A Deadly Disorder Kidney failure, heart problems, spleen dysfunction, bone and muscle loss, and finally death; these are only a couple of the deadly effects associated with anorexia and bulimia. As Mim Udovitch states, “About one in 200 American women suffers from anorexia; two or three in 100 suffer from bulimia.” (Udovitch 557) Through the combined works of Mim Udovitch and Lisa D. Galynker, the message was made clear and both sides of eating disorders were argued. In A Secret Society of the Starving Udovitch keeps a tone of anti pro-ana (against pro-anorexia) throughout the entire story. She repeatedly talks about pro-ana websites and how ridiculous and crazy they are. Udovitch is very persuasive with her choices of words and personal …show more content…
Chaos, as described by Udovitch, “is by no means a young woman with nothing going for her.” (Udovitch 562) She is a double major college student with a full-time job that is very talented in the arts. Each girl interviewed maintained a similar sad story, and each shared an interest in pro-ana websites. Udovitch describes the appearance of the girls that have been interviewed and how the disease has affected their medical stature. Each girl who had been interviewed had a bright future ahead of them, and most had led normal lives (except for their secret disorder). Udovitch also describes the affects that pro-ana websites have on girls. Although she states that the websites do not cause this disorder, she defines them as a place for encouragement of this behavior. Udovitch seems to have a desire to tell the world about pro-ana websites and how they affect girls with these diseases. She describes these websites as, “A way for them to connect with other girls and to basically talk about how special they are.” (Udovitch 559) Udovitch’s outlook on pro-ana websites is not a very happy one, as she talks about them in a bad sense throughout her entire essay. In Lisa D. Galynker’s selection Reading across Professions, Galynker criticizes Udovitch by stating she is very biased and uncompassionate. Galynker tries to view the disorders from the girl’s point of view and feels sympathy for them. Even though she is a
I’ve always been passionate about understanding others; stepping into their shoes and seeing, thinking, and appreciating the lives they live. I think it is important to take that extra step and see things from a different point of view. It is the only way to achieve a true understanding. I believe in this philosophy so much so, that it’s one of the main reasons I have this blog; to give others a glimpse of a life with mental illness. I’ve been in treatment for 2 months and 26 days and I think it’s time for another peek into my brain.
“Tuesdays with Morrie” and “The Death of Ivan Ilych” both portray a character who is dealing with a serious terminal illness and advance knowledge of their deaths. One story is based on the realistic life of an American professor with the story’s characteristics tone from the 1990’s while the other is set during nineteenth century Russia. Even though Morrie Schwartz and Ivan Ilych both suffered from the illness, their dissimilar lifestyles and beliefs led to different perspective on facing death. One views the knowledge as a blessing and an opportunity to share his life experiences before making his final good-byes, the other agonizes in pain and begs for an
There are many different psychological illnesses in the world, each with different causes. While eating is an key function of life, some people may be doing harm to their body with their eating habits. Eating disorders occur when a person has a bad relationship with food and can be deadly. The book Elena Vanishing, by Elena Dunkle and Clare B. Dunkle, gives a better understanding of the background of eating disorders and many reviewers are impacted by the book’s vital message.
The movie relates that percentage of women with anorexia nervosa has been increasing consistently by 5%, making girls ages 18-24 the most vulnerable to this illness. The women interviewed in the film all came from different backgrounds but displayed similar characteristics related to their eating disorders. All of them said they their eating habits were “inspired” by some sort of media, whether it was a movie star, a television show, a model, or advertisements. One girls in the group therapy session stated that she watched a film about bulimia and was actually inspired to engage in this binging and purging behavior because of it. She along with others interviewed in the movie, reported that she did not think it was a big deal because it looked like you could eat just about anything with no consequences. This relates to the idea of using binging and purging as a tool of power, that is discussed by researchers later in the film. Women with eating disorders are often women that feel powerless, so they feel like their eating habits are the only thing
“Hunger” is an article published in 1989 by social justice activist Maggie Helwig. In this article Helwig discusses the stereotypes behind eating disorders, and gives real life examples of the impacts an eating disorder can have on someone. She is able to incorporate many ideas that smoothly flow together to capture the audience’s attention, while also making the audience consider their thoughts and views on eating disorders. She ends the article by giving insightful information as to what it was like for her to suffer from an eating disorder, and why she chose to starve herself for eight years. Helwig uniquely incorporates logos, pathos, and ethos in her writing to completely gain the audience’s attention and influence their opinions on eating disorders.
