The method of reward in anorexia treatment

The first step in long anorexia treatment is to tell the patient and her relatives in detail about the disorder and necessity of its treatment. Anorexic patients often underestimate the danger of their condition; therefore, it is important to be convincing enough. You know that a forced anorexia treatment can be very complicated and even impossible. Here the method of reward should come to the fore.

Almost always - except for the very early stages of the disease when the weight reduction is still insignificant - hospitalization in a specialized hospital is recommended. In hospital the patient starts to regain weight. Doctors often apply the method of reward: if the patient regains, for example, 0.2 kg of weight daily he is given more freedom in reward. He may be allowed to leave his ward for some time, then to see his friends, have a stroll in the hospital garden, etc. Doctors may have an agreement with the anorexic according to which this or that amount of weight regain corresponds to certain reward. It is very important, that patients choose the type and measure of encouragement themselves. If the weight does not increase, it means that reward is not attractive enough and one should look for another one.

The method of encouragement, or reward, has proved to be quite effective in anorexia treatment. The best results are achieved in uncomplicated cases.

Phytotherapy in anorexia treatment

Scientist and doctors have come to the conclusion that only a complex method of anorexia treatment will bring the best results. While psychotherapy is aimed at revealing and eliminating psychological factors and motives of anorexic patients, family therapy – at creating comfort around the patient and giving him a sensation of care, phytotherapy, or herbal medicine, gives an additional effect in complex anorexia treatment. Phytotherapy is very useful when it comes to elimination of appetite loss and normalization of digestion. Here are several recipes of tea that are used in anorexia treatment:

1. Sophora fruits or root, clover flowers, lucerne grass, dandelion root, wormwood grass, mint grass
   
2. Clover flowers, water piper grass, mint grass, origanum grass, coriander fruits
   
3. Dandelion root, wormwood grass, yarrow grass, potentilla root or grass, nettle grass
   
4. Coriander fruits, ashberry, knot-grass, nettle grass, yarrow grass, gentian grass
   

How to make tea. Mill all ingredients (in coffee-grinder) and mix them in equal parts. Add two spoons of tea and 1 liter of boiling water to the vacuum flask and draw it during the night.

Drink 100-150 ml of tea 30 min before eating. Add honey, sugar or jam to your liking. Duration of treatment - 3-4 months.

Regaining weight

The final purpose of anorexia treatment is regaining of the patient's normal weight and psychological correction of his attitude to food.

Initial treatment depends on the degree of patient's metabolic infringements. In most cases patients call the doctor already in the condition of a severe exhaustion. Therefore, such patients are frequently hospitalized. They stay first in the therapeutic department to normalize metabolism, and then they are moved to the psychiatric department and continue anorexia treatment there (but still under a steadfast supervision of the therapist).

Anorexic patients, despite of doctor's instructions, often evade consumption of high-calorific food by stealth, so it is necessary to keep up closely watching their weight. If a patient refuses from food, it is possible to resort to feeding tube or instillator to inject necessary nutrients.

At first it is necessary to feed patients frequently and gradually, using liquid food additives. Elimination of avitaminosis can also be a significant part of anorexia treatment. The general caloric caloric value of food consumed in a day should exceed energy needs that are necessary to maintain the present weight approximately by 500 calories. The patiest's weight is registered, as well as the weight of consumed nutrients and faeces, the amount of consumed and secreted liquid is measured, the water-electrolytic balance is investigated.

Long-term out-patient supervision and treatment plays an important role. The cooperation of the therapist and psychotherapist (psychiatrist) is necessary as the patient requires a constant psychological support. The use of medications such as neuroleptics and energizers can also be needed as additional means in anorexia treatment.

Importance of psychotherapy in anorexia treatment

Anorexia treatment is a difficult problem. Its methods should be developed individually for each patient. The primary task of anorexia treatment is to react upon the patient's wrong nutritional behavoiur as soon as possible and make a careful survey of his condition.

Anorexic people experience difficulty while adapting to real life, frequently run into depression and have low self-esteem. They often abuse alcohol or drugs and have sleeping disorders. Therefore it is necessary to focus attention on psychological and situational factors.

That's why doctors use first of all psychotherapy that presupposes patient's psychological training how to cope with the problem. Anorexia treatment includes family, group or individual therapy. Psychodynamic approaches involve psychoanalysis and psychotherapy focused on achieving of criticism to one's own condition. The course of anorexia treatment and results may be various. In case of a positive result there's restoration of weight and elimination of other anorexia-related health problems.

Thus, psychotherapy is the basic method of anorexia treatment. Individual psychotherapy can be the most effective one. Psychiatric treatment should be carried out reasonably. Knowledge of patient's premorbid features of character helps the doctor to chose the right method of treatment. So if you suffer from anorexia you should trust your doctor and rely on him. Still the majority of anorexic patients prefer to keep secret and close and it hinders the doctor from finding out the real cause of the disease. In case of proper anorexia treatment about 80% of patients successfully recover.

Anorexia treatment in a nutshell

Anorexia is a disease that is characterized by loss of weight, excessive fear of plumpness, the distorted idea of one's own appearance and serious metabolic and hormonal infringements. Lack of appetite, cessation of menses, increased physical activity, and sometimes strengthening of appetite with is compulsive vomiting after meal, excessive concern in food and its preparation, attacks of gluttony and aspiration to lose weight are also typical of anorexia.

Patients often persistently deny that there's something wrong with their eating behaviour. But anorexia is a very serious illness and anorexia treatment is a very important and difficult issue. In case of extreme exhaustion hospitalization and compulsory feeding are necessary in order to rescue the patient's life. Psychotropic means - tranquilizers or energizers - give, apparently, only short-term effect. Many doctors use family therapy, individual psychoanalysis, behavioural therapy and endocrine treatment as the basic methods. All these approaches have approximately equal efficiency. Nowadays it is considered, that the combination of all above-named methods gives the best results in anorexia treatment.