Anorexia Nervosa Research Paper

This article explored the topic of identifying symptoms in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). The Eating Disorder Inventory led a study, conducted by D. Garner, that studied females with AN to classify behavior exclusive to the psychological disorder. The researchers recognized the problem of trying to identify any restrictive manners or detrimental behaviors that could identify a person with AN. The purpose of the research was to find tell-tale symptoms or psychological indicators of AN in patients.

We always hear the quote, "You, we tend to define physical beauty as thin or more likely, skinny. The root possible cause for the development and continuous growth on this type of disorder has a huge effect from the media. Most often we tend to copy what we see and go for what the society conforms as the trend. More often, other people may have different reasons behind this which lead us to this paper. This was the reason for the curiosity of the researchers to seek for answers on the following problem:

Barbarich-Marsteller, N. C. (2012).  Anorexia Nervosa: Symptoms, Treatment, and Neurobiology. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. This is an article that focused on the different therapies and interventions that could be used and conducted to help a patient with anorexia nervosa such as Individual Supportive Psychotherapy (ISP) is not a formal psychoanalytic treatment.

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

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

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).

Over the span of several decades the media has evolved in great ways. What constitutes as media would be social media websites, magazines, televisions shows, films and anything that spreads news around, it is also our source of entertainment. There is “old” media which is media that had been around for awhile such as magazines, movies and television. There is also “new” media which consists of the internet in general, cell phones, computer and video games.14 With the growing number of technology, comes the spread of propaganda through media, both negative and positive, like body image. The term “body image” was first used by a psychoanalyst by the name of Paul Ferdinand Schilder (1886-1940)4 the meaning of body image is that it

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

Social media has caused for an increase the in the amount of eating disorders in the world. Anorexia Nervosa began as Anorexia Mirabilis or the miraculous gift of starvation sent from God. Women and girls would starve herself to show that they were saintlike. Sometimes they would even reach sainthood, just St. Catherine. After many girls died from foolishly trying to achieve sainthood, Anorexia Mirabilis was frowned upon and died down until the 1800s.

In order to be able to see the signs of anorexia the way that my mom did was a way that she understood where it all came from. It came from being obesssed with the intake of food throughout my body. I’m very glad to have a mother like her where she was not afraid to notice that my bones would show and were visible. A week later, my mom scheduled a doctor's visit that was when all my weight loss was discovered. I was diagnosed with Anorexia. Anorexia is an emotional disorder caused by an obsessive desire to lose weight, and the victim refuses to eat “According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as many as ten million females and one million males suffer from anorexia or bulimia and many more cases likely go unreported due to stigma attached to the illnesses” (National Eating Disorders Association n.d.). Personally, I have experienced and suffered with poor body image, unhealthy habits, and general demands of

If your one of those people who goes on strict diets to lose a couple pounds, your probably someone who is in a movie role trying to get in shape for the role, someone who enjoys fitness, or someone who wants to lose a 100 pounds to be thin. The thing about going on strict diets is that if you go to far, it can cause health risk. Most people understand that and usually know what their doing however, their is a disorder that makes people think that their not eating the right amount of calories everyday. The disorder is called anorexia nervosa. It is a type of eating disorder that represents an obsessive desire to lose weight by any means necessary. The articles, “Adults with anorexia” by Lauren Pellet, “Anorexia: overview and statistics” by

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

Have you ever looked in the mirror and felt that the person staring back at you was not good enough? Stepped on a weighing machine and felt like the number was too high? Something you might not know is, when a person is too absorbed with their looks, it is possible that they have some sort of eating disorder. Truthfully, anorexia isn’t just about how thin someone is, it is the emotions that trigger these weight losing habits, for example, depression, insecurity and feeling lack of control. According to the University of Pittsburgh, 5 to 10 percent of people diagnosed with anorexia are male. This shows that not all anorexia victims are female, but also haunting the lives of the opposite gender. The psychological causes of anorexia include these

It is not a cry for attention, and it is not a diet fad that has recently appeared. In fact it has been around since the fourteenth century. It is not just a physical illness, but a mental one as well. Anorexia is an eating disorder that distorts the perception of the person’s weight, and people with this illness place a high value on controlling both their weight and shape. A person with anorexia may keep count of all the calories they consume and exercise excessively. While much of society may not understand that this is not always a choice, and the cause can be one's mental health. The way one perceives themselves, and the environment they surround themselves may lead to anorexia, which can negatively affect the body and mental health.

Eating disorders are characterized by a serious disturbance of behavior of food: eating too much or too little, as well as a great concern regarding the size and shape of her body. This short paper is on anorexia nervosa, mental bulimia and the binge eating.