Do you or someone you know have anorexia? Have you tried to look for the treatment of anorexia, but failed? Have you ever wondered – is living with anorexia easy?

If your questions have not been answered yet, you have come to the right place. Let us move ahead and understand what is anorexia and the treatment options that are available.

  In simple words, anorexia is a type of eating problem. If you or someone close to you struggles with healthy and proper eating, you will see some changes in their behavior. Here are some of the changes that you may observe:

• Limiting the number of calories they eat
• Eating only certain types of food
• Getting scared of some food
• Working out a lot
• Eating food and then vomiting
• Misusing laxatives

Apart from this, people also face a lot of emotional issues. Due to anorexia, people start having a poor self-image. They feel they don’t look good and start hating their body. They are irritated most of the time. Along with this, people have fear of putting on weight.

As mentioned in the list above, people have a fear of putting on weight, will work out a lot and even vomit what they eat. As a result, people with anorexia start to lose weight very fast. Moreover, the body does not get the required nutrition or energy. Obviously, this is extremely unhealthy for the person in the long run.

Apart from losing weight, anorexia creates problems inside the body. From fainting to having shortness of breath, a person with anorexia suffers a lot. Therefore, this is a dangerous condition and one should take treatment for anorexia.

If you or someone close to you has anorexia, you may always have this question on your mind. Let us try to understand how it feels to constantly live with the fear of putting on weight. If someone lives in fear, they feel trapped. Similarly, people with this condition also feel trapped. This is because they want their weight to be “perfect” all the time. Whenever they want to enjoy food, they will also check for calories. Alternately, they keep thinking they will put on weight if they eat something.

So, to answer your question – No, living with anorexia isn’t easy. However, it is manageable. We have made a simple list of treatments for anorexia which is helpful.

Now that you understand how serious this issue is, let us look at the treatment of anorexia. In this list, we will give you tips on managing and living with anorexia. Along with this, we will also tell you what specialists you can meet for the treatment of anorexia.

We will classify the problem as mild and serious. First, let us look at options when it is mild anorexia.

Set Smart Eating Goals

One of the biggest issues for people with anorexia is how they look at food. In simple words, people are scared of food and putting on weight. Hence, it is important to focus on planning smart eating goals as part of your treatment of anorexia.

One of the main goals that people with anorexia need to achieve is a healthy body weight. For this, you can try setting SMART goals. Your goal should be set keeping these points in mind – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

You should discuss this in detail with an expert. With their help, you can plan daily, weekly and monthly goals. This will also help you evaluate your goals in a timely manner. Remember, the body needs to get back the lost energy.

Give Your Mind Rest

When you are taking treatment for anorexia, make some small lifestyle changes. It can be very tiring to check your weight every day. We advise you to stop doing this. Additionally, stop looking at yourself in the mirror. It is very important to give your body rest. Hence, get enough sleep at night.

Most importantly, avoid looking at negative body image messages on social media or TV. Do not believe all the photos you see of models. Also, stop comparing yourself to these models. Remember, it is not only the body that is healing, your mind needs rest as well.

Join a Support Group

In the fight with anorexia, you are not alone. In order to make your treatment for anorexia successful, join a local support group. A support group will provide 24/7 help for people who need treatment of anorexia. This is a good option if your issue is mild.

Now let us look at ways to handle anorexia when the problem is more serious.

As mentioned earlier, this issue can be very dangerous for the body. Hence, in severe cases, you must visit a doctor. This is because when you don’t eat enough, your body becomes weak. So, with the help of a doctor you can recover faster.

Speak to an Expert

Along with meeting a doctor for your physical health, you also need to meet other experts. For this, you can consult a nutrition expert and psychiatrist. With the help of a nutrition expert, you will learn how to set smart eating goals. You will also learn about healthy eating. This will teach you about food that gives your body energy. A psychiatrist will help you in the treatment of any emotional problems. If you are living with anorexia, it is highly likely that you feel anxious or depressed.

When you work along with these experts, you will be on the road to recovery faster. Hence, we advise you to follow the plan given by them. This personal plan will help you in your treatment of anorexia.

Getting Hospitalized

Lastly, when you observe that the situation is out of control, please visit a hospital. You or someone close to you will have to stay in the hospital for at least one night. At the hospital, experts will take care of you. You should get admitted only when other options do not work out.

The above tips can be applied to your personal struggles with eating. Similarly, you can also use these with people who are close to you and struggling.

To gain maximum benefits of the methods mentioned above, check out our self help course on “Body Image Concerns“. This is a very useful and informative course planned by experts from the mental health field.