Anorexia nervosa

With you on your journey to recovery

Most people associate anorexia with people who restrict their eating or people who ‘need to gain weight’. At Schoen Clinic we work with the person not the label. We endeavour to ensure you get the best opportunity to explore your feelings, thoughts and actions that have led to your reduction in health and wellbeing. Restoring your quality of life and how you view yourself and others is our priority.
We know that beneath the label of anorexia there is a person who has many roles to fulfil and we will explore these with you and how they can pull you in different directions. Our treatment programme includes psychological and psychodynamic approaches alongside psychoeducation and skills development techniques such as mindfulness.

Anorexia: Reducing isolation

Anorexia can lead to isolation if you restrict yourself from healthy eating habits and socialising with others. In our culture we often meet with friends and family to eat food. When you feel a compulsion to reduce your food intake, you will often avoid social situations. This isolation can lead to feelings of loneliness, despair, loss of self-esteem and confidence. Often how others respond to your loss of weight and reduction in eating can lead to further isolation as you may feel they lack understanding or have unrealistic expectations of you.

When your anorexia starts to worry you or other people; it usually manifests itself by significant weight loss and associated marked deterioration of your physical and emotional health and wellbeing. The risks of compromised health conditions increase if a person’s body does not get the nutrients and nourishment it requires over a period of time.
This can lead to symptoms such as hair loss, constant fatigue, difficulty concentrating, prone to feeling unwell and can often result in anxiety or depression.

Do you recognise this in yourself? We are here to support you.

What are the symptoms of Anorexia?

It can be difficult to identify the symptoms of anorexia because people do experience changes in how they feel about their body image and dieting and some weight loss commonly occurs. Equally, the typical time of onset for anorexia nervosa is adolescence, which is a time when young people are eating more independently, and mealtime habits often go through changes.

There may be other signs which may alert parents or concerned friends to symptoms of anorexia: for example, an individual may start to wear very baggy clothes and many layers, they may consistently find reasons to miss meals (going to clubs instead of joining friends for school dinners, avoiding social occasions that involve food) and what they say about their appearance may be a sign of body image disturbance.

Because anorexia is such a serious condition, if you have any concerns about a child, relative or friends, it is best to find a way to raise your concerns with them, as anorexia treatment is known to be more effective if started at an early stage. Left untreated for a longer period, a full anorexia recovery is harder to achieve

Physical symptoms of anorexia

Low body weight
Loss of menstruation (periods) in females
Coldness due to poor circulation, particularly in hands and feet
Abdominal pain
Gastrointestinal disturbances, e.g. bloating, constipation
Fatigue and trouble sleeping
Dizziness or fainting
Thin hair that may fall out
Fine hair appearing on the body

Psychological symptoms of anorexia

Fear of reaching a normal weight, or of putting on weight at all
Feelings of depression, such as low mood, irritability; and social isolation
Preoccupation or obsession with food
Body image disturbance and fixation
Difficulty concentrating
Mood swings
Anxiety
Low self-esteem

Behavioural symptoms of anorexia

Limiting the amount and/or type of food eaten
Self-induced vomiting
Use of appetite suppressant pills or laxatives
Excessive/driven exercise
Loss of libido
Wearing baggy clothing to hide figure
Avoidance of social activities

How does anorexia develop?

There is no one definitive cause of anorexia, however, there are certain risk factors that can increase the likelihood of a person developing the condition. The following factors may contribute:

Genetic vulnerability: this can be illustrated in the family history of eating disorders, or other mental health disorders.
Societal or occupational pressure to look a certain way.
Experience of trauma, including abuse.
Experience of anxiety, obsessional or perfectionist traits.
Experience of criticism of food intake, weight or bodily appearance. e.g. bullying.
Childhood anxiety.

Back to a healthy weight

We will work in partnership with you to help you with your anorexia in a way that will keep you engaged and motivated. In collaboration with you, we will seek to agree on goals and treatment programmes which will assist you on your road to recovery. We understand how challenging it is for you to address the anxiety of changing how you view your food and diet. Our pathways to recovery take a step-by-step approach which aims at reducing the intensity of intervention over the shortest period of time.

We recognise that you may well find recovery a challenging journey and everybody’s recovery is different from another person’s. At Schoen Clinic we appreciate how important it is to respect your individual circumstances and help you identify your specific needs.

Our treatments

Nutritional management
Eating disorder group interventions: Supporting and learning from each other
Psychological therapies
Physical healthcare
Mental health and wellbeing

Nutritional management

In healthcare settings, there are a range of different approaches to the ‘refeeding’ of people with anorexia. We will in some cases need to take control of this for you, for your own safety. Our preference is to help motivate you to make changes in your diet and food intake that will aid physical recovery. We provide you with psychoeducation, dietician advice and regular supervised meals that provide you with support and reassurance at every stage.

Eating disorder group interventions: Supporting and learning from each other

Our skilled group facilitators will encourage you to explore how you connect and respond to others in a safe environment. Groups are particularly helpful in sharing positive experiences, skills, knowledge and supportive interventions. Group work is recommended so that you have the opportunity to explore how you relate to others and how they relate to you.

Psychological therapies

Our specialist therapists will work with you to increase your knowledge and understanding of how you connect to yourself and others. To discover deep rooted issues that influence how you see yourself and help you replace them with more constructive and empowering perspectives. Psychodynamic and behavioural approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) are offered in our services.

We will support you and your family, where relevant, to develop new insights and approaches that will benefit you.

Physical healthcare

We will monitor your physical health on a regular basis, to ensure that we detect the short and long term consequences of your eating disorder. When a person’s body goes into a nutritional crisis it impacts their organs and electrolytes causing potentially fatal consequences. We will help you seek the appropriate medical help you need in a timely and supportive manner.

Mental health and wellbeing

Your wellbeing is important and often when people are unwell, they neglect their creative, spiritual and sensory selves. We will encourage you to reconnect with these aspects of yourself via a number of supported activities. We will teach you skills to manage distress and help you to cope without your eating disorder.

Meet the team

At Schoen Clinic our team of expert consultant psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, therapists, dieticians and specialist nurses work together as a multidisciplinary team for the benefit of every patient in the treatment of anorexia.