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Anorexia Treatment Center
Offering comprehensive and compassionate anorexia treatment in Southern California
What Is Anorexia?
Anorexia is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and massive weight loss. Anorexia nervosa symptoms can be severe and, in some cases, deadly. Without comprehensive therapy and treatment, between 5-20% of individuals with anorexia will die. With eating disorder treatment, this number decreases to 2-3%. Typically, anorexia appears in early to mid-adolescence, and it disproportionately affects women.
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Anorexia Symptoms and Warning Signs
- Resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height
- Intense fear of weight gain, even though underweight.
- Disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight
- Loss of menstrual periods
- Dramatic weight loss.
- Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, fat grams, and dieting.
- Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food
- Denial of hunger
- Development of food rituals
- Consistent excuses to avoid mealtimes or situations involving food
- Excessive, rigid exercise regimen despite weather, fatigue, illness, or injury
- Anorexia hair growth
- Withdrawal from usual friends and activities
Due to the severity of anorexia symptoms and the possibility for anorexia complications, experts have found that prompt intensive anorexia therapy significantly improves the chances of recovery. Therefore, it’s vital to be aware of the warning signs and seek anorexia therapy at an anorexia treatment center like Shoreline in Southern California.
Learn more about the dangers of anorexia and the importance of seeking treatment from Dr. Nnenna Abaeze, Shoreline’s Director of Health Services and Nurse Practitioner.
Health Consequences of Anorexia Nervosa
Due to the characteristics of anorexia, including self-starvation, the body is denied the essential nutrients it needs to function normally. Thus, the body is forced to slow down all its processes to conserve energy, resulting in serious medical consequences. Some of the anorexia nervosa health risks include:
- Abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure, indicating that the heart muscle is changing – the risk for heart failure rises as the heart rate and blood pressure levels sink lower and lower
- Reduction of bone density (osteoporosis), which results in dry, brittle bones
- Muscle loss and weakness
- Severe dehydration, which can result in kidney failure
- Fainting, fatigue, and overall weakness
- Dry hair and skin; hair loss is common
- Anorexia hair growth – a downy layer of hair called lanugo all over the body, including the face, to keep the body warm
The Importance of Anorexia Therapy
Our experienced and compassionate clinicians at our anorexia treatment center in Orange County, CA, work closely with each client to create an individualized treatment plan based on their needs. Each client plays a vital role in their anorexia nervosa treatment by setting realistic treatment goals that will address the underlying issues of their disorder. To ensure that our anorexia treatment center clients have the best chance at recovery, their treatments for anorexia include various evidence-based and experiential therapies.
Anorexia Treatment Options at Shoreline
At our anorexia treatment center in Orange County, CA, we offer several anorexia nervosa treatment programs based on where each client is at in their recovery. Our anorexia treatment options include: