Austin (KXAN) - Gina Perez is lying unconscious in her bedroom when the flashing EMS lights glare into her home late one evening in 2010. Perez, a long time eating disorder sufferer, had recently gone through a stressful divorce and ceased eating...again. 32 years old, malnourished and dehydrated, EMS will transport her to a nearby hospital where she will receive fluids and regain consciousness. The following week she will check herself into a support group.
Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates among all mental illnesses. An internet search will tell you that anorexics (like Gina) are characterized by poor body image, low confidence and an extremely low body weight. While those symptoms are usually accurate, anorexia is a complex disorder with a long list of side effects. This past week (February 21-27), the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) in conjunction with Doctors, Therapists and victims worked to increase awareness of the signs and consequences of eating disorders.
Describing eating disorders can be difficult; Jill Rogers used her hands to explain how she felt the diagnostic manual reduced her to a bulleted list. According to Rogers—whose name, along with Perez’, were changed upon request—her struggle, she feels, has been oversimplified. “Google anorexia” she said in a frustrated tone, “and endless lists pop up naming the portion of the population most susceptible. You start believing that all suffers are white, emaciated, middle class, eighteen year old girls—black coffee in hand—who have turned to anorexia because their parents pushed them too hard.”
Rogers has been suffering from Anorexia and Bulimia since high school. She is almost 23, and although she is within what doctors consider to be a healthy weight range, she has yet to finish therapy.
While Rodgers is one of the 7 million women suffer from an eating disorder 1 million men have also been diagnosed. “The youngest patient I have is 12, I also have many middle aged and older aged patients, both men and women,” explained Rozana Zairfer-Sims, Clinical Director of Cedar Springs, North Austin’s Eating Disorder Treatment Center. Sitting behind her desk, Zairfer-Sims continued in a worried tone, she had been receiving reports of children as young as 7 saying they need to “lose weight.”
According to Zairfer-Sims, eating disorders do not always have obvious outward signs, they vary in severity and appearance; skinny, normal, or obese. While severe cases of Anorexia Nervosa may be obvious, other disorders such as Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, or Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specialized (ED-NOS) may not be as visually discernable. In addition, it’s important to realize that without proper treatment a disorder may ricochet between Bulimia, Anorexia or ED-NOS, as the patient ages. Zairfer-Sims stressed that eating disorders are not weight contingent; the ‘disorder’ is characterized by more subtle physical and psychological issues.
Categorizing eating disorders is also a problem for insurance companies. General practice calls to “certify” coverage for anorexic patients based on height and weight charts—a strange diagnosis technique for a mental health disease. Zaifer-Sims worries that many suffers fall outside of this cookie-cutter criteria, “If you and I are having a conversation, and the person next to you is just thinking about food, what she ate an hour ago and how she is going to get rid of calories, even though she is of normal weight, she has disordered eating.”
Today, even Martha Stewart looks gaunt, and celebrity mothers offer tips on how to stay thin during pregnancy; it seems as though disordered eating has already snuck into our popular culture. While societal norms are a contributing factor, the bigger problem, elaborated Zaifer-Sims, is when the eating disorder becomes a pursuit of perfection that can take over someone’s life. Suddenly, iceberg lettuce is the only thing in the grocery store, and jean shopping requires starvation preparation. Student loans are spent on food that is only to be “gotten rid of” later. Even more stable individuals may isolate themselves in order to avoid the triggers hidden in everyday activities.
The constant dieting, over exercising, or purging, forces the body to adapt in extreme and consequential ways. On the other side of this fragile equilibrium there are frequent black-outs, hypoglycemia, osteoporosis, uncontrollable shaking or paralysis from electrolyte imbalances, kidney damages, severe mood swings, or dehydration—to name a few. In addition, a chronic lack of nutrition can have more insidious effects like memory loss, poor concentration or brain damage.
Identifying the causes of poor body image, or body dysmorphia, can be difficult. Zairfer-Sims’ treatment allows each sufferer to unravel “all the contributing factors; family, social, temperament, and peer groups.” According to the NEDA, disorders may occur as a result of overbearing parents, sexual trauma, pressures,
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