An eating disorder is an illness that involves an unhealthy feeling about the food we eat. “Eating disorders affect 5-10 millions Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide” (www.eatingdisorderinfo.org 1). They also affect many people from women, men, children, from all ages and different races. People who have eating disorders usually see themselves as being fat when they really aren’t. This usually deals with women or teenage girls mostly. They watch television, movies, read articles in magazines, and see pictures of the celebrities whom they want to be like because they have the “ideal body” that everyone wants and craves for. The media makes us all think we need those types of bodies to be happy with ourselves, be more successful …show more content…
But in order to do this we need to stop looking at other people and seeing what’s missing from ourselves. Stop buying the magazines and diet products, stop looking at the people in television and movies, and just be us. We need to have more confidence in ourselves and show other people what we can get in life without having the perfect body. People who have Anorexia Nervosa have this fear of gaining weight so they result by not eating regularly or eat little amounts of food or not eating at all. People see themselves as being fat but instead they are skinny. “Anorexics usually strive for perfection” (www.mirror-mirror.org 1). So in doing this they feel like not eating anything can make them look perfect and have the body they want. “The lack of food can cause a person to become very thin, develop brittle hair and nails, dry skin, and a low pulse, become not able to stand the cold, and suffer from constipation and sometimes diarrhea” (Hendrick 3). Anorexics put other people’s feelings in front of theirs. They also feel that the only thing in their lives is food and their weight and this shows that they have low self-esteem for themselves. “Signs and symptoms are noticeable weight loss, becoming withdrawn, excessive exercise, fatigue, always being cold, and muscle weakness” (www.mirror-mirror.org 1). There are many more signs and symptoms for this illness. “An estimated 10
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Three of the most discussed are anorexia, bulimia, and what researchers call EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). Each of the eating disorders can be fatal in their own way. What are the signs, what do they do to you and your body, and what can be done to treat the problem? Researchers have studied long and hard into these three disorders so that those questions could be answered to the best of their ability. In this paper, the outcomes of the research that was done and the thesis
With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and a mental health condition that could potentially be life-threatening. People with anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by restricting the amount of food they eat. They often have a distorted image of themselves, thinking that they're fat when they're not. Some people with the condition also exercise excessively, and some eat a lot of food in a short space of time (binge eating) and then make themselves sick. People affected by anorexia often go to great attempts to hide their behaviour from their family and friends by lying about eating and what they have eaten. Anorexia is linked to
Hello everyone. My name is Ruth and I want to talk to you guys about eating disorders. An eating disorder is essentially an illness that disrupts a person’s every day diet which can cause a person to pretty much stop eating or over eat, depending on the illness. These illnesses are more apparent in the teenage years and in to young adulthood (Pinel, 2011), which makes sense because this is when we start becoming more aware of our bodies as well as other people’s bodies. We might want to look like the model we just saw on TV and will do anything to get that body, right? But an eating disorder is not the way to go; we will get in to the effects of
People with anorexia nervosa have a tendency to look in the mirror and see their body as overweight and ugly even when in reality they are dangerously thin. A sufferer of anorexia nervosa can be underweight, emaciated with protruding bones or a sunken appearance. They can experience fatigue, dizziness or even fainting. The nails become brittle, the hair can fall out, and women can even experience loss of menstruation or irregularities in their menstrual cycle (Timberline, 2005).
A Look Into the Life of an Anorexic and the Health Risk That Come With It
As humans on this planet we often think about what others think about our appearance. We often, in this society, look at a person through their characteristics such as: looks, height, clarity of skin, and by how fat or thin one appears to be. In the article, The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place, by Natascha Pocek, she states the fact that, in this society, we put a lot of emphasis on diets and appearing thin. From when we are children we tend to change our views according to the ways of man, and find ways to stay fit or to lose weight. With this constant loss of weight we tend to get into a hole of wanting to be thinner, and in my opinion that want leads to the attempts of so many girls developing some
Anorexia has dangerous effects on the body and the mind. It has the highest rate of death of any mental illness. Between 5% and 20% of people who develop the disease eventually die from it (Lee, 2008). It may start as simple dieting, but can quickly roller coaster out of control such as not eating at all. The person’s main focus is food, dieting, and the fear of weight gain. Others see them as being very thin but they themselves see a distorted fat image when they look in the mirror.
Eating disorders are very dangerous disorders that affect mostly women. Women are very insecure about their bodies and will do anything to stay skinny. With women trying to remain skinny, they starve themselves or even vomit after eating. Women are taught from a very young age what their bodies are suppose to look like. From supermodels to celebrities, they portray a skinny and pretty woman, which gives little girls a false sense of what a woman should look like. A girl is very impressionable and instead of maintaining a healthy body weight, she starves herself to fit the image of what others want. Society instead of portraying healthy bodies are set on the thought that skinner is better and that healthier is not the way to go. Eating disorders
Anorexia Nervosa or more commonly called Anorexia is a disease that is caused by any number of things including stress, self-esteem issues, and the words of other people. These things can cause someone to feel ashamed or self conscious of their weight and lead them to start dieting which in extreme cases leads to anorexia due to the intense fear of gaining weight. For anorexics, the line between dieting and malnourishment becomes blurred and most reject offers for
People with Anorexia have a desire for self control. As Demi quoted, "I think it was definitely a control thing. Some people just don't want to feel the emotions that they have. I think a lot of it is just me numbing myself out so I didn't have to deal with certain problems or trauma.” The desire for self control also goes along with puberty and growing into a certain body type that the person has. That self control allows the specific person to completely wreck their self image and self
Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behaviors, such as eating too little or eating too much. “Anorexia nervosa affects nearly one in 200 Americans in their lives (three-quarters of them female)” (Treating anorexia nervosa). Anorexia, when translated into Greek means “without appetite” which is not true for all suffering from anorexia most people with this disorder have not lost their appetite they simply have to ignore it. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and have convinced themselves that they are overweight even if they are the opposite of overweight. Since the way that they view themselves is in a negative light they starve themselves and put their lives at risk. “In the most severe
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders 5th edition defines anorexia nervosa as an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss; it is a serious and potentially life-threatening disorder. According to the DSM 5, the typical diagnostic symptoms of anorexia nervosa are: dramatic weight loss leading to significant low body weight for the individuals age, sex, and health; preoccupation with weight; restriction of food, calories and fat; constant dieting; feeling “fat” or overweight despite weight loss and fear about gaining weight or being “fat.” Many individuals with anorexia nervosa deny feeling hungry and often avoid eating meals with others, resulting in withdrawal from usual friends and activities
attractive and the media reinforces this statement." Young adolescent girls buy into this sensation and through doing so, set themselves up for failure. When these predisposing factors are combined with stressors and pressures, the cycle is begun and an eating disorder is formed.
What is anorexia? According to Mayo Clinic, “anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of body weight.” People with the disorder are insistent on having complete control of their body’s appearance no matter the cost, which ultimately results in the interference with everyday activities and routines. Anorexia not only has tremendous effects on the psychological well-being of an individual, but has a great impact on many of the body’s organ systems.