Unbearable Darkness : A Case Study : Unbearable Lightness

The film “Dying to be Thin” followed the cases of several individuals who have struggled with an eating disorder at some point in their lives, showing the different factors that play a role in eating disorder onset. Different individuals in the film have different reasons for developing an eating disorder but there are some over-arching themes such as the media’s influence, career-related pressures, and certain personality types.

Anorexia is a serious mental health condition. It is an eating disorder where people try to keep their body weight as low as possible. DSM5 outlines the key diagnostic features for anorexia. Firstly, people with anorexia will restrict behaviours that promote healthy body weight. This could mean that they are consequentially underweight and this can be due to dieting, exercising and purging. There will also be a significant fear of weight gain, but this fear will not be relieved by weight loss. There will be a persistent fear that interferes with weight gain. Lastly, there will be a disturbed perception of ones weight and/or shape and denial of underweight status and its seriousness. Anorexia accounts for 10% of eating disorders in the UK and has

3. Main diagnostic criteria: Eating excessively within a period of time. Lack of control over eating during an episode (a binge). Eating rapidly, to the extent where the individual is “uncomfortably full,” even when the individual is not hungry. It will usually end with the individual feeling ashamed, disgusted at themselves after the episode.

Diagnosing potential Anorexia nervosa is not always easy, and Alicia’s case, based on information given and her representation, is not clear cut. Researchers argue that the diagnosis has to be done carefully and potential ambiguities have to be resolved (Baer & Blais, 2010). For example, some researchers have argued that one criterion, such as a fear of being fat, can decrease significantly when the person actually loses some weight (Surgenor & Maguire, 2013). For reasons like this, selecting the primary question, namely whether or not the patient has Anorexia

However, there are two types of AN which are coded and evaluated differently among the mental health community. These two different types are identified as a restricted type and a binge eating/purging type of anorexia nervosa. As each are coded different among the notes, the restricted type of AN is considered when self-starvation is not associated with concurrent purging such as self-inducing vomiting or the use of laxatives. On the other hand, the binge eating/purging type of AN is when a person regularly engages in purging activities to help control their weight gain.

Bulimia Nervosa refers to when an individual over-eats excessively and then takes action to purge the body of the intake. There are five criteria for Bulimia Nervosa in the DSM-IV, which include: recurring episodes of binge eating, recurring actions of purging, the patterns must continue at least twice a week for three months or more, a huge emphasis on body weight in self-evaluation, and the actions must occur apart

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating with inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Cognitive Behavior Therapy and antidepressant drug therapy are treatment modalities that have shown promise with patients diagnosed with eating disorders, more so with Bulimia than with Anorexia, (Comer, 2014). In this case study analysis, a synthesis of researched outcomes-based treatment modalities is used to conceptualize a diagnosis and treatment plan for a 19 year-old female client presenting with symptoms of 307.51 (F50.2) Bulimia Nervosa; extreme.

With Joan’s case, there were some rule-outs that it couldn’t have been. For instance, I knew Joan did not meet the criteria for Pica, Rumination Disorder and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. To meet the criteria for Pica “If occurring in the presence of another mental disorder (e.g. autistic spectrum disorder), or during a medical condition (e.g. pregnancy), it is severe enough to warrant independent clinical attention.” (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Joan did not meet the requirement to be diagnosed with this disorder. I could rule out Rumination Disorder because Joan did not display “Repeated regurgitation of food for a period of at least one-month Regurgitated food may be re-chewed, re-swallowed, or spit out.” (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Joan did have some display to meet criteria but only one out of the 4. All the rest of the eating disorders Joan displayed some of the symptoms but never fully met the criteria. The hardest to diagnose with eating disorders is the difference between anorexia and bulimia. “Both anorexia and bulimia are characterized by a morbid fear of gaining weight and losing control over eating. The major difference seems to be whether the individual is successful at losing weight.” (Barlow) Another difference between bulimia and anorexia nervosa is how the individual views their condition. People with anorexia for instance

In this there are now three criterions A, B and C briefly; Criterion A- focuses on behaviours, restriction of Restriction of energy intake (in context with age, sex, development trajectory and physical health), Criterion B - intense fear of gaining weight even when currently underweight and Criterion C - denial of how serious their current body weight is (American Psychiatric Association, 2013.Previously DSM-IV contained a criterion D which include amenorrhea (was also included in Lasegue and Gulls categories), but now there is an increase in male diagnosis, and it can not be applied to the, this has been removed . Psychological issues such as, mild depression, anxiety are common in people with anorexia nervosa, developing builimia after being diagnoses with anorexia is not uncommon either (Bennett,

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,

In the DSM-4 Eating Disorders were separated by only two types Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa which was characterized by subtypes for each group and other eating related disorders were under Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified criteria. In the DSM-5 Feeding and Eating Disorders meaning that they are disturbances of eating or related eating behaviors they include pica, rumination disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder which in the DSM-4 it was named (Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood), anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Binge Eating Disorder was included as its own disorder due to that many individuals that had an eating disorder did not meet criteria for anorexia or bulimia nervosa were classified as “eating disorder not otherwise specified” category. The diagnostic criteria in the DSM-4 for Anorexia nervosa used the word “Refusal” in criteria A and in the DSM the phrase use instead is “Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements” to describe the criteria for maintaining weight at or above the normal according to the individual age, gender and height. Criteria D in the DSM-4 stating that amenorrhea is taken out in the DSM-5 which does not applied to males, and to pre-menarchal females. The diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 includes two

Eating disorders are extremely harmful and rising in prevalence. . The two most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. In this essay, I will compare and contrast these two disorders. This essay will also assess the symptoms, causes, health affects and the most prevalent characteristics of people diagnosed with these two eating disorders.

This commentary will explore the use of vocabulary, punctuation and imagery by Milan Kundera in an extract of the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being . The passage to be analysed is located in the fourth part of the book named “Soul and Body”. It portrays a scene where one of the main characters, Tereza, is in front of a mirror and finds herself dealing with the conflict between identity and image. Her disconformities with her body act as a trigger for this questioning to arise and bring back memories from her childhood. The entire passage is structured in three sections: one where she criticises her body, another where queries arise from these observations and finally one where she demonstrates her definite opinion on the situation.

A touching and sad novel, at once a compelling love story, philosophical text, and dialogue with Frederich Nietzsche -- The Unbearable Lightness of Being is all of these and more, perhaps most importantly a manifesto of embracing nihilism.

This case study focuses on Demi Lovato’s eating disorder which is Bulimia Nervosa. Here we study the history