Compare And Contrast Anorexia And Bulimia

Anorexia is an eating disorder that struggles with the fear of gaining weight and refuses to be healthy. Another eating disorder is Bulimia, which is when you overeat followed by forced vomiting and excessive exercise. Binge Eating is one of the most common eating disorders along with Anorexia and Bulimia, Binge eating is when you lose control over one’s eating. All of these common eating disorders all suffer from guilt or depression. “Individuals with bulimia and binge eating eat large amounts of food to reduce stress” (CEDC). They also could have risky behaviors, such as dealing with drugs or alcohol or even death. People with Anorexia or Bulimia are very concerned with being overweight or in other words fat.

Even if some girls were not classified as having an eating disorder 44% of adolescent girls believed they were heavy and 60% were exercising excessively trying to lose weight. (Katzman et al. Pg. 287). Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa are deemed as medical illnesses or used to describe a psychological disorder by of self-induced starvation in order to become thin. People that have either of these illnesses have an excessive fear of gaining weight although they differ in their causation. Anorexia is when the person starves themselves for days without eating and Bulimia is recurrent binge eating, followed by vomiting, purging, fasting, the use of laxatives, diuretics, and over exercising. Sadly they both cause great harm to the human body.

Eating Disorders (ED) are a real “epidemic” plaguing industrialized and developed societies, affecting mostly adolescents and young adults (Benas & Gibb 2011). In general, the flawed thinking of people suffering from such diseases is characterized by an obsession with perfection of the body. The impact that eating disorders have on women has always been more prevalent than on males. (Benas & Gibb 2011; Polivy & Herman 2002). The culture-bound syndromes are constellations of signs and symptoms, that are restricted to certain the cultural pressure to lose weight, which is considered a key element of the etiology of these disorders, therefore, along with biological, psychological and family factors have been generating an excessive preoccupation with the body, an abnormal fear of becoming fat and anxiety markedly accompanied by changes in the body schema. These are therefore the characteristics of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The following ten literature review attempt to demonstrate and support the theory of cognitive approach on eating disorders, briefly understanding the neurobiological mechanisms.

Eating disorder is a term used to describe several psychological disorders characterized by abnormal eating habits. Some of the most common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is probably the most well-known of these. A person suffering from anorexia nervosa will obsess over weight gain and show unusual anxiety related to weight gain. Depending upon the type (binge-eating/purging type or restricting type) a person will either consume food and then attempt to “purge”, a term used to describe a method of forced removal of food from the body such as self-induced vomiting, or they will restrict the amount of food consumed. In most cases the person will be under healthy weight and often see themselves as average weight or even overweight. In bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders the affected person will eat excessive amounts of food. People suffering from these diseases report feeling out of control during their binge eating episodes. In bulimia nervosa binge eating episodes are followed by some method of purging whereas in binge eating disorder they are not, although the person normally expresses feelings of guilt or embarrassment afterwards. People suffering from bulimia nervosa are usually average weight which can make detection difficult. Those with binge eating disorder are normally

There are behavioral similarities among individuals suffering from Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa such as feeling they are in control where they may have lacked power or control in their lives, feeling more confident, and the ability to avoid uncomfortable emotions through disordered eating behavior. However, there are also significant differences. According to the articles, those who suffer from AN consistently communicate this disordered eating behavior makes them feel more attractive, increases confidence and elicits a feeling of superiority, where as those who suffer from BN more often communicate a negative self-image and feelings of shame and defectiveness. BN patients also conveyed their desire to keep their illness a secret whereas AN patients are generally more concerned with their thinness being obvious to others and gaining attention. BN is frequently accompanied by depression, and feelings of self-loathing indicating a high prevalence of comorbidity, and those suffering from this illness experience a disturbance in feeling satisfied with a

Anorexia is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Anorexia is caused by low self-esteem, extreme drive for perfectionism, a distorted body image, and genetics.

