or broken bones, or check for pneumonia or heart problems. Electrocardiograms
may be done to look for heart irregularities.
 3. Treatment (MFMER, 2021)
Treatment for anorexia is generally done using a team approach, which includes
doctors, mental health professionals and dietitians, all with experience in eating disorders.
Ongoing therapy and nutrition education are highly important to continued recovery.
Here's a look at what's commonly involved in treating people with anorexia.

 Hospitalization and other programs

If your life is in immediate danger, you may need treatment in a hospital emergency
room for such issues as a heart rhythm disturbance, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances or
a psychiatric emergency. Hospitalization may be required for medical complications,
severe psychiatric problems, severe malnutrition or continued refusal to eat.
Some clinics specialize in treating people with eating disorders. They may offer day
programs or residential programs rather than full hospitalization. Specialized eating
disorder programs may offer more-intensive treatment over longer periods of time.

 Medical care
Because of the host of complications anorexia causes, you may need frequent
monitoring of vital signs, hydration level and electrolytes, as well as related physical
conditions. In severe cases, people with anorexia may initially require feeding through a
tube that's placed in their nose and goes to the stomach (nasogastric tube).
Care is usually coordinated by a primary care doctor or a mental health professional,
with other professionals involved.

 Restoring a healthy weight

The first goal of treatment is getting back to a healthy weight. You can't recover from
anorexia without returning to a healthy weight and learning proper nutrition. Those
involved in this process may include:

 Your primary care doctor, who can provide medical care and supervise your calorie
needs and weight gain

 A psychologist or other mental health professional, who can work with you to

develop behavioral strategies to help you return to a healthy weight

 A dietitian, who can offer guidance getting back to regular patterns of eating,

including providing specific meal plans and calorie requirements that help you meet
your weight goals
  Your family, who will likely be involved in helping you maintain normal eating
habits

 Psychotherapy
These types of therapy may be beneficial for anorexia:

 Family-based therapy. This is the only evidence-based treatment for teenagers with

anorexia. Because the teenager with anorexia is unable to make good choices about
eating and health while in the grips of this serious condition, this therapy mobilizes
parents to help their child with re-feeding and weight restoration until the child can
make good choices about health.

 Individual therapy. For adults, cognitive behavioral therapy — specifically enhanced

cognitive behavioral therapy — has been shown to help. The main goal is to normalize
eating patterns and behaviors to support weight gain. The second goal is to help
change distorted beliefs and thoughts that maintain restrictive eating.

 Medications
No medications are approved to treat anorexia because none has been found to work
very well. However, antidepressants or other psychiatric medications can help treat other
mental health disorders you may also have, such as depression or anxiety.

 Treatment challenges in anorexia

One of the biggest challenges in treating anorexia is that people may not want
treatment. Barriers to treatment may include:

 Thinking you don't need treatment

 Fearing weight gain

 Not seeing anorexia as an illness but rather a lifestyle choice

People with anorexia can recover. However, they're at increased risk of relapse
during periods of high stress or during triggering situations. Ongoing therapy or periodic
appointments during times of stress may help you stay healthy.
 4. Prevalence
The 12-month prevalence of anorexia nervosa among young females is approximately
0.4%. Less is known about prevalence among males, but anorexia nervosa is far less common
in males than in females, with clinical populations generally reflecting approximately a 10:1
female-to-male ratio. (Dilip, Jeffery, David and al, 2013 :341)

5. Risk and Prognostic Factors (Ibid : 342)

1. Temperamental
Individuals who develop anxiety disorders or display obsessional traits in
childhood are at increased risk of developing anorexia nervosa.
2. Environmental
Historical and cross-cultural variability in the prevalence of anorexia nervosa
supports its association with cultures and settings in which thinness is valued.
Occupations and avocations that encourage thinness, such as modeling and elite
athletics, are also associated with increased risk.
3. Genetic and physiological
There is an increased risk of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa among first-
degree biological relatives of individuals with the disorder. An increased risk of bipolar
and depressive disorders has also been found among first-degree relatives of individuals
with anorexia nervosa, particularly relatives of individuals with the
binge-eating/purging type. Concordance rates for anorexia nervosa in monozygotic
twins are significantly higher than those for dizygotic twins. A range of brain
abnormalities has been described in anorexia nervosa using functional imaging
technologies (functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography).
The degree to which these findings reflect changes associated with malnutrition versus
primary abnormalities associated with the disorder is unclear.

6. Prevention
The role of prevention in the development of eating disorders needs further exploration.
Potential prevention components may involve education and skills training for parents around
talking about and identifying risk factors. (Sara and Jacinta, 2016 : 6).
Conclusion

As we have seen above in this research, patients who suffer from anorexia are in a
serious need of help. This disorder is strongly underrated while it’s in reality the most
dangerous illness and the only one that’s a direct cause of death. Most of people with this
disorder can’t help but keep on kicking around some ideas and living situation they could not
our grow, plus, society does more damage than it supposes. When people want you to do
something they say it's reality and ask you to accept it ; they body shame you then blame you
for overreacting ; they dramatise the consequences then ask you to get over it. Sanity is not a
choice, you can’t just choose to get over it when you want to. When you feel like you’re a
burden and your body is a catastrophe, it’ll take a cowboy move to eat, let alone having to
deal with the outcome on a daily basis. After all help is always demanded even if it's not
asked, that’s what we, through our work, have tried to do, we wanted to spread awareness by
showing the dangerous of this microscopic disorder and how these patients are percieving
things. So the message that should be delievered, is that at he end of the day, life is too short
to weigh your green beans, and no one should be like anyone, we’re all unique the way we
are.
 Bibliographic references 

 Dilip, Jeffery, David and al. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders. Fifth Edition. London, England. British Library Cataloguing in Publication
Data
 Jane, M. Sara, T. (2007). Anorexia Nervosa reviw. BMJ.
 Mental Health Foundation. (2000). All About Anorexia Nervosa. UK Office,
England.
 MFMER. (1998-2021). Anorexia Nervosa.
 National Institute of Mental Health. (2018). Eating Disorders: About More Than
Food.
 Sara, K. Jacinta, M. (2016). Anorexia Nervosa. Neurology and Psychiatry.