5 Differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa

  • Nov 09, 2021
click fraud protection
Differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa

One day you wake up and you look in the mirror differently than it used to be. The image has changed, nothing is the same. You don't like the image that the mirror gives you back, and the feeling that your own body generates influences you when it comes to choosing the foods to eat. You do not want to eat foods that provide few or large amounts of calories even if they are healthy since that would cause you to gain weight. Thus, your body weight begins to drop to unimagined limits. However, you still see yourself with a few extra kilos that cause you great concern. You have probably heard a testimony from someone who has suffered from this issue, or perhaps you have experienced it in the first person. Indeed, we are talking about anorexia. Anyway, we should not confuse anorexia with anorexia nervosa. Being able to understand their differences will provide us with greater tools that we must take into account. Do you want to know more about this? In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about the 4 differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa.

You may also like: Etiology of Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa

Index

  1. The cause
  2. Psychological aspect
  3. Population type
  4. Type of behaviors
  5. Your own gaze on the body

The cause.

When we talk about the anorexy, we are referring to a eating disorder characterized by loss of appetite in front of different foods. In this way, this produces a significant loss of body weight.

The onset of anorexia can have various causes. On the one hand, there are mental disorders such as depression that can be triggers for this clinical picture. Beyond this question, there are also associations between anorexia and drug use as antidepressants, analgesics, among others. This type of condition also can be caused by organic diseases such as thyroid cancer, gastric cancer, or heart failure.

Like anorexia, anorexia nervosa it shares the same qualities in terms of its mode of presentation. However, one of the most important points to take into account lies in the fact that there is an intense restriction against food intake by a fear of weight gain. In this way, when people suffering from this pathology consume some food, they look for methods to compensate for the calories they have incorporated. For this reason, vomiting caused by the person, the excessive use of diuretics and / or laxatives and exacerbated physical exercise are usually frequent.

In this article, you will find more information about the Etiology of anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

Differences Between Anorexia And Anorexia Nervosa - The Cause

Psychological aspect.

The anorexy it is a disease that can be caused by organic factors such as intestinal disorders. In this sense, it is common for symptoms of anorexia to appear, such as little desire to eat food or drinks generated by certain previous organic-based diseases. In other words, it is possible for someone to present disturbances in the functioning of the digestive tract and / or liver and this has consequences on the will to eat.

Refering to anorexia nervosa, the crucial point is linked to the fact that it is generated by psychological factors associated with childhood trauma, body image distortion, behavioral imitation of close people, among others. In turn, the restriction carried out in the diet is not linked to some organic disease but with the purpose of achieving an ideal image that turns out to be unattainable.

Type of population.

Another difference between anorexia and anorexia nervosa resides in the population that suffers from these disorders. In the anorexy, we can mention that it can manifest itself in any kind of person because the causes are not specific to any particular age group.

With respect to anorexia nervosa, usually more common in young women who are going through puberty. However, this clinical picture can also be present in older women. In this article, we talk about How to prevent anorexia nervosa.

Differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa - Population type

Type of behaviors.

One of the most important aspects that we must take into consideration when differentiating anorexia from anorexia nervosa is linked to the behaviors that are carried out. In the anorexy, it is about the loss of appetite caused by bodily problems. This produces that food intake is avoided following this main reason.

In the anorexia nervosa, there are avoidance behaviors such as leaving the table at mealtime, hide food and then throw them away and thus avoid their consumption. On the other hand, it can also happen that the person produces a forcing vomiting to remove from your body what you have previously ingested. Furthermore, behaviors such as performing physical exercise compulsively until reaching an excessive exhaustion or using diuretics or laxatives are characteristics that make a difference with respect to anorexia. Here you will find more information about Psychological symptoms of anorexia nervosa.

The own look on the body.

In the anorexy, the person does not usually have a marked awareness about weight loss. As a result of this, it is frequent that there is no concern for body image.

However, in the nervous-type anorexia is present a altered body image due to the psychological causes we have mentioned. Under these circumstances, the main objective of the behaviors carried out by someone suffering from this disorder is to decrease body weight. Anyway, here there is a difficulty in registering the body itself since the kilos that are lost have serious consequences for physical and mental health.

For the reasons we have described, we must highlight the importance of assisting a professional in the health in the presence of any of the manifestations linked to anorexia and anorexia nervous.

In the following articles, you will find more information about the Anorexia types and The consequences of anorexia.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

Bibliography

  • Bravo Rodríguez, M., Pérez Hernández, A., Plana Bouly, R. (2000). Anorexia nervosa: characteristics and symptoms. Cuban Journal of Pediatrics, 72 (4), 300-305.
  • Spanish Association of Pediatrics. Eating behavior disorders: Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Recovered from: https://www.aeped.es/sites/default/files/documentos/anorexia_bulimia.pdf
instagram viewer