Eating Disorder Treatment
The topic of which I would like to further discuss in my paper is that of eating disorders. The question I would like to explore is: Should mental health and associated health professionals be allowed to remove a patient’s autonomy and control their diet as intervention for an eating disorder? I think that this is a very debatable topic because both sides are equally important to the patient. It is important that the patient be able to make their own decisions but it is equally important that the patient be safe and their health protected. Both sides are also equally harmful if not considered for the patient. Is it ethical to control a patient’s diet in treatment of an eating disorder? Proponents answer yes,
…show more content…
Clarify Concepts
The major eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. There are also many other eating disorders that are not always specified for people that do not fall into the other categories. When treating these illnesses along with any other, medical staff work to protect a patient’s autonomy which is their right to make decisions about their own care. The problem is that eating disorders are one of the hardest conditions to treat (Treasure, 2015). It has also been shown that over half of all cases develop into severe illness for the patient and profoundly impact their physical and mental health (Treasure, 2015).
Identify Possible Solutions to the Problem There are several possible solutions. Medical staff could take dietary choices away from the patient and control their diet in order to help them recover from their eating disorder. Another option is for medical staff to counsel the patient on dietary decisions but allow the patient to remain in control of their choices. Yet another option may be a compromise between the two, to control the diet of the patient while still allowing them to make decisions.
Gather Information
Professionals are trying to decide the best ways to treat eating disorders. A major complication in the proposed treatment plan is ethics. A potential solution may be to take control away from the patient but,
Around 10-15% of all Americans suffer from an eating disorder. “More than 7 million women suffer from an eating disorder whereas only one million men suffer from an eating disorder” (Mirasol). In modern society, we are surrounded by media and images. Both men and women struggle to meet the expectations set forth in magazines, websites, and on television. The pressure to imitate the ideal body can lead many down unhealthy paths. Teens today face a lot more challenges which leads them to illnesses like Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge eating. Although there are a lot of similarities in this disease, the differences can also affect people differently, which means different treatments are required.
Nowadays, when people emphasis more and more on healthy lifestyles, both exercise and food intake have become a big part of the consideration. With the goals of being fit and losing weight, some people eat irregularly or do not eat at all. As a result, eating disorders seem more often on news and reports. However, some people still view it as a joke. With the increasing number of people diagnosed with eating disorders, people should raise awareness on the effects of eating disorders and treat them seriously.
Thesis Statement: It is important to understand eating disorders and the types of eating disorders to overcome them and seek the proper treatment.
‘A psychiatric disorder characterized by an unrealistic fear of weight gain, self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. The individual is obsessed with becoming increasingly thinner and limits food intake to the point where health is compromised. The disorder may be fatal. The name comes from two Latin words that mean nervous inability to eat.’ Therefore due the physical and medical implications that anorexia nervosa presents, for an individual who experiences the condition, compulsory treatment is often deemed necessary. However this is often grounds for serious ethical debate between many, including medical professionals, those who experience anorexia nervosa and indeed social work practitioners. Thus the following essay will seek to explore the ethical issues that may pertain should the compulsory treatment of anorexia nervosa be utilised. By discussing the principles of ethical treatment, including the rights of the individual and also considering the benefits of allowing the individual to choose their course of treatment, view on the compulsory treatment of anorexia nervosa.
In today's society, there is much attention being given to the subject of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia; unfortunately it is because these disorders seem to be becoming more and more common. The question that remains is whether eating disorders such as these are simply personal problems of the individuals, or if they have become a social problem that needs to be addressed more aggressively. Having grown up in this society, I see this issue as a definite social problem. To say that these increasingly common eating disorders are personal problems, implies that the causes of them are personal as well, which I believe is not the case. A social problem is something that goes against society's goals and values; it would seem
Communities can be divided into a series of subsystems. The particular subsystem that was chosen for this topic was the health and social services subsystem. This subsystem is about what resources are available for the community and chosen population. This includes resources such as the types of healers available, traditional and/or non-traditional, as well as other assets including: nursing homes, hospitals, clinics, as well as those who work in the hospital and clinical settings. This subsystem is relevant to the topic because eating disorders require specialized care and treatment that can only located within certain subsystems, including this one.
