Eating With Your Anorexic

What are Anorexia and Bulimia?

         Anorexia nervosa is a brain disorder that causes the sufferer to compulsively restrict his or her intake of food. The resulting starvation puts the ill person at risk of permanent medical damage and psychological repercussions. It is more deadly than any other psychiatric disorder. People who suffer from anorexia usually resist treatment and are unable to comprehend that anything is wrong.

        Bulimia nervosa is a similar disorder in which the sufferer binges on food and then purges it through vomiting, laxatives, excessive exercise, or other means.

        Eating disorders have long been blamed on traumatic experiences, parental control or neglect, social pressures, vanity, and subliminal motivations. However, it is now well-established that that anorexia and bulimia are biologically based, genetically transmitted, mental illnesses in which the internal regulators of appetite, fullness, body image, and self-preservation are temporarily thrown off-course. Lack of appropriate treatment can create chronic illness, disability, and death.

         Researchers, who have traditionally searched for external and psychological triggers for these deadly diseases, are increasingly looking into neurological, endocrine, autoimmune, and other physiological explanations for the compulsions and sensations of eating disordered patients. Genetic researchers are building an international database that will shed light on possible genes or gene combinations that may trigger, maintain, or cause eating disorders. Psychologists are working hard to develop psychotherapy approaches that help retrain the brain and teach coping tools and habits that can help patients regain normal lives and functioning. Families, notably, are stepping up in greater and greater numbers to be their loved one's support during the difficult but necessary work of recovery.

Newsweek's cover story: "No One To Blame"