The women with Bulimia exhibited negative responses to their bodies and that “self-images captivate[d] the attention of [the] BN patient” (Ortega-Roldan, et al). Their bodies also went into a defense mode, and part of the study’s results “confirm that one’s own body is perceived by BN patients as an unpleasant, uncontrollable, and activating stimulus” (Ortega-Roldan, et al). This study’s purpose was to look for a different way of spotting Bulimia, but it highlights the mental devastation that the people with these disorders face every day they face themselves.

In the article titled, Bulimia Nervosa: Friend or Foe? The Pros and Cons of Bulima Nervosa by Serpell, it stated in a study that was conducted, Bulimics have a negative self image of themselves. A couple implications are these individuals often have feelings of shame and lack of self confidence. The second article titled, Bulimia Nervosa: Friend of Foe? The Pros and Cons of Bulimia Nervosa had patients do a writing exercise to their Bulimia. One letter was how they viewed Bulimia as a friend and the other was how they viewed Bulimia as an enemy. In the

Additionally, many people would not even think that someone would participate in both practices, anorexia nervosa and binge-eating, however there are multiple people who do. This term for having a combination of both symptoms is bulimia nervosa. Unfortunately, “between 1.1% and 4.6% of females and 0.1% to 0.5% of males will develop bulimia”(Overview). This may not seem like a lot but .1% is approximately 7.125 million males developing bulimia. Victims of bulimia nervosa have the same thoughts of an anorexic person and the actions of a binge eating person. Opposed to an anorexia victim, the bulimia nervosa victim will eat an unnatural

The rapid cycling of over-control and loss of control eating in bulimia nervosa can be viewed as a symbolic representation of conflict related to disavowed oedipal desires.

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are two common recognized eating disorders. It is possible for a person to suffer from both disorders. Those with anorexia have a tendency to skip meals, adopt highly restrictive and unhealthy diets, obsess over thinness and food, and present abnormal eating habits or rituals. Bulimia presents itself in the form of binging, or overeating, followed by purging, often either by vomiting or using laxatives. One similarity that goes along with both eating disorders is the obsession with food, weight, and a "thin" body image; an extreme fear of weight gain; compulsive exercise; depression and anxiety; low self-esteem. Another Similarity is that there is no official cause. It can be related to culture, family life,

However, those battling Anorexia generally tend to struggle with an extremely low body weight, while those battling Bulimia typically contain a normal or above normal body weight. Unlike Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa is described as an eating disorder in which a person binge eats and then purges, or vomits. Although both eating disorders have different definitions, they both share common misconceptions. For example, many people believe that someone who is battling an eating disorder can just stop. However, that is not true because an eating disorder is classified as a serious mental illness. Most of the time the disorder that the individual is battling is their way of coping with emotional stress and is therefore very difficult for them to give up. Another misconception about eating disorders is that they are a “cry for attention” or that they are just a phase that they affected person is going through. People with eating disorders are not seeking attention or going through a phase though. In fact, due to the nature of the particular eating disorder, the affected individual may go to great lengths to hide, cover up, and deny their behavior, and may not even recognize that there is anything wrong with them. Because an eating

Anorexia vs. Bulimia About 50% of people who have had anorexia developed bulimia or bulimic patterns according to Mental Health America of Illinois (MHAI). Anorexia and bulimia are two different types of eating disorders who’s rates are increasing among young women. Although anorexia and bulimia are two different types of common eating disorders, they are both influenced by society and many other factors. In comparison, society plays a great role in eating disorders. For example, women are rarely satisfied with their body image.

“Anorexics tend to be compliant, approval seeking, conflict avoiding, perfectionist, socially anxious, and obsessive/compulsive, with average or above-average intelligence” (Kirby 69).

When I first saw the title and abstract to the articles required for this class, I read with disbelief the idea that anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) can be seen as having positive effects on an individual. To me, this was a foreign concept and had never crossed my mind. The exploratory studies required 18 (AN) and 30 (BN) participants who have been diagnosed with AN or BN to write two letters; one to their disorder as a friend and the other as a foe. From these letters, the researchers analyzed and coded certain phrases and then divided these into pros and cons. While I believe this study contains many flaws, it is interesting to see how they can describe both the positive and negative aspect of their disorder.