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Anorexia and OCD


It is often thought that OCD is different than anorexia. With anorexia the sufferer is constantly obsessing on staying thin, and they see the slightest looseness of their skin as a sign of fat. With OCD there is constant obsessions that need to be relieved with a compulsion. Anorexia is pure obsessions. But, up to a third of OCD sufferers experience some form of anorexia or other type of obsession with their food intake and diet. If an OCD sufferer obsesses about certain foods being harmful in some way then they will avoid them and alter their diet.

A study conducted by Yale and Brown of 94 anorexic woman found that 37% of them were officially diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder using the DSM IV criteria.

Does OCD cause anorexia? The short answer is yes, in a lot of cases it does. I am one of those cases and I will explain to you in the next paragraphs. OCD has been found to exist in about 1/3 of those diagnosed with anorexia. Those with OCD tend to obsess about nearly everything, and when that obsession is about chemicals or bad things in food, it can and often does lead to anorexia. In this case the anorexia can be treated much more successfully with SSRI"S. I found that when I took luvox for my OCD, my OCD symptoms of obsessions and compulsions eased by 70-80%. There are several triggers and causes to anorexia and each different cause must be treated differently in order to have a successful outcome against the anorexia.








MY OCD HAS LED TO MY ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN ANOREXIA

At the age of 7 I quickly developed OCD due to high fever convulsions. At the age of 9 I become grossed out when I heard about some diseased meat that had made it's way into some stores. The thought of the diseased meat, and also eating of a dead animal caused me to become a non meat eater. I avoided meat at all costs. My dad and grandmother noticed that I would only eat potatoes because i did not like meat, or the taste of vegetables. My dad and grandma used to yell at me at the dinner table to eat something nourishing. I would not. At the age of 11 I developed a bad flu. My flu lasted 3 weeks and would not subside as I would grow weaker and weaker. I was finally rushed to the hospital because I threw up blood. My diagnosis was malnutrition. Malnutrition brought on by my OCD causing me to be obsessed with only certain foods. Even my finger nails were very brittle and breaking all the time for a few years during this period. Poor and brittle nails are a clear sign of bad nutrition and anorexia. So I am a very clear example of how OCD can often lead to anorexia. It took me over 30 years to learn how to control my bouts with anorexia. But in my case it's important to point out that I also experienced bouts with binge eating too. I had brief periods in my preteen life when I was severely overweight. So no two people are alike when it comes to anorexia. That's why there is not a sure fire solution that I could give you on how to cure anorexia. I will briefly touch on several common solutions here, and will get into more detail on Anorexia in my upcoming book on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder entitled "THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS".


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