Types Of Perfectionism And Levels Of Recovery From Eating Disorders

Engel, B., Reiss, N., & Domback, M. (2007, February 2). Introduction To Eating Disorders. Retrieved

Another aspect of anorexia nervosa suffers that can halt treatment is the personality traits that have been found to put children at higher risk of eating disorders. The traits are being anxious, perfectionistic, obsessive personality and negative self-evaluation that are displayed before the onset of the disorder (Kaplan). Research has shown that these traits are still persist after treatment and

Eating disorders can be viewed as multi-determined disorder. Multi-determined disorders can conclude of various factors to the cause of one’s eating disorder. Each factor produces stressors to which “initiates dieting, weight loss, and the pursuit of thinness” (Diaz, 2017). A multi-determined disorder would be anorexia nervosa. These multi-determined factors leading to eating disorders may include socio-cultural, competitive environments, interpersonal, family, etc. Those who have eating disorders are diagnosed with more than one causing factor. With such stressors occurring to the self, leads to the self concept of when one has little memory of positive schemas. He or she is then unable to cope with challenges, thus feeling unworthy to his

Anita’s tendency to create unreasonable goals in life and tendency to perfectionist behavior, led her to try to do all these tasks at the same time, plus volunteer work and expect maintaining a high performance in all of them, creating excessive worries and fear of failure. All these factors are known to be prevalent among individuals with eating disorders.

Three Eating Disorders that will be discussed throughout the rest of this review will include, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder. The DSM_IV_TR describes the conditions under which these three eating disorders are characterized. Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious illness with severe implications in regards to health. It is classified by the DSM-IV-TR as weighing less than the third percentile for body mass index for ones age and sex, fearing weight gain, having a disturbed perception of body image and on hormonal contraception or the absence of menstruation (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Bulimia Nervosa is a second eating disorder described by the

This paper will talk about some of the things that people with eating disorders go through in their daily lives and give a general description of what exactly an eating disorder is and why it is important. Schwitzer Alan M., Bergholz Kim, Dore Terri, and Salimi Lamieh all talk about a few things that they did in order to prevent eating disorders among college woman as well as some of the treatment methods and preventative measure someone can take in order to prevent something like this from happening again. It will also talk about something called the “three-legged stool” which was created by Sackett et al. in 1996. The “three-legged stool” is a treatment method for eating disorders which considers research evidence, patient preference and values, and clinical expertise. There will also be some evidence included to explain why those three things are important in treating eating disorders. Carol B. Peterson, Carolyn Black Becker, Janet Treasure, Roz Shafran, and Rachel Bryant-Waugh all mention how these things will help optimize treatment of eating disorders because patients won’t be forced into doing something that they don’t enjoy in order to overcome their eating disorder. The last thing that will be talked about is a case study conducted by Joanna Steinglass, Karin Foerde, Katrina Kostro, Daphna Shohamy, and Timothy Walsh. This case study attempts to develop a new paradigm

In America, the words “beautiful”, “fit”, and “thin” are often used to describe someone that has the ideal “perfect” body, everyone’s perception of it can vary and about half of the population has the body that many people adore or aim to have. However, not everyone has or can achieve the ideal body type, some people will go to extreme measures to either gain or lose weight just to feel accepted in today’s society. These dangerous actions can result in a person developing an eating disorder that can alter their lives both physically and mentally. “An eating disorder is an illness that can be defined as having irregular or abnormal eating habits while being concerned about body weight or shape”

Even though eating disorders are less prevalent in society today than they have been in the past, they are still one of the most diagnosed mental illnesses today. These three illnesses have short term as well as long term effects that can leave a damaging toll on the patients’ lives and are very hard to overcome. This is shown through not only the characteristics of Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-eating Disease, but also through the psychological and physical harm these diseases leave on the body.

Eating disorders have become a major social problem in America, especially for woman. Our society pushes a fantasy of the idealized body through advertising, magazines, television, and social networks. It has become the cultural norm for women to be materialized out of the delusional thought process centered on the perfect body. From a very young age, women are given the message that in order to be happy and pretty, they must look like a Barbie doll. Women need to become aware that society’s ideal body image is not feasible. Your body is merely a vessel that contains the beautiful mind and soul that makes who you are. Our society has created unattainable standards of perfection in body image, and it is causing the rate of eating disorders to keep increasing. Over time, I have learned the most important aspect in life: perfection does not exist.

Eating disorders are a disease that can impact an individual’s health adversely by causing their emotions and capability to function in the significant areas of their life. There are two most common eating disorders and they are: anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa. These disorders often begin to formulate during the teenage years of an individual’s life and can carry on through their adult years. Research states that “According to the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance in eating behavior” (Butcher et al., 2013, p.294). All of these disorders influences a person’s nutrition and can serious affect their internal organs.

There are a number of warning signs that can be associated with any eating disorder such as: “body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, dieting, low self-esteem, maladaptive coping, reading teen fashion magazines, social pressure for thinness, social withdrawal, negative comments about eating, history of psychiatric disorders”(NEDA). With all these predetermined risk factors, it is easy to see why so many suffer from these disorders today. Anorexia can be described as the fixation of an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI); it is defined in the dictionary as “an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat”(Johnson). The National Eating Disorder Association cites a list of possible risk factors that were identified in a number of studies; among the list is perfectionism. Bulimia Nervosa also defined as an “emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight” is differentiated by its “bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting.”(Johnson). These disorders are rooted in mental and emotional health and are not confined to females or teenagers. Modern media has done a very good job of perpetuating a desirable body type for people of all sexes and ages. People who suffer from a number of the aforementioned risk factors may be more heavily influenced to abuse or neglect their bodies in efforts to achieve this sought after

Genes that have been identified to contribute to eating disorders are associated with specific personality traits. These aspects of personality are thought to be inheritable and exist before the eating disorder and can persist after recovery. Traits such as perfectionism, sensitivity, and impulsivity are common among people who develop eating disorders. Because these traits are inherited, is it possible one’s qualities are the cause of the disease? V. M. Quick & C. Byrd-Bredbenner mention in the article, “Disturbed eating behaviors and associated psychographic characteristics of college students” state that “Poor psychological well-being also is common among individuals with disturbed eating practices. For example, as depression and anxiety severity increase, so do disturbed eating practices, such as dietary restraint and disinhibited eating” (1). Females are known to have these traits and are more susceptible to disorders but this does not mean a male is any less likely to have an eating disorder. Welch, Elisabeth, Ata Ghader, and Ingemar Swenne state in the article, “A Comparison Of Clinical Characteristics Between Adolescent Males And Females With Eating Disorders” that “Eating disorders have traditionally been thought to affect mainly females. As recently as four decades ago there was a debate as to whether or not males could have eating disorders at all, especially anorexia. Although there is a consensus today that ED do not dis- criminate between genders, there are different opinions as to how common eating disorders are among males. However irrational, an eating disorder provides a goal and sense of identity, achievement, and power to those with these

The Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q; Fairburn & Belgin, 1994) is a 36 item, self-report measure of the core cognitive and behavioural features of eating disorders. It can be used in the diagnosis of Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (Allen, Byrne, Lampard, Watson, & Fursland, 2011). It can also be used to measure change in symptoms over the course of treatment. It is a parallel form of the Eating Disorders Examination (EDE; Fairburn & Cooper, 1993), a widely used semi-structured interview of eating disorder psychopathology, providing a more efficient and cost-effective

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).

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,