Anorexia nervosa is a disorder which heightens the ideas of fear in an individual, particularly the phobia of gaining weight. People with the disorder pine to achieve a body that is unattainable, leading to obsessions about food. Fear is a driving emotion for the disorder, and often it is this emotion which causes prolonged suffering. This paper will go over the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria, the prevalence of the disorder, the circumstances of onset, etiology, and finally a case example. The case example will illustrate how the disorder can be long-lived and affect relationships. Having a clinical understanding of anorexia nervosa allows for persons outside of the disorder the ability to relate to the victims.
The DSM-5 diagnosis for anorexia
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352). It is estimated that 1.0% to 4.2% of females in Western countries develop the disorder in their lifetime, with higher percentages who display symptoms (Renfrew, 2003). Currently, at least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (Hudson, 2007). This is an alarming number of victims, where at least one dies every 62 minutes. Furthermore, one in every five anorexia deaths is due to suicide, signifying that there may be mental disorders that combine with anorexia, such as depression (Arcelus, 2011). Eating disorders do no discriminate, as they affect all races and ethnic groups. Ultimately, the disorder is quite prevalent, particularly in younger women in the Western …show more content…
In the psychodynamic perspective, Hilde Bruch is credited to arguing that disturbed mother-child interactions lead to what she considers as “ego-deficiencies” in the child, meaning they have a poor sense of independence and control, as well as “perceptual disturbances” which jointly result in eating disorders (Comer, 2015, pg. 359). These ego deficiencies depend on how effective parents are, chiefly when responding to biological and emotional needs of children. Failure to respond properly to crying indicates the risk of the child growing up without understanding their internal needs, specifically being unaware when they are hungry or full. These children grow up wishing to be “model children” for their parents, but as they move into adolescence, they feel as though they cannot find independence and instead find comfort in controlling their body’s shape through diet. Cognitively, theorists have found deficiencies lead to a cognitive distortion which is why the disorder expresses itself. For example, patients with anorexia “manifest difficulties in accurately perceiving or interpreting stimuli arising in their bodies, such as hunger and satiety, and also fatigue and weakness as the physiological signs of malnutrition” (Skårderud, 2009, pg. 85). Since they
Anorexia nervosa is an illness which predominately attacks teenage girls or women in their early adult years. When they look into a mirror, they don’t see athin body; they see a revoltingly overweight body. Anorexia is a mental illness and must be treated. It is also a physical illness, an illness similar to starvation. Anorexic young women may feel dizzy and tired constantly, may lack emotional warmth, develop a gloomy personality, the everlasting symptoms of this bizarre suffering are never-ending. Though its symptoms are endless, but its cause? Veiled.Some claim that the media has a vigorous affluence on society, other prevail that it is down to free will of the
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
Eating disorders appear to run in families-usually affecting only the women. One study found that mothers who are overly concerned about their daughters' weight and physical attractiveness--along with overly critical fathers and brothers-may put girls at increased risk of developing an eating disorder. ( http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/disorder.html#Causes ) Another study notes that, "inappropriate parental pressure was specific for eating disorders ... and Eating Attitudes Tests (ETAT) scores correlated significantly with hostlity toward child, sibling disability, parental overprotection, inappropriate parental pressures, and negative changes in family relationships." (Horesh, -Nefta) When the connection between eating disorders and familial traits was looked into, three interpretable factors were found by Steiger-eating concerns and symptoms, dramatic-erratic traits, and obsessive-compulsive traits. Correlations were also found among the subjects' factor scores--correspondences between daughters' and parents' psychopathological traits, and between daughters' and mothers' eating concerns.
