Teen Health and Anorexia
Teen Health > Teen Health and Anorexia
Anorexia has become a major problem for some time, and we need to guide young teens to better be aware of the effects of this disorder. As much as one and twp hundred and fifty teens have anorexia and without intervention teens can often feel helpless and alone. Just like any disorder we need to find solutions to help the problem or it will never go away. You can suggest books to accumulate knowledge with teens on helping with the anorexia, but nothing replaces the help that the parents or therapist can do with one on one discussions.
There are many signs that your teen my be suffering from anorexia and you need to be aware and take action. Some signs maybe be restrictive eating such as severe fad diets or fasting not eating day in and out. Watch out for out of place rituals like counting the number of bites of food, cutting food into tiny little pieces, or making food for other people and then not eating any themselves. They may also try using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics to get rid of the food. Lastly when also dressing they may hide in layers of clothing to mask the fact that they have lost a lot of weight. These behavioral signs are widely understood by visible characteristics of anorexia and should never under any circumstance be ignored, passed on as just signs of depression, anxiety, or means to get attention.
With teen health and struggling with anorexia, the first thing that you need to do is to confront the problem. By confronting the anorexia and realizing you have a problem then you can gain a new perspective on how to recover. As a parent, you need to intervene with your teen to help them cope with this problem and together find a solution. Read books get advice from therapist on how to talk to your teen to face the anorexia.
Remember that anorexia is not just an eating disorder and not a problem with just food and weight, but one that associates with complex psychological factors. So start with breaking the silence with this disorder and know that there is certain things that you can and should always do. Recovery will likely have to involve some kind of outside support help and treatment, so don't think that you have to combat this problem on your own.
The next plan of action with teens suffering from anxiety is how to directly approach the problem. Many teens will try to avoid you at all cost, so you need to come up with a game plan. Think about who would be the best person to talk to them about the talking. If you are the parent, talk with your husband or wife if you should talk to the teen with one parent or both. Don't ever get the whole family involved that could spell for a disaster. Pick a time to talk to your teen when you feel calm and relaxed.