Hello everyone. My name is Ruth and I want to talk to you guys about eating disorders. An eating disorder is essentially an illness that disrupts a person’s every day diet which can cause a person to pretty much stop eating or over eat, depending on the illness. These illnesses are more apparent in the teenage years and in to young adulthood (Pinel, 2011), which makes sense because this is when we start becoming more aware of our bodies as well as other people’s bodies. We might want to look like the model we just saw on TV and will do anything to get that body, right? But an eating disorder is not the way to go; we will get in to the effects of
Eating disorders are diseases in which people have an unhealthy relationship with their food, and negative image reflecting how their body looks, such as, the fear of gaining weight. This type of body dysmorphia can lead to damaging eating habits, such as; starvation, purging, and even binging. Furthermore, there are numerous eating disorders recognized today, the most common being binge disorder, causing the affected person to eat far too much and experience pain, discomfort, and irritable bowel symptoms, bulimia which causes the affected person to purge their food through vomiting, and one of the most common eating disorders -- anorexia nervosa. (Eating Disorders, 2008) Many of these disorders can be treated in multiple ways, the most common way is through counselling with a social worker, the social worker helps develop a treatment plan for the client and aids them in their recovery.
Many individuals that deal with eating disorders usually diet because of the moral pressure to not possess the traits of being lazy or gluttonous that obese people possess. For many anorexic people, it’s a moral responsibility for them to be able to maintain a thin body; however, many times it can get out of hand, and many of their diets are not done so
It was a choice I made out of fear not logic." (Miss America Kristen Hauglund, cnn) extreme and needless weight loss, illogical fear of weight gain, a fixation with a thin figure and an abnormal eating pattern are all things the ten million women and men that are diagnosed with anorexia suffer with. (eatingdissorders) I believe it is okay to force feed when there is a realistic potential to substantially improve their life. The majority of patients don't care about the harmful effects their actions are having on their body. Voluntarily starving to death has links with he rational suicide debate and attracts largely disapproving attention from ethical, legal groups.(theconversation) In the cases of minors the fate of the patient is left up to the parent or guardian but if they are classified as an adult they have the ability to chose their path unless the doctor or hospital board chooses to take it to court and have it appealed. (theconversation) Medical ethics say that the doctor has a responsibility to keep the patient alive to administer treatment.(tutor
In my research, I explored the world of eating disorders. I wanted to see if there was anything specifically encouraging eating disorders and if there was a way to stop it. Eating disorders affect the community greatly because often times, they go unchecked or unrecognized. As a recovered anorexic, I feel it’s very important to address this issue. It’s a very big problem that is often not addressed at all, or is seen as normal, like counting calories. I hoped to find a way to improve the way that eating disorders are viewed and explain to people about what defines an eating disorder, because many people will never know if it is not explicitly explained to them. My study’s purpose is to bring light into the dark world of eating disorders
Each year millions of people in the United States develop serious and often fatal eating disorders. More than ninety percent of those are adolescent and young women. The consequences of eating disorders are often severe--one in ten end in death from either starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Due to the recent awareness of this topic, much time and money has been attributed to eating disorders. Many measures have been taken to discover leading causes and eventual treatment for those suffering from anorexia. (http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource ...er.html#Causes of Eating Disorders) )
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are eating disorders that severely affect both men and women around the world. The cause of the eating disorder usually derives from psychological, biological and social forces. Eating disorders have become an epidemic in American society, twenty-four million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.\, 2011). There are many ways to address and treat an eating disorder. There have been multiple studies conducted to test the effectiveness of different types of treatment. My central research question analyzes the relationship between the continuation of the eating disorder with the presence of intervention or some
People suffering from eating disorders cannot solely help themselves. Although they may be able to stop for a short time, in the long run they will be back in the same path of self-destruction. Kirkpatrick & Caldwell (2001) state, "Because eating disorders are a complicated mix of physical and psychological abnormalities, successful treatment always includes treatment of psychological issues as well as restoration of a healthy diet" (p. 131). Trained therapists should treat eating disorders. The severity of the disorders will determine the need for outpatient therapy or an in-hospital program (Matthews, 2001, p. 178). There are many goals of therapy but the return to normalcy is the main goal. The eating disorder sufferer needs to restore and maintain a normal weight as well as develop normal eating and exercise routines. Kirkpatrick and Caldwell (2001) state,
Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or