What Is Anorexia Nervosa?Anorexia Nervosa is a condition that brings a person to a permanent state of having an intense fear of being fat. A person that suffers from Anorexia Nervosa will usually weight at least fifteen percent below their ideal body weight. People that have this disease will often times weigh their food before eating it and even vomit after eating. No matter how thin a person becomes they will always believe that they are overweight and continue to diet.

What are the Symptoms?There are many symptoms of anorexia and they are usually easy to spot if you are close with the person. Sign of Anorexia that need to be paid close attention are constant exercising, not just exercising in a healthy way but doing so all the time in an unhealthy way. An obsession with food and calories, and how much a person weighs, or eating less and eating in tiny amounts that seem highly unusual are also signs. These symptoms are escalated in importance if the person in question is already under normal body weight. Dizziness will be another sign of anorexia – this is usually caused by the fact that the person is not getting enough to eat. If you are dealing with a female then changes in the menstruation cycle or loss of it all together is a sign that the person has anorexia nervosa.

What is the Treatment?This is a common question and one that is not easily answered. the problem is that because each person is different and their reasons for the disease are different then the treatment for each person will vary. If you want to know more about the treatment of anorexia then a few things to keep in mind are that for some people it’s more than just taking them to a doctor and getting well. it takes time and effort.

Anorexia treatment will usually start with trying to help the person gain weight. Depending on the severity of the person’s situation and if they need to be in the hospital then it will make a difference on how fast this is done. Also the reinstatement of normal eating habits is the next step, this will help to bring the weight back to normal and keep it there. Depending on the condition of the person then there may be some physical problem and some mental problems associated with this disease. in order to treat anorexia nervosa, most of the time, strong family support is needed and can help to make the recovery a lot faster and easier.

Common feelings and actions that are linked to anorexia nervosa include:1
* having an intense fear of gaining weight.
* Restricting food or types of food, such as food that contains any kind of fat or sugar.
* Weighing less than 85% of your expected body weight. (In a child or teen, losing or not gaining weight during a growth spurt is a concern.)
* seeing your body as overweight, in spite of being underweight. this is called having a distorted body image.
* Overexercising.
* being secretive around food and not seeing or wanting to talk about having a problem with eating or weight loss.some people who have anorexia also make themselves vomit or use laxatives or diuretics to lose weight (bulimia). Breakdown of the enamel on the teeth is a common symptom of long-term vomiting.
Common physical signs of malnutrition from anorexia include:3
* a low body weight.
* Constipation and slow emptying of the stomach.
* Thinning hair, dry skin, and brittle nails.
* Shrunken breasts.
* stopping or never getting a monthly menstrual period.
* Feeling cold, with a lower-than-normal body temperature.
* Low blood pressure.
* a slow heartbeat (fewer than 60 beats a minute).
* Not feeling pain as you normally would.
* Purplish skin color on the arms and legs from poor blood circulation.
* Swollen feet and hands.
* Yellow-orange skin, especially on the palms of the hands.
People who have anorexia often develop rituals associated with eating. these may include:
* Developing special ways to eat food, hoarding food, collecting recipes, and preparing elaborate meals for other people but not eating the meals themselves.
* Spending a lot of time cutting and rearranging food on their plates to make it look as though they have eaten. they may also hide food or secretly get rid of it during meals.

•Planning your meals frequently
•Refusal to go to social events
•Not eating
•Constantly exercising or asking about weight
•Very thin
•Secretive and shy

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been in the news frequently as veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan return home. many of these individuals suffer lasting effects from the trauma they experienced and witnessed.PTSD is an anxiety disorder that may occur after exposure to a traumatic event that threatens the physical integrity of self and/or others and in which one’s response involves intense fear, helplessness, and horror. The disorder is characterized by reexperiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, numbing of general responsiveness, and increased arousal.  The trauma does not have to be war-related; it may be a car accident, sexual  or physical assault, natural disaster, fire, abuse, or other type of trauma.Children and adolescents may also experience PTSD although it often looks quite different in them. whereas, the diagnosis of PTSD focuses on an isolated traumatic event with subsequent responses to specific triggers, for many children trauma is chronic and involves interpersonal relationships. in some cases, the trauma is perpetrated by the individual(s) who are supposed to love and protect the child. Very different reactions may be seen in children who experience multiple, chronic traumatic events from those who experience a single, isolated traumatic event.in fact, there is ongoing discussion about the validity of the PTSD diagnosis criteria for children and adolescents. The Complex Trauma Taskforce of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network is proposing the diagnosis of “developmental trauma disorder” for children and adolescents who experience early, chronic, and severe trauma.Developmental trauma disorder may be seen in children after repeated exposure to “developmentally adverse interpersonal trauma.” Symptoms include emotional and physiological dysregulation, developmental delays, sensory integration problems, attention problems, impulsive behaviors, low self esteem, and interpersonal problems. Psychiatrist Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, from Boston University Medical Center and a member of the Complex Trauma Taskforce, has been a leader in the development of the diagnosis of developmental trauma disorder. he described the problem: “Because children’s brains are still developing, trauma has a much more pervasive and long-range influence on their self-concept, on their sense of the world and on their ability to regulate themselves.” [DeAngelis, T. (2007). a new diagnosis for childhood trauma? [Electronic version]. Monitor on Psychology, 38(3), 32.]Foster parents and adoptive parents often see the effects of chronic and interpersonal trauma played out in the behaviors and emotions of children living in their homes. These problems can create overwhelming challenges for the adults trying to help these children.too often medications are used to treat the symptoms of complex trauma including attention deficit disorder, cognitive and behavioral problems, and antisocial behaviors. These medications treat isolated symptoms and fail to address the larger problem. Other interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy and traditional psychotherapy are limited in their effects because they do not work to change the brain. Dr. van der Kolk describes these piecemeal efforts as “losing sight of the forest in favor of one tree.”more helpful responses are described by Cathy Malchiodi, art therapist, author, and expert in treating trauma in children and adolescents. in her article “Developmental Trauma Disorder: what Trauma Specialists need to Know”, she identified the following interventions:•    Establishing a sense of safety for the child Continued…

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