Modern society, burdened with standards of beauty, declaring everywhere the cult of an ideal body according to the standards of the current fashion legislation, acts as a kind of sword of Damocles. Wanting to achieve the cherished parameters, not only the fair sex, but also men sweat hard in the gym, exhaust themselves with diets, and sometimes even refuse food altogether. By itself, an eating disorder is already an alarming bell that hints at the need for psychological help, and together with other mental disorders, it is a ticking time bomb. Moreover, both deviations in eating behavior and mental problems, such as, for example, schizophrenia, have a negative mutual influence, exacerbating each other.
When the stars aligned
The combination of schizophrenic disorder with anorexia nervosa or bulimia is not uncommon. Suffice it to recall that suffering due to their own external imperfection is characteristic mainly of teenage girls from quite prosperous and even wealthy families. At the same time, fashion victims should be sufficiently suggestible and dependent on the opinions of others. Schizophrenia, on the other hand, often manifests itself precisely during puberty, when the body is undergoing serious hormonal changes. In addition, schizophrenia is characterized by precisely those features that become fertile ground for the development of all sorts of manias and addictions. Alas, the increasing requirements for appearance every year provoke an eating disorder not only in girls, but also in guys. What are the consequences of the «Korean wave»! Looking at Korean pop stars, willy-nilly, you want to get a little closer to their standards, forgetting that their result also depends not so much on willpower, but on the skill of plastic surgeons and motivation.
It’s all about nerves
Distinguishing the usual loss of appetite from anorexia is quite easy. A patient is diagnosed with anorexia when, as a result of voluntary fasting, he loses more than 15% of his weight from the norm. At the same time, the decrease in body mass index reaches 17,5. But you can also lose weight to critical values as a result of purely physiological problems, for example, as a result of damage to some internal organs, you say. However, the causes of anorexia nervosa lie precisely in the psychological state — thinness in the patient becomes an obsession, an end in itself. At the same time, the level of self-esteem is inversely related to the available kilograms. The lower the weight, the more attractive the anorexic is for himself. And it does not matter to him at all that those around him are no longer embarrassed to talk about a clear deterioration, and a pale shadow of himself is looking at him from the mirror.
At some point, the process becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, because along with fat on a strict diet, the muscles also “melt”, the tissues of the internal organs are affected, their work is disrupted. In 10% of cases, it becomes impossible to save a person with anorexia.
The other side of the coin
Bulimia is another type of eating disorder. This disease is characterized by compulsive overeating and is often associated with anorexia. A person obsessively wants to lose weight, but constantly breaks down, drowning out hunger with everything that comes to hand. After an attack of gluttony, the patient, tormented by internal torment, induces vomiting, rinses the stomach and goes on a hunger strike again … until the next time.
With schizophrenia, all of the above symptoms are exacerbated at times. The general depressive state, aggravated by the feeling of one’s own imperfection, leads only to greater alienation. A person is finally immersed in the world of his own experiences and ideals, obsessed with his only visible goal, ignoring others and common sense. In this case, unfortunately, only comprehensive compulsory treatment in a hospital under the supervision of a psychiatrist can become an effective way.