Today there are around 1 percent of women all over the world who are suffering from anorexia nervosa

Today there are around 1 percent of women all over the world who are suffering from anorexia nervosa. Majority of those who are sick are in their teens, at least 17 years old. Though it seldom happens to them, men can also be prone of this.

Anorexia nervosa is a kind of eating disorder. It is attributed to a lot of factors and causes, including psychological imbalance and genetics. One thing is for sure: it should be immediately stopped.

How to Know You Have One

Usually, you抣l be asked to take an exam. The assessment isn抰 enough to confirm anorexia nervosa, but it tells you that you have it.

You抮e probably suffering from anorexia nervosa when you give too much attention to your weight. You have a distorted body image. You think you抮e so fat even if you抮e thin or of ideal weight, so you go on an extensive diet and rigorous exercise. You say no to a lot of food, preferably living for just two apples a day. You develop anxiety whenever there抯 food around, and you cringe when you find a weighing scale. However, even if your weight is already dropping drastically, you still feel a lot of stress. You think what you did are never enough.

Anorexia nervosa has a lot of negative effects physically, emotionally, and socially. It can lead to death, as the body organs start to fail because of malnutrition. You can suffer from cardiac arrest. You would also feel a lot of depression and loss of self-worth, and because you don抰 have enough confidence, you withdraw yourself from a lot of people.

Getting the Right Kind of Help

As a sufferer, you deserve to be helped as soon as possible. These tips can be a good start:

1. Look for a doctor. You require a doctor who would keep track of your weight and nutrition. He or she may also prescribe you with certain medications and supplements that would reduce anxiety and depression. Your doctor can also recommend a nutritionist who can come up with a meal plan specially made for sufferers like you.

2. Get to the main source. You may also want to talk things over with a therapist. A counselor can assist you in getting to the bottom reason of your illness. Sometimes losing weight becomes secondary. You use extreme dieting to combat fear, trauma, or hate of oneself or somebody else. The therapist may also introduce several non-medicine-based techniques so you can better deal with these triggers.

3. Affirm yourself. Subliminal messages or affirmations are extremely important. Keep in mind that one of the main reasons for the illness is the lack of self-appreciation or insecurity. The subliminal messages can be used to boost your bruised ego. Every day remind yourself that you抮e loved and you抮e more than your body image.

4. Stay away from those that push you to diet. It抯 time to throw away those magazines and diet books. Keep the weighing scale away too. Most of all, avoid those people who keep calling your fat or destroy your self-confidence.