The biggest challenge in treating anorexia nervosa is helping the person recognize that they have an illness. Most people who suffer from this type of anorexia deny having an eating disorder and often enter treatment only when their condition is severe.
The goals of treatment are to first restore normal body weight and eating habits. A weight gain of 1 to 3 pounds per week is considered a safe goal.
Different programs have been designed to treat anorexia. Sometimes a person may gain weight:
- Increasing social activity.
- Decreasing the amount of physical activity.
- Using meal times.
Many patients begin with a short hospital stay and continue to be monitored with a daily treatment program.
A longer hospital stay may be needed if:
- The person has lost a lot of weight (being below 70% of their ideal body weight for their age and height). For severe, life-threatening malnutrition, the person may require intravenous feeding or a feeding tube.
- Weight loss continues even with treatment.
- Medical complications occur, such as heart problems, confusion, or low potassium levels.
- The person has severe depression or is thinking about committing suicide.
Health professionals who are typically involved in these programs include:
- Professional nurses
- Doctors
- Professional Medical Assistants
- Nutritionists or dieticians
- Mental health professionals
Treatment is often very arduous and requires intense work on the part of patients and their families. Many therapies may be tried until the patient manages to overcome this disorder.
Patients may be excluded from programs if they have unrealistic hopes of being “cured” with therapy alone.
Different types of psychotherapy are used to treat people with anorexia:
- Individual cognitive behavioral therapy (a type of psychotherapy), group therapy, and family therapy have all been effective.
- The goal of therapy is to change a patient’s thoughts or behavior in order to encourage them to eat healthier. This type of therapy is most useful for treating younger patients who have not had anorexia for a long time.
- If the patient is young, therapy can involve the entire family. The family is seen as part of the solution, rather than the cause of the eating disorder.
- Support groups can also be a part of treatment. In these groups, patients and families come together and share what has happened to them.
Medications, such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers, can help some anorexic patients when given as part of a complete treatment program. These medicines can help treat depression or anxiety. Although these drugs can help, no medication has been shown to decrease the desire to lose weight.
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