PsycHe Finer PoinTs

• Diet, underweight <85% of expected fat, 3 months amenorrhea, failure to recognize problem.
• Most common in women (90-95%), usually teenagers.
Starvation - an attention-getting device; a psychotic disorder, early manifestation of schizophrenia.

Contributing Factors:
1. Disturbed self-image
2. Parent-child conflicts
3. Past and present experiences resulting to feeling
of dependency & helplessness

Warning Signs of Possibility of Anorexia Nervosa:
1. Drastic weight loss in the presence of unusual eating habits
2. Obsession with neatness including frequency in mirror-gazing
3. Hostility and desire to control others
4. Calorie counting, dieting, excessive exercise
5. Depressed mood
6. Amenorrhea or irregular menses
7. Wearing loose-fitting to mask physical appearance as it changes
8. Denying hunger

Symptoms:
1. Dry, flaky or cracked skin
2. Skeletal-like appearance
3. Hypothermia
4. Brittle hair and nails, hair beginning to fall out
5. Amenorrhea or menstrual irregularity
6. see self as fat
7. DHN, malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance
8. Constipation
9. Loss of appetite
10. Intense fear of becoming obese
11. Decreased BP, PR, basal metabolic rate
12. Total lack of concern about symptoms

Nursing interventions:
1. Establish nutrition pattern
2. Setting limits
3. State that three meals a day is necessary to maintain a healthy body
4. Allow some control in decision making
5. Teach stress management, journal keeping
6. Monitor eating pattern and weight
7. Anti-depressant