What is tanorexia?

Tanorexia It is a disorder that means "obsession with tanning." It is the main cause of skin aging with the consequences that this entails. The abuse of the sun not only has an aesthetic repercussion, but it also aggravates skin diseases and is the main cause of malignant skin cancer).

The cult of tanning

The cult of tanning is a problem when there is an obsessive need around it, which makes the person sunbathe naturally or through sun rays. All the activities of the person revolve around this addiction, leading him to modify behaviors, such as avoiding going to places or countries where the climate is not very sunny. This can interfere with your daily life, leading to social and even work problems.

When does tanorexia usually appear

Tanorexia appears mainly in young women (between 17 and 35 years old). In addition to an excess of hours of sun, this is taken in the hours of maximum radiation and with the highest risk. There are no reliable data regarding the incidence of this problem, it is estimated around 1% of the general population.

Addicts to tanning, in addition to the addictive disorder, may not be aware of the consequences, the main one being the greatly increased risk of skin cancer. In Spain, around 5,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year and its incidence increases by 7%, according to the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV). Most of them are related to excessive or inadequate exposure to the sun.

Excessive preoccupation with a non-existent body defect

Tanorexia is included within what is called dysmorphophobia or body dysmorphic disorder. They define a clinical picture in which there is "excessive concern for a non-existent or minor body defect". This group includes disorders such as vigorexia (obsession with a muscular body) or (obsession with controlling the quality of food), among others.

According to addiction psychologists, in the tanorexia addition is considered to begin when there is a "dependency" relationship on solar radiation. You cannot live without it, there is a need for daily sunshine. It seems that there is a physiological explanation, since solar radiation causes an increase in substances called neurotransmitters that generate pleasure and well-being.

Treatment of tanorexia

The therapeutic approach must be carried out from two aspects: on the one hand, the dermatologist, to explain the consequences of excess sun and assess the possible existing skin damage, as well as indicate guidelines for On the other hand, the psychologist, since this type of problems require treatment through psychotherapy. Tanorexia can be associated with other disorders such as depression, social phobia or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The psychological intervention tries to restrict the behaviors of exposure to ultraviolet rays and correct the distortion in body perception.

• Those who suffer from this disorder are obsessed with always being tanned and that conditions their activities, relationships ...
• It is usually suffered by young women who exceed the hours of sun exposure and take it at the hours of maximum radiation.
• These people are at increased risk of skin cancer.