The reason for eating disorders in teenagers are not only the beauty standards imposed by society, but they come against the background of a psychological vulnerability that is accentuated due to the hormonal storms that the changing body goes through.
Communicate on any topic
More or less conscious suffering can affect adolescents and distort their self-perception. Eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, which make their debut in adolescence and can continue throughout life, do not appear in emotionally healthy people. They are symptoms of mental suffering that are expressed through bodily suffering. The experience of communicating with the child, constantly and permanently, is the surest way to prevent these problems. They must be encouraged from a young age to formulate questions and express their opinions and concerns about any topic, without being judged or accused, but supported to overcome difficulties. When the symptoms start to appear, the suffering is already present, so the start is already missed, and the intervention is more difficult.
How do these disorders manifest?
If she refuses food, loses weight in an unnatural way, has a constant fear of gaining weight and is constantly interested in diets and weight loss techniques, it may be anorexia. This is based on a distorted perception of one’s own body, and is common in teenage girls, although boys can also be affected.
At the opposite pole is bulimia, a disorder that involves compulsive episodes of overeating. After overeating, guilt sets in, and the teenager tries to induce vomiting, consume laxatives, and do exhausting physical exercises. Like anorexics, bulimics are excessively preoccupied with their appearance and, in essence, have extremely low self-esteem.
The contradictory situation in which the same person alternately suffers from episodes of bulimia and episodes of anorexia is also common among adolescents. Eating disorders can be treated if patients take proper care of themselves, change their lifestyle and attitude towards themselves.
The intervention of a specialist is useful
The mechanisms of these diseases are similar to addictions, that’s why it is necessary that once the eating disorder is established, you request the help of a specialist for your teenager. There are multiple therapeutic approaches to eating disorders, and they do not focus on the symptom, that is, on the refusal of food or on its compulsive consumption, but on deciphering the meaning of the symptom, the cause, which is different for each adolescent, and removing the suffering that has produced this disorder.
