ANOREXIA NERVOSA

MOVING THE NEEDLE

Mental Illnesses

Mental Illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior. (American Psychiatric Association) Mental illnesses are not uncommon and 19% of U.S. adults face some sort of mental illness in their life. 65%-85% of people with mental disorders living in low-income and middle-income countries do not get treatment according to the World Health Organization. Most people think of depression and anxiety when they think about mental illnesses. However, eating disorders are not acknowledged enough by society.

Eating Disorders

People of any age or gender can be affected by eating disorders, although statistics show that women are more affected. When researchers followed a group of 496 adolescent girls for 8 years, until they were 20, they found that a total of 13.2% of the girls had suffered from a DSM-5 eating disorder by age 20 once they included nonspecific eating disorder symptoms. (National Eating Disorders Association) Eating disorders can lead to fatal consequences and other medical complications. Eating Disorders are when an individual finds it hard to focus on other aspects of life because they are preoccupied with their self image by food and weight issues. Examples of eating disorders include Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Anorexia Nervosa. (National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI))

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss or avoiding weight gain. People with Anorexia Nervosa generally restrict the amount of calories they eat by restricting the types of food they consume.