Anorexia Nervosa Essay

Most people with anorexia have a distorted image of their body. An anorexic will look into the mirror and see fat, even if they are sickly thin. Most commonly, anorexia begins in the teen years. This may be related to the common self-image problems that many teens suffer from. Anorexia tends to be more common in females than in males, and early intervention seems to be the key when dealing with this disorder. When left untreated, anorexia can lead to a whole slew of physical problems. Health problems related to anorexia include osteoporosis, kidney damage or failure, heart problems, and even death. Anorexia also affects the brain, as a person starves themself their metabolism changes. This change in the body causes a person not to think clearly or make good decisions. As anorexia progresses, a person will begin to have irrational behavior. For example, a person suffering from anorexia will often make rules about the amount of food they are “allowed” to consume. Others may start to purge themselves after eating even the tiniest bit of food, which is known as Bulimia. Anorexia can also bring on another psychological disorder; Depression. Depression is a mental illness that causes a person to feel sad and hopeless most of the time. People that suffer from depression will lose interest in things that they previously enjoyed, speak slower than normal, have trouble concentrating and remembering things, and be preoccupied by death

Anorexia is a serious mental health condition. It is an eating disorder where people try to keep their body weight as low as possible. DSM5 outlines the key diagnostic features for anorexia. Firstly, people with anorexia will restrict behaviours that promote healthy body weight. This could mean that they are consequentially underweight and this can be due to dieting, exercising and purging. There will also be a significant fear of weight gain, but this fear will not be relieved by weight loss. There will be a persistent fear that interferes with weight gain. Lastly, there will be a disturbed perception of ones weight and/or shape and denial of underweight status and its seriousness. Anorexia accounts for 10% of eating disorders in the UK and has

It’s only human to wish you looked different or could fix something about yourself. But when a more serious notion with being thin takes over your eating habits, thoughts, and life, it’s a sign of an eating disorder. When you have anorexia, the desire to lose weight becomes more important than anything else. You may even lose the ability to see yourself as you truly are. Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that affects people of all ages. It can damage your health and threaten your life. But you are not alone. There’s help available when you’re ready to make a change. Everyone

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).

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Fingers are tingling. Sight is fading. Muscles are shaking. Without warning, pain shoots through the veins as bones crack against the pavement. In this instant, the body has lost consciousness, but then it wakes up, shakes off the pain, and continues moving. A majority of anorexia’s victims are lucky enough to survive these events, but numerous anorexics would never stand again. Anorexia is a parasite that is currently compromising the physical, emotional, and social well-being of nine million people. These men and women deserve to live their lives, but time will tick past each of these survivors. When I learned that valuable lesson, I started tackling my demon in order to overcome every challenge that would be thrown my way, even if I was

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

Self-esteem is reliant upon body shape and weight. Physical implications may include disruption of the menstrual cycle also known as amenorrhea, signs of starvation, thinning of hair or hair loss, bloated, yellowish palms/soles of feet, dry and pasty skin. The risks that people take while indulging in anorexia can also become physiologically and mentally damaging. There are several effective treatments. One of which is hospitalization, this occurs when the weight loss is greater than 30% in 3 months time. Some other effects to be taken into consideration when hospitalizing a patient are the risk of suicide and depression, severe binging and purging, and serious metabolic disturbance. Therapy and counseling is used to help the patients with depression and family complications that may have led to the state they’re in. Clinical studies have not yet identified a medication that could improve the core symptoms of anorexia.

We must also consider the effects of anorexia. People with anorexia experience hair loss and fingernail breakage. Women who suffer will begin to have period loss. Those who continue to be anorexic without getting help can become anemic and even begin to develop very brittle bones. Anorexia is a serious medical illness, and with severe malnutrition anorexia can also cause death.

I sat there staring in the mirror filled with disgust at the figure on the other end. I thought “ another day, another day living and thinking of nothing else but the way that I look naked, the way I look with clothes on, and the way other people look at me.”

After Twiggy’s appearance in 1970, where being curvy is sexy, trends start to change. Being skinny became the new curvy. Society’s view and opinion on body shapes changed. Women became more concerned with their weight. Perfection and appearances became everything. When being slim became crucial, women, and even men could do everything to fit in this new trend. This includes becoming victims of eating disorders like Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa.

Eating disorders are extremely harmful and rising in prevalence. . The two most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. In this essay, I will compare and contrast these two disorders. This essay will also assess the symptoms, causes, health affects and the most prevalent characteristics of people diagnosed with these two eating disorders.

     When I think of anorexia, a few things come to mind. I think of really bad episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch in which females, ususally teenagers, starve themselves and take diet pills. The eating problem is always resolved within the timespan of one 30 minute episode. From the research I've done thus far on anorexia, I now know that this is a very unrealistic representation of what is actually a very serious disease.

In-patients with anorexia, starvation can damage vital organs such as the heart and brain. To protect itself, the body shifts into " slow gear ": monthly menstrual periods stop, breathing, pulse and, blood pressure rates drop, and thyroid function slows. Nails and hair become brittle, the skin dries, yellows, and becomes covered with soft hair called lanugo. Excessive thirst and frequent urination may occur. Dehydration contributes to constipation, and reduced body fat leads to lowered body temperature and inability to with stand cold. Mild anemia, swollen joints, reduced muscles mass, and light headedness also commonly occur in anorexia. If the disorder becomes severe, patients may lose calcium from their bones, making them brittle and prone to breakage. Scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have also found that patients suffer from other psychiatric illnesses. They may suffer from anxiety, personality or substance abuse disorders, and many are at a risk for suicide. Obsessive compulsive disorder, an illness characterized by repetitive thoughts and behaviors, can also accompany anorexia.

The rise in eating disorders has captured the attention of both medical and dental professionals. A dental hygienist may be the first professional to detect an eating disorder due to the oral complications that are associated with the condition (Foster, 2017). Eating disorders are described as “a persistent disturbance of eating behavior or behavior intended to control weight, which significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning” (Fairburn & Walsh, 2003). There are several types of eating disorders and sufferers may have a combination of disorders. Among eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia nervosa are the most common (The British Psychological Society, 2004). This review will discuss the psychological and behavioral traits associated with anorexia and bulimia nervosa, as well as the systemic and dental consequences.