People who suffer from an eating disorder are sometimes or to be fair always get the attention of media. That’s simply because such diseases are hard or difficult to be treated and they get to be a big point of interest and they receive the research attention. So what are eating disorders? And what are the symptoms and signs of an eating disorder? Well, an eating disorder is a definite disturbance of eating habits or weight-control behavior and it’s not a secondary due to any disorder. Over the past decades studies showed that eating disorders are frequent in women than men. Moreover, an eating disorder could result in a psychological, mental, and physical dysfunctions and disabilities. Just like diabetes, eating disorders are classified …show more content…
Treatments vary from case to case but generally physiotherapy, counseling, and medications can be used to treat eating disorders. Such diseases are difficult to deal with because patients mostly refuse to interact with the therapy or the given medication due to their uncontrollable behavior.
The first type of eating disorders is the anorexia nervosa. In anorexia nervosa there is an active maintenance of an unduly low body weight- body mass index. The first cases for anorexia were in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and in that period of time this disorder was rare but in the twentieth century anorexia started to appear (1). Anorexia affects women more than men. Several studies showed that it affects 0.5% of women and 0.1% of men. Anorexia is mostly found in in western societies. Anorexia can be divided into two types, the first one that is the restriction type: weight loss is achieved by restricting calories. And the other type, which is the purging type: when vomiting or using laxatives and diuretics achieve weight loss. People who are anorexic mostly have an immoderate health restriction, obsession and anxiety about body image and weight; they punish themselves by eating very small portions of food portions of food and over exercising. There are many signs and symptoms that can be deducted to recognize anorexia in a person such as: refusal to
Many young women suffer from eating disorders. Criticized and shamed by the many for their body, weight, and looks, insecurities are abundant in these women. Especially female celebrities, whom are constantly held to unreachable standards by the public. These insecurities can lead to a plethora of psychological problems or disorders, including eating disorders. An eating disorder is defined as “an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating” by the National Institution of Mental Health. In the past few years, many celebrities have come out as suffering from an eating disorder, one of the more recent to be the pop star Kesha.
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).
According to National Institute of Mental Health "Treatment plans are tailored to each individual and may include one of the following: Psychotherapy, medical care and monitoring, nutritional counseling, and medications. Also some patients may need to be hospitalized if they a severely malnourished." Eating disorders are nothing to mess with and should be dealt with caution, care and compassion.
Treatments of eating disorders vary in approach. Individual, group, and/or family psychotherapy, medical care and monitoring, nutritional counseling, medications, acceptance and commitment therapy, anti-depressants,
The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a
Eating disorders are extremely serious and often even fatal. They are tremendously trying on both the person with the disorder, and those who are close to them. I remember the time that my roommate and I were watching TV with a group of girls when one of the girls started commenting on how fat a certain actress had become, and how gross she looked. I saw the look on my roommate’s face when she heard this girl criticize this actress who still looked practically perfect. More than anything, the weight this actress had put on made her look healthier than she had before. I became quite concerned though when I noticed that my roommate ate nothing for the next three days, and the one meal she did eat I am certain she threw up soon after. My roommate, like many other girls, was trying to achieve an unattainable goal. Some girls will just never be so thin, and struggling to be is very dangerous.
It appears that most people with eating disorders have some level of underlying pathology. This pathology looks like either anxiety or depression. This is good news to a clinician. We are able to effectively treat anxiety and depression very well. If eating disorders are caused by some underlying anxiety or depression then logic would dictate that it is a symptom of anxiety or depression, rather than a unique
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
In the recent past, eating disorders have become prevalent in the society especially among teenagers and young adults.The rate of development of new cases of eating disorders has been increasing since 1950’s. Many have deemed the media responsible for the upsurge in cases. According to the Oxford dictionary, media is defined as ‘communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, information are disseminated’.It is very important to discern eating disorders from disordered eating.Disordered eating involves an abnormal relationship with food; while, an eating disorder is a psychiatric illness that has more to do with a complex set of emotional and psychological issues, than with food and nutrition.Eating disorders are
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
Your counselor may also recommend a prescription medication approved to treat binge eating disorder. This medication can help reduce your anxiety and depression episodes that trigger your
An eating disorder is any psychological disorder containing typically irregular or uncommen eating habits. A few examples would be: anorexia, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.
To treat an eating disorder and recovering from one can take a long time. To treat a disorder usually involves monitoring a individuals physical health and helping them deal with psychological problem. It is important for friends and family to be there for the individual and help them believe they can get better with time and support from the loved ones. Examples of treatment could be cognitive behaviour therapy also known as CBT, another method is interpersonal psychotherapy, dietary counselling and also medication.
Eating Disorders are illnesses that are obtained by irregular eating habits. This can affect how an individual sees him or himself. How much or how little an individual eats can damage his or her body. The most common forms of eating disorders are:Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. Eating disorders can affect both genders from any age group however children and adolescents are mainly targeted. Eating disorders are labeled as a medical illness and can be treated. Although eating disorders can be treated, this illness if not treated over a long period of time can lead to death. Eating disorders can go hand to hand with other illness such as: anxiety, depression, and or substance abuse.
Many people think that they know all about eating disorders. They think that they already know all they need to know about them and that as long as your child or your friend or someone you care about doesn’t have it; you don’t have to worry about them. Well, how are you supposed to know when someone you love and care about has them if you don’t even know the basics about the eating disorders? Most of the times the person with the eating disorder was only trying to lose a couple pounds. However, the goal that was set turns into something more than just a couple of pounds and that person may go through extremes to try and get to that perfect body they have in mind. But the perfect body they have in mind is not perfect, not