Anxiety and Anorexia

Anxiety and Anorexia
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Abstract
The primary objective of this literature review was to explore the relationship between anxiety and anorexia nervosa, two critical components of mental health, within the domain of clinical psychology. The purpose was to enrich our understanding of their complex dynamics. A systematic methodology for source selection was employed, encompassing empirical research articles obtained from reputable databases like PsychArticles and Google Scholar. Five studies were meticulously analyzed, offering diverse perspectives on the connection between anxiety and anorexia nervosa. The review revealed valuable insights, such as the nuanced daily patterns of anxiety in anorexia nervosa patients, the identification of shared risk factors like "worry," the importance of comprehensive treatment addressing psychological aspects, the enduring impact of body image perceptions on affective comorbidities, and heightened anxiety levels in individuals with eating disorders during meals. These findings collectively correlate the relationship between anxiety and anorexia nervosa. Demographic limitations evident from the samples used underscores the need for more research. Clinical psychology should use comprehensive support and tailored interventions to better address the unique challenges faced by individuals dealing with anxiety and anorexia nervosa.
Introduction
A profound desire for emotional well-being permeates human existence, hence the need to uncover the factors that shape and predict emotional states. Among these intense human emotions, anxiety and anorexia nervosa are subjects of paramount importance due to their impact on individuals' lives. Anxiety and anorexia are significant components of human mental health that warrant rigorous exploration. These variables, while unique, are highly pertinent topics due to their substantial impact on individuals' psychological and emotional states. This literature review's primary purpose is to investigate and analyze the correlations between these variables, striving to enhance the understanding of their interwoven dynamics.
Anxiety encapsulates a broad spectrum of emotional states and cognitive patterns characterized by feelings of unease, apprehension, and excessive worry. It extends beyond a mere emotion, encompassing physiological responses, intrusive thoughts, and behaviors reflecting heightened stress levels. Anorexia nervosa, the second variable in focus, represents a severe eating disorder defined by restrictive dietary habits, distorted body image perceptions, and excessive preoccupation with weight and shape. This variable incorporates aspects such as nutritional deprivation, excessive exercise, and body dissatisfaction, all contributing to the complexity of the disorder. Examinations of the connection between anxiety and anorexia nervosa encompass various subfields of psychology. Clinical psychology is focused on diagnosing and treating psychological issues, hence ideal for understanding the complex relationship between stress and anorexia nervosa.
Additionally, the systematic process employed in sourcing relevant literature adheres to empirical research criteria, ensuring that the studies integrated into this review provide substantive insights into the dynamics of these two variables in clinical psychology. Five empirical research articles have been incorporated into this literature review, with the inclusion criteria based on their relevance to the study of anxiety and anorexia nervosa. These sources were diligently retrieved through comprehensive searches of reputable databases, notably PsychArticles and Google Scholar. The publication dates for these sources range from 1990 to 2016.
Literature Review
First Article
Lavender et al. (2013) conducted an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study to investigate the daily patterns of anxiety in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). The study aimed to uncover insights into the relationship between stress and eating disorder behaviors within AN patient. The sample consisted primarily of women diagnosed with either full or subthreshold AN, which allowed for a comprehensive exploration of the disorder's manifestations. Through the EMA method, participants provided real-time self-reports of anxiety levels, eating behaviors (such as binge eating, self-induced vomiting, body checking, skipping meals, and calorie consumption), and various personality traits, avoiding memory biases and providing momentary data.
Results from the study revealed the presence of seven distinct daily anxiety trajectories. These trajectories encompassed patterns of stable low and high anxiety, as well as fluctuations throughout the day, characterized by late increasing, late decreasing, early increasing, early decreasing, and an inverted U shape of anxiety. These patterns were significantly associated with various eating disorder behaviors. For instance, binge eating and self-induced vomiting were more likely to occur on high anxiety days, while body checking was related to late increasing anxiety days. Additionally, the study uncovered variations in the temporal distribution of eating disorder behaviors across different anxiety trajectories. The unique contribution of this study lies in its fine-grained analysis of daily anxiety patterns in AN patients and their associations with eating disorder behaviors. Employing EMA offers a closer look at anxiety's dynamic and heterogeneous nature within this population, providing a foundation for personalized and targeted interventions.
Second Article
The study by Lloyd et al. (2020) conducted a thorough investigation into the intricate connection between anxiety disorders and anorexia nervosa. Their study took a two-pronged strategy, combining longitudinal cohort analysis with Mendelian randomization. Their research aimed to elucidate the causal associations and common risk factors underlying these mental health disorders. The study leveraged a substantial dataset comprising more than 5,000 participants to explore the temporal association between anxiety disorders at age ten and subsequent AN development. The longitudinal analysis indicated that individuals with anxiety disorders were more likely to develop AN, establishing a connection between these conditions within the observational framework. Moreover, the investigators utilized Mendelian randomization, a genetic methodology, to clarify the causal connection between anxiety disorders and AN. While this investigation did not produce substantial evidence favoring a direct causal relationship, it revealed a significant discovery. Specifically, it suggested that an aspect of anxiety disorders, known as "worry," could independently and causally influence the development of both AN and anxiety disorders. This intriguing result emphasizes the role of worry as a shared risk factor for these conditions. Lloyd et al.'s study is exceptional in its holistic approach, combining the strengths of observational research and genetic analysis to explore the dynamic interaction between anxiety disorders and AN comprehensively. By pinpointing "worry" as a factor exerting a causal influence, the research not only enhances comprehension of the interaction between these mental health conditions but also underscores the prospect of addressing worry in the prevention and management of AN and anxiety disorders. This study offers a distinctive and beneficial contribution to the field by elucidating the intricacy of these associations and offering insights that can guide forthcoming investigations and interventions focused on anxiety and AN.
Third Article
Pollice et al. (1997) investigated the intricate interactions between depression, anxiety, and obsessionality in anorexia nervosa with a focus on a cohort of female participants at various stages of the condition, including underweight, those who had experienced short-term weight restoration, and those who had long-term weight restoration. Comparative analysis was carried out, drawing parallels with a control group composed of healthy women. The study employed a battery of assessment tools to meticulously measure and analyze the levels of depression, anxiety, and obsessionality in these distinct participant groups, shedding light on the nuanced dynamics of these psychological factors in the context of anorexia nervosa. The study employed various assessment instruments to quantify the levels of depression, anxiety, and obsessionality within these participants. The study's findings revealed that depression was most prominent in underweight AN patients, displaying improvement after the short-term weight restoration phase. However, mild symptoms persisted during the long-term recovery stage. Anxiety was most severe in underweight AN patients, diminishing after short-term recovery and remaining mild in the long-term recovery group. Obsessionality was prevalent across all AN groups compared to healthy controls, with the most severe cases observed in underweight and short-term weight-restored patients. Notably, long-term weight-restored individuals continued to exhibit elevated levels of obsessionality. This study sheds insight into the complex interplay between these psychological symptoms and the many stages of AN, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive treatment approaches that address the condition's medical and psychological aspects.
Fourth Article
Junne et al. (2016) conducted a cross-sectional study as part of the Anorexia Nervosa Treatment of OutPatients (ANTOP) project to investigate the intricate relationship between body image perceptions and affective comorbidities, such as depression and anxiety, in individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The study included ten months of individual outpatient psychotherapy involving various treatment modalities. The results revealed that body image perceptions were strongly associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety throughout the therapy, and these associations pers...