The Prevention and Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is a mental illness, an eating disorder and a life threatening sickness that is often responsible for the people who do not receive enough nutrition for their bodies (National Eating Disorders Collaboration). This mental illness also causes people to be preoccupied in thinking that they are overweight when they are actually underweight. As a result, the people with Anorexia Nervosa starve themselves and do not receive enough nutrition for their body to function properly. There are many different signs or symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa. Some of them are sensational weight loss, extreme thinness and major dieting issues (Helpguide).

This essay discusses the ways in which a mental illness called Anorexia Nervosa can be solved or prevented from causing people to have sensational weight loss, to be extremely thin and to have major dieting issues (Helpguide). Some of the preventative methods are as follows: promoting healthy opinions about oneself and others (WebMD),  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Good Therapy) and  eating a balanced meal (NEDA). The method that will probably work the best is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It is also linked to the economic and the moral factors.

The first method that could be used to prevent Anorexia Nervosa is by promoting healthy opinions about oneself and others. The way that this method works is by encouraging Anorexic people especially the young children to keep a positive view on themselves and their bodies (WebMD). The method, promoting healthy opinions about oneself and others basically conveys the message that a child/ adult should never comment negatively about the way they look. The results of saying negative comments would worsen the Anorexic person’s way of thinking about themselves (NEDA). This method is effective as it encouraged many people around the world to change their ways. The people with eating disorders were able to gather up their courage to look at themselves with more confidence day by day (Stanford Medicine). Therefore, there should not be any other problems arising when this solution is used.

This method is related to the ethical and the moral factors. The method, promoting healthy opinions about oneself and others is related to the ethical factor. This is because the Anorexic people may think that the encouragements from people could be a joke or a lie which is supposed to cheer them up. It is also related to the moral factor because people can choose whether this solution is right or wrong in their lives (WebMD). Therefore, these factors will cause a barrier for this method to those who are not willing to be encouraged by the compliments from others. However, to those who are very willing to be encouraged should be affected in a good way.

The second method that could be used to solve or prevent Anorexia Nervosa is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Good Therapy). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an example of a psychological therapy. During the time that a person is under treatment, the therapist would try to really understand their thoughts and emotions about their condition which is in this case, Anorexia Nervosa. The therapist would focus on getting rid of the patient’s poor eating habits and would try to help them to become healthier every day. This method is quite effective as it has been used many times on Anorexic patients ending up with a positive outcome (The Ranch). There will also be no problems arising since it is used to encourage people to have better thoughts about themselves through psychological therapy.

This method is related to the economic and the moral factors. The method, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is related to the economic factor. This is because the price range for this therapy is about £40-£100 which is about Rs. 4,000- Rs. 10,000 depending on the quality of the therapy (NHS Choices). It also related to the moral factor because it is a personal choice for people whether they want to attend the therapy or not. Therefore, these factors will cause a barrier for this method to those who are not willing to spend a lot of money and to those who may or may not want to attend the therapy.

The third method that could be used to solve or prevent Anorexia Nervosa is by eating a balanced meal. As Anorexic people have a tendency of eating very little or very poorly as they think they are overweight (NEDA). Howstuffworks recommends that an average person should provide their bodies with at least 2,000 calories from a balanced meal per day (HowStuffWorks). If a person is devoted to the following system, he/she will be able to become healthier since they are eating three healthy/balanced meals a day. As a result, using this method on a person with Anorexia Nervosa should be able to help him/her look better physically and should eventually be able to feel healthier overall (Patient.co.uk). There should not be any problems arising due to this method.

This method is related to the ethical and the moral factors. Eating a balanced meal is related to the ethical factor. After eating a balanced meal, an Anorexic person could throw up. This would mean that the nutrition from the healthy and balanced meal would be gone to waste without being put to use by the person’s body (Helpguide). It is also related to the moral factor because it is the person’s choice of whether they want to eat at least 2,000 calories from a balanced meal per day (HowStuffWorks). Therefore, the ethical factor will cause a barrier for this method to those who are against eating a lot even if it is about eating a healthy and a balanced meal. The moral factor will also cause a barrier for this method when solving Anorexia Nervosa as the person has the choice of whether they want to eat at least 2,000 calories per day or not.

Therefore, based on my research, it seems as if Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most effective and the best method that could be used to solve or prevent Anorexia Nervosa. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychological therapy where the therapist would focus on getting rid of the patient’s poor eating habits and would try to help them to become healthier every day (The Ranch). This method is the best since it is focused on helping an Anorexic patient through professional help which is in this case, psychological therapy. However, this method’s disadvantage comes in the areas of factors where it is linked to the economic and moral implications. Overall, this Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most effective method that can be used to solve or prevent Anorexia Nervosa in the future.