What Are The Psychological And Physical Effects Of Megarexia?
You may have heard of anorexia as an eating disorder, but you may not have heard of it. megarexia.
In this article we will try to write a few lines so that you can learn a little more about what this alteration consists of, as well as to clarify some doubts and also be able to identify a problem that has treatment. Are you ready? We begin.
As with anorexia or bulimia, megarexia is another eating disorder, yes, much less known than those we mentioned. However, the consequences it can have for health are equally bad.
Thus, megarexia is the opposite disorder to anorexia. If in the case of anorexia people are perceived as obese when they are not, megarexia does the opposite: it makes people look thin when they are obese.
As it is not a well-known disorder, it is difficult to control this disease. Obesity is not only an aesthetic issue, but it can cause serious health problems in people who suffer from it.
This disorder, however, is not considered in the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). It was Dr. Jaume Brugos who first mentioned the term Megarexia in one of his works collected in his book “Diet Isoproteica” in 1992.
We do not want to stop insisting that megarexia is an eating disorder that is a serious, chronic and progressive disease that, although its most important characteristic has to do with the alteration of eating behavior, there are other types of symptoms such as distortion of body self-image, a great fear of gaining or losing weight and the acquisition of certain beliefs and values about aesthetics. and the image of your body.
Nowadays, in Western societies, it is common to find people obsessed with their physical appearance, an obsession that can hinder the normal functioning of their daily lives and puts their health at risk. In extreme cases, it may even endanger life.
The consequences of megarexia
As we have said, megarexia not only influences people’s appearance, but also (and more importantly) their health. In the mental as in the physical.
As we have mentioned, obesity and overweight are risk factors that greatly increase the risk of suffering from diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, gout, etc.
People who suffer from megarexia not only do not feel obese, but they do nothing to change their harmful lifestyle. For example, instead of eating nutritionally adequate foods, they eat unhealthy foods. Unaware of their disorder, they do not lead an active lifestyle or exercise, which increases the risk of suffering from other diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
This means that these people, in general, do not have a very high level of self-esteem, so to speak. And this can cause them to fall into addiction to feel better about themselves and flee from what causes that discomfort. In addition, it also usually leads to an addiction to foods with a lot of sweets, such as cakes or similar.
How to fight megarexia?
In this case, the saying “prevention is better than cure” becomes good, since Prevention is a fundamental element for this disease and the addictions to which it can lead.
However, it is possible that prevention is no longer feasible, in which case you should go to professionals to help you get out of it.
The first thing you need to do is reeducate the patient so that they know the real dimension of their illness as well as to ensure that you are able to identify its symptoms and know its consequences.
The second step consists of working on behavior, offering guidelines that allow it to be modified. To this end, it is necessary to know what the triggers are, as well as offer a healthy alternative to the diet that the patient maintains. Furthermore, it is very important to remember that setting and establishing goals and milestones is essential in treatment.
Another question is how the patient and the professional can work together to modify the way in which the patient perceives themselves, so that they are able to take your own responsibility in the recovery process and change all those thoughts that negatively affect you. For this, the professional will provide you with tools and guidelines that will help you.
As in any other addiction treatment, in this case, avoiding craving is essential. To do this, we will try to avoid as much as possible any risk that could cause the patient to fall back into the problem.
