What type of psychological disorder is anorexia

These often involve a fear of gaining weight or a desire to lose weight. Dietary restrictions can lead to nutritional deficiencies, which can severely affect overall health and result in potentially life threatening complications. The emotional and psychological challenges of anorexia nervosa can be hard for a person to overcome.

Therapy includes counseling, nutritional advice, and medical care. Some people may need treatment in the hospital. There are many myths about eating disorders. Learn more about the myths surrounding eating disorders and the real facts.

Anorexia nervosa is a complex condition. The main sign is significant weight loss or low body weight. In atypical anorexia nervosa, the person may still have a moderate weight despite substantial weight loss.

The person may also demonstrate certain behaviors, such as :. The person may associate food and eating with guilt. They may seem unaware that anything is wrong or be unwilling to recognize their issues around eating.

Anorexia nervosa affects people differently. Not everyone with the condition will behave in the same way, and some individuals may experience atypical anorexia nervosa, meaning that they will not have a low body weight.

Concerns about body weight and shape are often features of anorexia nervosa, but they may not be the main cause. Experts do not know exactly why the condition occurs, but genetic, environmental, biological, and other factors may play a role.

For some people, anorexia nervosa develops as a way of gaining control over an aspect of their life. As the person exerts control over their food intake, this feels like success, and so, the behavior continues. A person may also have a higher chance of developing an eating disorder if:.

This is why seeing your doctor is important. Eating disorders can be an aspect of a range of conditions. Your doctor will need to make sure that you are not losing weight because of another reason, such as an undiagnosed physical illness or another mental health condition.

There are two types of anorexia nervosa. One type emphasises the restriction of food intake. The other type includes excessive food intake binge eating followed by purging, or purging after the consumption of normal portions, or small amounts of food.

Purging may include self-induced vomiting, or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas. The signs can be different in each person, but they might include:. This type of anorexia nervosa shares some similarities to bulimia nervosa.

People with anorexia nervosa, however, tend to strongly emphasise weight control by restricting energy intake, rather than primarily through purging behaviours. In addition, people with this type of anorexia nervosa have a lower body weight; whereas people with bulimia nervosa tend to have fluctuating body weight closer to the healthy weight range for their age and height.

Research is continuing into which treatment for anorexia nervosa might be most effective. There is no single treatment method that suits everyone. Evidence suggests that treatment will help most people to recover from the condition. Evidence also suggests that it is best to get treatment started as early as possible, and that using a team of professionals with expertise in different fields is the best approach. Once anorexia nervosa is diagnosed, your doctor will organise a team to help you on your way to recovery.

This might include establishing a healthcare team of different professionals such as:. Most people with anorexia nervosa are treated outside a hospital setting. However, if the condition is severe, temporary treatment in a hospital might be needed. Outpatient treatment and day programs can also be very helpful in supporting people as they make changes to behavioural, thinking and eating patterns.

People with anorexia nervosa who have also experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse are encouraged to seek help for the trauma they have experienced, as well as their eating disorder.

This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. The size of a standard drink can vary according to the type of alcohol. Unlike people with other eating disorders, they do not purge. Pica is another eating disorder that involves eating things that are not considered food.

Individuals with pica crave non-food substances, such as ice, dirt, soil, chalk, soap, paper, hair, cloth, wool, pebbles, laundry detergent, or cornstarch 8. Pica can occur in adults, as well as children and adolescents. That said, this disorder is most frequently observed in children, pregnant women, and individuals with mental disabilities Individuals with pica may be at an increased risk of poisoning, infections, gut injuries, and nutritional deficiencies.

Depending on the substances ingested, pica may be fatal. Summary Individuals with pica tend to crave and eat non-food substances. This disorder may particularly affect children, pregnant women, and individuals with mental disabilities.

Rumination disorder is another newly recognized eating disorder. It describes a condition in which a person regurgitates food they have previously chewed and swallowed, re-chews it, and then either re-swallows it or spits it out This rumination typically occurs within the first 30 minutes after a meal.

This disorder can develop during infancy, childhood, or adulthood. In infants, it tends to develop between 3—12 months of age and often disappears on its own. Children and adults with the condition usually require therapy to resolve it. If not resolved in infants, rumination disorder can result in weight loss and severe malnutrition that can be fatal. Adults with this disorder may restrict the amount of food they eat, especially in public.

This may lead them to lose weight and become underweight 8 , Summary Rumination disorder can affect people at all stages of life. Then, they chew it again and either swallow it or spit it out. Individuals with this disorder experience disturbed eating either due to a lack of interest in eating or distaste for certain smells, tastes, colors, textures, or temperatures.

Moreover, it does not include the avoidance or restriction of foods due to lack of availability or religious or cultural practices. This is either due to a lack of interest in food or an intense distaste for how certain foods look, smell, or taste.

In addition to the six eating disorders above, less-known or less common eating disorders also exist. These generally fall under one of three categories 8 :. Although increasingly mentioned in the media and scientific studies, orthorexia has yet to be recognized as a separate eating disorder by the current DSM. Individuals with orthorexia tend to have an obsessive focus on healthy eating, to an extent that disrupts their daily lives.

This can lead to malnutrition, severe weight loss, difficulty eating outside the home, and emotional distress. Individuals with orthorexia rarely focus on losing weight. Instead, their self-worth, identity, or satisfaction is dependent upon how well they comply with their self-imposed diet rules Summary Purging disorder and night eating syndrome are two additional eating disorders that are currently not well described.

Types of eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, other specified feeding and eating disorder, pica and rumination disorder.

Several, especially anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are more common in women, but they can all occur at any age and affect any gender. Eating disorders are often associated with preoccupations with food, weight or shape or with anxiety about eating or the consequences of eating certain foods.

Behaviors associated with eating disorders including restrictive eating or avoidance of certain foods, binge eating, purging by vomiting or laxative misuse or compulsive exercise. These behaviors can become driven in ways that appear similar to an addiction. Eating disorders affect several million people at any given time , most often women between the ages of 12 and There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

Eating disorders often co-occur with other psychiatric disorders most commonly mood and anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and alcohol and drug abuse problems.

Evidence suggests that genes and heritability play a part in why some people are at higher risk for an eating disorder, but these disorders can also afflict those with no family history of the condition.

Treatment should address psychological, behavioral, nutritional and other medical complications. The latter can include consequences of malnutrition or of purging behaviors including, heart and gastrointestinal problems as well as other potentially fatal conditions. Ambivalence towards treatment, denial of a problem with eating and weight, or anxiety about changing eating patterns is not uncommon. With proper medical care however, those with eating disorders can resume healthy eating habits, and recover their emotional and psychological health.

Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and weight loss resulting in low weight for height and age. Anorexia has the highest mortality of any psychiatric diagnosis other than opioid use disorder and can be a very serious condition.

Body mass index or BMI, a measure of weight for height, is typically under Dieting behavior in anorexia nervosa is driven by an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat. Although some individuals with anorexia will say they want and are trying to gain weight, their behavior is not consistent with this intent.

For example, they may only eat small amounts of low-calorie foods and exercise excessively. Some persons with anorexia nervosa also intermittently binge eat and or purge by vomiting or laxative misuse. Over time, some of the following symptoms may develop related to starvation or purging behaviors:.

Serious medical complications can be life threatening and include heart rhythm abnormalities especially in those patients who vomit or use laxatives, kidney problems or seizures. Treatment for anorexia nervosa involves helping those affected normalize their eating and weight control behaviors and restore their weight.

Medical evaluation and treatment of any co-occurring psychiatric or medical conditions is an important component of the treatment plan.