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Anorexia And Bulimia Comparison

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Eating disorders are a mental disease. Anorexia and Bulimia are serious illnesses. They can affect any gender, age, and race. Anorexia is when someone stops eating to become thinner. Some studies suggest that a person with Anorexia also want to disappear. Bulimia is binge eating then self-induced vomiting also known as purging or some people will use laxatives. Both of these illnesses are destroy not only to the patient’s body, but also their mental health and self-image. They affect the patients loved ones as well. Although both have to do with self-image and losing weight they differ in the incentive the patients have when having these illnesses. The symptoms and the consequences of their behavior also differ. Both are very dangerous to the …show more content…

The motivations behind the victims vary. Some is the incapability to form attachments. Anorexia has been said to be a complex condition. Anorexia has the highest death rate when it comes to psychiatric disorders. There is a 10% rate of those diagnosed who die from causes related to the mental disease. People who have anorexia find themselves unattractive. They feel as if they need to lose weight because they don’t meet the crazy body image of today’s world. Individual’s that suffer from Anorexia have an over exaggerated perception level when it comes to their body. Meaning that a patient could have a BMI at 15% but when looking in the mirror he/she seems themselves at 40% or something to that level. People who suffer with Anorexia have been found to have high level traits of obsession and perfectionism. Most people with Anorexia suffer other mental illnesses as well. These can be depression, OCD or anxiety. Treatment for anorexia involves a lot of counseling. Depending on the damage done to the body there could be hospitalization or in-house treatment. Some people have to have feeding tubes inserted. Patients have to maintain a healthy diet. If not treated there can be severe consequences. Physical problems include kidney failure and heart problems or worse case death. The organs don’t receive enough nutrition to function …show more content…

People with bulimia will frequently binge eat. After binging most have emotional distress of being out of control. To compensate for their impulsiveness they purge. Getting rid of everything they have just eaten. Some even use large amounts of laxatives. According to the DSM-IV people have to binge twice a week for at least three months before being diagnosed. Bulimia is associated to a psychological matter of feeling out of control. When on a binge those with bulimia will consume an close estimate to 20,000 calories within a few hours. Most with bulimia like Anorexia have low self-esteem. OCD is more common in people who have Bulimia than those who don’t. There is of course anxiety disorders associated with the illness. Bulimics maintain a healthier weight then Anorexics. Bulimia worsens the esophagus and causes dental problems. When purging the acids in the stomach eat away at the esophagus and teeth. The treatment of Bulimia differs from that of anorexia. They tend to stick with behavior therapy and cognitive therapy. They have to learn to control their eating habits. Bulimics do better if they have specific goals to reach. One being changing their eating habits and sticking to them. Bulimics have a bit of an easier time overcoming their illness then those with

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