“Dying to be Thin,” produced by PBS, is a documentary that examines the troubles that persons who are affected by eating disorders go through and the constant, daily struggles they face with health and body image. The film tells the story of a number of young women who battled mainly anorexia and bulimia and mixes a variety of ages to give a “during” and an “after” perspective. Many of the women in the video were ballet or some similar type of dancer. Dancers, by their own account, are encouraged to be thin. The issue really came to the forefront after a young ballet dancer from Boston died of heart failure at the young age of 22, with an eating disorder deemed to be the cause. The narrator goes on to introduce more young women and detail the potential illnesses that their eating disorders can cause. Chronic low blood pressure, kidney and liver damage, severe early osteoporosis, and heart failure are all common things seem in patients who suffer from eating disorders. Most patients have dangerously low body weights, body fat percentages, and, often, young women will experience amenorrhea, which is the loss of menstruation. All of the people in the video wanted to be better and were seeking a road to recovery. The video showed though, how difficult that can be since the eating disorders can be so wide ranging and have a number of different root causes. Often patients develop eating disorders as something that they have control over, in a world that they feel is out of their
The New York Times published “A Secret Society of the Starving” to inform the readers about what bulimic and anorexic girls want, but this information does not help these girls in anyway. Girls with eating disorders are not seeking for any sort of help. Readers do not really care about this article unless if their child or children have some sort of eating disorder. Udovitch informs, “A site like Futurebird's, or like the message board of Chaos's, are designed with the best intentions. But as everybody knows, that is what the way into the city of
Opioids are killing Americans throughout the world and also decreasing their lifespans overall. According to a medical report from JAMA Opioids take about 3 months off of our lives. In 2015 life expectancy in the US decreased since the year 1993. Deaths from drug overdose continue to get higher and according to The Center for Disease control there were 64,000 deaths from a drug overdose in 2016. The amount of deaths related to Opioid’s has multiplied by four since 1999. One of the main causes for opioid overdose deaths has been from heroin and fentanyl. According to the CDC Fentanyl is the number one cause of opioid overdose. (CNN)
Read each case below and determine what psychological disorder each patient might have. In your own words, state your reasons why. Type your answer directly below each case.
The author, Leslie Fiedler writes about the differences in what it means to be normal. She discusses this in a professional manner that opens eyes to what we have disguised and even been ashamed of. “The Tyranny of the Normal,” we learn much about what we perceive as abnormal and what society seems to portray normal as. We discover what we believe is normal and also what has changed through-out the history of this subject. Our minds are opened and exposed to the world of abnormalities and how we see them.
Employing her essay with key terms like body image, anorexia, and bulimia among other disorders, the essayist has written her piece rife with appeals to pathos to define them; the essay’s introduction carries her readers into a girl’s mind who struggles with her appearance
As time has grown, thousands and thousands of diseases have been introduced, studied, and diagnosed. In 2002, Morgellons disease was publicly introduced, but it does not possess the ability to be easily understood and comprehended despite several studies. Due to multiple cases involving patients containing symptoms with no clear relation to any study or peer-reviewed literature, a numerous amount of medical professionals have begun to believe that this disease of the integumentary system has become derived from actual patient and not a medical professional, concluding that it merely does not exist. After multiple cases have been performed regarding Morgellons disease and the results of those cases have been studied, it is medically obvious
There are hundreds of different careers in the medical field ranging from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners. Psychiatry deals specifically with the diagnosis and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional ailments. The main purpose of a psychiatrist is to help people coop with issues and stress in their environment that make it difficult to lead a normal and healthy lifestyle. These issues may arise from abuse, addiction, mental disability, disease, or physical injury. It is the psychiatrist’s job to ensure the patient can maintain a healthy attitude and continue to provide for themselves. A Psychiatrist may choose to specialize in many sub classes of mental health including children and adolescents, geriatric psychiatry, addiction,
There are times when people are plagued with thoughts, behaviors or emotions that will inhibit them from normal behavior. These are known as psychological disorders. These disorders come in many forms but all will have large effects on a person’s life.
Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or