The family tends to play an important role in the development of eating disorders. Males tend to have very strict, domineering fathers who encouraged development in sports. It has also been recognized that many men with eating disorders may not have had a father figure around at all. (Zerbe, 1992) Their mothers have been described as overprotective and controlling. (Romero, 1994) Adolescent boys with eating disorders relate that parents or siblings are usually on diets as well and there tends to be an emphasis on food and dieting
At present, these eating disorders have an effect on roughly 25 million Americans, of which almost 25% are of the male gender. Out of all the psychological disorders, anorexia has the highest mortality rate. The whys and wherefores include malnourishment, substance abuse and reckless suicides. Eating disorders can happen to anyone; no matter whether they’re male or female, rich or poor, old or young. According to many researchers, eating disorders are caused by more than just food. There are numerous
Many people, mainly woman experience the feeling of being fat. This feeling is a key factor for diagnosing anorexia nervosa (AN). AN is characterized by severe and serious disorders of self-perception of their body and the determined pursuit of thinness. This disorder was first discovered by Morton in 1689. AN was believed to be a form of hysteria but then was thought to be a hereditary abnormality of the central neurological system that only appeared in young females. The term Anorexia Nervosa was established in 1883 by Huchard, and Sigmund Freud hypothesized that anorexia was associated with melancholy and most often it appeared in sexual immature females. AN is appearing more in the recent decades than any decades in the past. This disorder is found amongst both genders but is more prevalent in females. It occurs 10-20 times more in females than it does in males and is mainly in developed countries. (Wozniak, Rekleiti,& Roupa, 2012). Anorexia Nervosa is found to have significant life impairment and a negative effect of Quality of Life. Eating disorders have a higher mortality rate than any other mental illness. The low recovery rate and high mortality rate is worse in restricting Anorexia Nervosa than any other eating disorder. (Sy, 2013.) According to the DSM-IV-TR handbook some criterions for this disorder are as follows, criterion A (“the refusal to maintain a body weight
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.Eating disorders are not a function of will but are rather modes unhealthy supply which empower. The voluntary eating of smaller portions or larger than usual is common, but for some people, it becomes a compulsion and eating behaviors become outraged.People suffering from anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain a body weight minimally normal fear many of take the weight and have a distorted perception the shape and the size of their body. Mental bulimia sufferers feed excessively and then use the methods compensatory to prevent the socket weight, for example, by vomiting, in practicing excessive exercise or abuse of laxatives. They give also an excessive importance to the shape and weight of body. To diagnose mental bulimia, the binge eating disorder and behaviors compensatory must occur in average, at least twice a week for 3 months.
Among the mental illnesses, eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates. This is why knowledge and awareness on the subject must be spread. This research paper discusses one eating disorder in particular called anorexia nervosa. The paper begins with an examination of the diagnostic criteria required for anorexia as well as the two sub-groups associated with the diagnosis. After discussing the many effects, symptoms and addictive behaviors, treatment options are explored. This includes different types of therapy along with ethics in counseling eating disorders. The research concludes with a look at anorexia nervosa recovery from a
National surveys estimate that 20 million women and 10 million men will experience an eating disorder in a lifetime, (Wade, et al., 2011). This is broken down as follows: 0.9% of women, 0.3% men had anorexia during their life.
Morris, J., & Twaddle, S. (2007). Anorexia nervosa. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 334(7599), 894–898. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39171.616840.BE
A good number of people have "strange" eating habits. Some show extremely picky behavior when it comes to food and some eat particular foods at particular times ("Eating Disorders," 2006). However, serious eating disorders can be categorized as follows:
This paper will discuss Anorexia Nervosa, the definition, symptoms, treatment and how it affects their families and everyday living. The seriousness of the disease and the importance of proper treatment will be reviewed. The importance of being healthy will be stressed as it is a main factor in preventing Anorexia Nervosa.
In today’s complex society, adolescents are susceptible to many disorders, with life threatening consequences. A disorder that is often difficult for early detection amongst suffering individuals is called Anorexia nervosa. This medical term is often simply called anorexia, which was coined between Sir William Withey Gull and Queen Victoria’s personal physician in 1868. The Greek term “nervosa” refers to the disgust of owns body, while “anorexia” is the loss of appetite, together defined as “nervous absence of appetite” (Fitzpatrick & Lock, 2011). Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder, prevalent amongst adolescent girls; characterized as distorted body image, extreme weight loss, and irrational fear of gaining weight (Wardlaw,
An eating disorder is categorized by unusual eating patterns that attempt to fulfill a psychological void that forms over time. An estimated 30 million Americans suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder, 20 million being women and 10 million being men, at some phase in their life. Hospitalizations for eating disorders have also risen a significant amount. There were 29,533 hospital stays in 2008-2009 for patients diagnosed with any of the various types of eating disorders. The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality conducted a study showing a 24 percent increase in a time frame of 10 years.The three most known disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders — which include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating — are a complex set of illnesses caused by genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological and social factors. These disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. Anorexia, in particular, has a mortality rate 12 times higher than any other cause of death in women ages 15 to 24, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.Anorexia nervosa is considered the most lethal and consists of self-starvation, weight loss, an unreasonable concern of gaining weight, and an inaccurate body image. Bulima nervosa is characterized by a cycle of obsessive
Fairborn (2005) points out that there is a range of treatment options and a variety of treatment settings for anorexia nervosa, however there is inadequate empirical support for this abundance of options as what minimal research on the treatment has been inconclusive. One reasoning behind this is that anorexia nervosa has been an uncommon disorder and sample sizes for studies have been low. Furthermore, the lack of evidence based treatment research can be attributed to the individual’s avoidance of treatment and dropping out of treatment. Many individuals with anorexia nervosa are unwilling to change as their identity and self-worth are intertwined with their distorted body image; they tend to deny that anything is wrong with their weight and are ambivalent on changing (Abbate-Daga, Amianto, Delsedime, De-Bacco & Fassino,