An eating disorder should never be taken lightly. As a matter of fact, it can have dire consequences on your loved one. These disorders have a negative impact on him and affect his life in so many ways. Health problems, the exasperation of preexisting mental health conditions, and long-term effects of both of these can then be expected.
Physical Health
Eating disorders can lead to a series of terrible health issues. Since a disorder, like anorexia nervosa, causes the heart rate to slow down dramatically and significantly lowers the blood pressure, heart failure is a very real cause for concern in your loved one. Additionally, bone reduction may occur, and this negatively impacts his bones, causing them to become both dry and brittle. Other eating disorders, like bulimia nervosa, may cause the esophagus to get inflamed. In some cases, it may even rupture. This is caused by frequent vomiting that he’s likely to encounter with this particular eating disorder. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to tell your loved one about the kind of difference that the Center for Change can make in his life.
Mental Health
Whether the battle is with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, your loved one’s eating disorder can worsen any mental disorders that he’d been dealing with before it showed up for him. The symptoms that accompany these may intensify, as well. If he wishes to get other mental disorders, such as anxiety, under control, he’s bound to find the process of recovery downright grueling and extremely difficult. That being said, an eating disorder can affect your loved one’s mental state in ways you’d probably never thought were possible.
Long-term Effects
It’s possible for long-term effects to continue, even after an eating disorder has been defeated. For example, your loved one could still face problems with cognitive functioning throughout his life. A lack of sufficient nutrients, administered to him during his fight with the eating disorder, causes his brain to shut down and stop working the way that it should be. Bone loss is another disconcerting issue he could continue to struggle with years on down the road. It can lead to a greater number of stress fractures, as well as osteoporosis.
It’s hard to see your loved one going through this. It feels like there’s nothing you can do. Now you can share your knowledge and get him on the road to recovery sooner.