How to recognize and help someone who has an eating disorder

In Italy they are almost 4 million people who suffer from Eating Disorders, or Eating Disorders, mental illnesses that cause 4,000 deaths a year and are the second leading cause of death among adolescents after road accidents. This which is called the silent slaughter is an alarming phenomenon, which grew exponentially during the lockdown and the pandemic period: “the cases – says the Doctor Antonella Anichinichild neuropsychiatrist and psychotherapist at theRegina Margherita Children’s Hospital of Turin – have increased by 100%, while the age group affected by anorexia, bulimia and eating disorders has dropped dramatically “.

The importance of the phenomenon is reiterated on the occasion of March 15, in the National day of the Lilac Bow#coloriamocidililla, for the a fight to Eating Disorders (DCA). An anniversary dedicated to the many people, especially girls and – lately – boys, who suffer from anorexia, bulimia And binge eating.

“The situation worsened. In girls the anorexic onset can occur around eight years of age, “he specifies Laura Ciccolinipsychologist and psychotherapist, responsible for the CPF, Psychotherapy and Training Center for the treatment of Eating Disorders of Turin. The girls start saying “I’m not hungry”or, as Anichini points out, “manifest a fourth case of eating disorder, theARFID, (avoidant / restrictive food intake disorder), which is not triggered by the fear of gaining weight: these girls are afraid to introduce food because they are afraid of vomiting or being suffocated. In this case, therefore, the diet is not linked to thinness, but has an anxious-phobic matrix ».

In these pandemic years the cases of DCA among adolescent girls are increased by 30%, while there was a + 20% among male peers. The causes are subjective, however, the doctors agree, there is a unique component: the thinness hired by our company a valueas well as the obsession with the food healthy and with the eat healthy. To this were added (and this already in the pre-pandemic period) the social networks with the continuous proposal of images of perfect bodies, both female and male, and models of beauty impossible to achieve.

In addition, as Anichini explains, we live in a competitive society (very representative in this regard is the book by the Chinese philosopher Byung-chul Han Lto society of fatigue in which he denounces the fact that in this society we are not allowed to show ourselves or be tired: we must always be smart).
And it is the web and social networks that are the most dangerous instigators of the wrong ways of taking or not taking food: despite attempts to obscure them, there are still too many sites Pro ANA (where ANA stands for anorexia) about which the girls give hallucinating advice such as “eat naked in front of the mirror”, “punch yourself in the stomach, you won’t feel hungry”, “throw up every time you go wrong”. On Instagram and on Tik Tok, says Dr. Ciccolini “there are videos with girls who show themselves proud with their nose – gastric tube”. At the same time, the chat issues on Whatsapp, because they are less easily traceable, populated by girls aged 14 (or even 12) to 20 years old. Even the women at the beginning menopause they began to suffer from eating disorders: «in this age group there are especially cases of binge eating – Clarifies Ciccolini – since the menopause is a passage in life and involves a body transformation that is not accepted and on which instead the person wants a form of control ».

We asked both specialists what are the signals through which to understand if a person suffers from eating disorders: “first of all – says Dr. Annichini – always keep in mind that it is necessary to act as soon as possible and play on the time factor, «Because otherwise», continues the specialist, «anorexia can radicalize, become chronic and, in the worst cases, lead to death. Symptoms are not the same for everyone », continues Ciccolini. “This is why I recommend that you pay attention to the fact that certain behaviors are repeated for about three months, after which it is necessary to take action”.

there the main signs to watch out for ei tips to help a person with eating disorders.