Essay on Anorexia Nervosa and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

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, otherwise stated as anorexia, is an eating disorder that occurs when an individual restricts themselves from necessary energy intake which leads to significantly low body weight. Other characteristics of this disorder include: intense fear of becoming fat or gaining weight, persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, and disturbances of perception and experience of their own body weight and shape (DSM V, 2013). Effective treatments are still trying to be researched for this disorder, as there is not a “one size fits all” for people of all age groups, living situations, etc. Since adolescents with anorexia are such a vulnerable population,

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves extreme weight loss, restricted food intake, and an intense fear of becoming fat. The American Psychiatric Association outlines four diagnostic criteria for anorexia. The first is refusal to maintain body weight. The second is intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. The third is denial of the seriousness of low body weight. The

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD, is a psychiatric anxiety disorder that is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts along with repetitive behaviors. These unwanted thoughts are called obsessions and the repetitive behaviors are called compulsions. Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, checking, counting, and cleaning are usually performed with the hope of making these obsessive thoughts go away or even preventing them. These repetitive behaviors are often referred to as ‘rituals’. People with OCD perform these rituals to help deal with the anxiety that the obsessions cause. These rituals only provide temporary relief for the person and usually end up controlling their life. About one in every fifty adults have

Anorexia Nervosa is the condition when an individual abstains from food in order to lose weight or prevent more weight gain. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV(DSM-IV) there are four aspects of criteria to be diagnosed with anorexia: a refusal to maintain weight above what is minimally normal for one’s age and height, and extreme fear of weight gain, distorted body image, and (in females) having amenorrhea(missing three or more consecutive menstrual cycles.)(DSM-IV, 2000:589) Anorexia not only affects weight, but also alters bone growth, neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain, and electrolytes.

"OCD patients have a pattern of distressing and senseless thoughts or ideas- obsessions- that repeatedly well up in their minds. To quell the distressing thoughts, specific patterns of odd behaviors- compulsions- develop." (Gee & Telew, 1999)

The definition of Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is typically defined by the disorders characteristics. The characteristics of OCD are obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions often manifest from unreasonable beliefs, thoughts, and fears. Compulsions often manifest in the form of ritualistic behaviors. Mayoclinic.org explains that individuals with OCD can have one of the other where the issues of compulsions or obsessions are concerned (Diseases and Conditions). “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder” written by Gyula Bokor, MD, and Peter D. Anderson further distinguishes OCD by stating that “(OCD) consists of a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control to the degree that flexibility, openness, and efficiency are impaired” (2014, p. 117). There are a number of disorders that are comorbid to OCD, meaning in the presence of one or more disorder. Bokor and Anderson state that often times Tourette’s syndrome and Tic disorders are a frequent comorbidity with OCD (2014, p. 117). Psychotic disorders like schizophrenia has been reported a comorbidity of OCD. Bokor and Anderson state that the mental composition of a patient with OCD can lie in comorbidity with numerous psychiatric disorders as well like panic disorder, social phobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder (2014, p. 118). The National Institute of Mental Health’s website explains that there are a number of treatments for OCD. The two most predominant forms of

People with OCD usually have considerable insight into their own problems. Most of the time, they know that their obsessive thoughts are senseless or exaggerated, and that their compulsive behaviors are not really necessary. However, this knowledge is not sufficient to enable them to stop obsessing or the carrying out of rituals.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also called OCD, is characterized by two behaviors – obsessions and compulsions. A person with OCD has an obsession or persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thought, which leads them to do actions or compulsions that’s ritualistic in nature. They do these actions to temporarily relieve the anxiety that they feel with the persistent thought, and for this reason, they feel compelled to perform these actions. For example, someone with OCD might be worried about getting sick or being infected by germs, and they might engage in excessive hand washing or cleaning. Their anxiety is relieved once they’ve cleaned or washed their hands a lot. Of course, this relief doesn’t last for a long time as the thoughts are persistent

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

The second major component of OCD are compulsions, or voluntary, irresistible actions that are apparently stereotyped or ritualistic (4). Approximately 80% of all OCD sufferers experience compulsions along with obsessions (4), while only 20% experience one of the two. A person with OCD may be driven to perform the compulsive act in order to produce or prevent another situation from happening. In most cases, the compulsive person is aware that the act is meaningless or unreasonable, however, avoiding the urge to perform the act often leads to unsurpassable amounts of stress and anxiety (4). Only when the act is carried out is the person's anxiety once again relieved. Examples of compulsions include: hand washing or wearing gloves, ordering and arranging items in specific ways, and checking rituals involving locks and appliances (2).

OCD is characterized by two types, obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts that persistently and continually occupy the mind. Examples of obsessions include the need for symmetry, such as fixing shelves and or furniture until they are perfectly centered and symmetrical. Forbidden thoughts or actions, many people with OCD have thoughts that are not typical or accepted to have in their culture. Cleaning and contamination, this can manifest as the thought that objects or surfaces are unclean or the thought that if they were to come in contact with it may make the person ill. It is unclear what causes these obsessions, but it has been suggested that, “obsessions might be triggered by stimuli in the environment (e.g., a religious icon or driving a car) or occur without an apparent trigger (e.g., the impulse to yell a curse word in a place of worship)” (Abramowitz & Jacoby, 2014). Compulsions, on the other hand, are the rituals or actions that are done in response to the obsessions. Often the rituals are trying to give relief to the controlling thoughts. In other words, they may gain a sense of control from these rituals that help them cope with their inability to control the invasive thoughts they are having. Examples

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

People that have OCD find it hard to lead normal lives. They tend to suffer from recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and perform the same rituals (compulsions) that they feel that they cannot control. The rituals or compulsions they have can be anything from washing their hands over and over, to

Knowing what OCD is the first step in understanding the psychology of the disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over” (NIMH). The obsessive part of OCD is intrusive, repetitive thoughts the cause anxiety, and the compulsion part is the need to perform an act or ritual repeatedly. The obsession causes anxiety and the compulsion relieves the anxiety.