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Eating disorders psychological perspective
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Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder where the person is in pursuit of a thin body and is unwilling to maintain a normal or healthy weight. Anorexia includes a distortion of the body image and an intense fear of gaining weight. People with anorexia lose weight by dieting and exercising excessively or by self-induced vomiting. Those with anorexia see themselves as overweight, and they become obsessed with weight control. Symptoms of anorexia include refusing to maintain a normal weight, intense fear of gaining weight, body image problems, and Amenorrhea. The fear of gaining weight is great enough to make a person diet to the point of starvation. Even though they feel hungry, they will not eat and will avoid foods high in fat and calories. A person with anorexia will not see an accurate image of themselves in the mirror. They may believe that they are overweight when they look in the mirror when it is clear that they are underweight. Some people are able to admit that they are thin but they do not realize how dangerously thin they look. Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation and w...
Anorexia Nervosa may be described directly as an eating disease classified by a deficit in weight, not being able to maintain weight appropriate for one’s height. Anorexia means loss of appetite while Anorexia Nervosa means a lack of appetite from nervous causes. Before the 1970s, most people never heard of Anorexia Nervosa. It was identified and named in the 1870s, before then people lived with this mental illness, not knowing what it was, or that they were even sick. It is a mental disorder, which distorts an individual’s perception of how they look. Looking in the mirror, they may see someone overweight
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves extreme weight loss, restricted food intake, and an intense fear of becoming fat. The American Psychiatric Association outlines four diagnostic criteria for anorexia. The first is refusal to maintain body weight. The second is intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. The third is denial of the seriousness of low body weight. The fourth is in postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, for example the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.
Anorexia is a psychiatric disorder that is most common in young women. Those who suffer with anorexia have a fear of gaining weight and have an inaccurate portrayal of their own bodies. They see themselves as being fat, even though they are already thin to begin with. They are willing to go to extreme measures to lose weight, but the only outcome is a severely unhealthy body weight. To achieve the weight they want they will either starve themselves or do a tremendous amount of exercise.
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by severe restriction of food, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image and a body mass index of less than 18.5 (Kring, Johnson, Davison, Neale, 2013). There are two subtypes of anorexia, Restricting and Binge Eating/Purging. An individual who falls under the Restricting subtype severely restricts food intake, while an individual who falls under the Bing Eating/Purging subtype regularly engages in binge eating and purging. Anorexia typically begins in adolescence and primarily affects women. The disorder is more common in women than in men, mainly because of the cultural emphasis that is placed on women’s beauty.
Anorexia is a serious disorder that involves compulsive dieting and excessive weight loss. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, anorexia is characterized by emaciation, a relentless pursuit of thinness, and extremely disturbed eating behaviors (Parks, 2009). The “disturbed eating behaviors” associated with anorexia include unhealthy weight loss and weight control methods, behaviors such as abusing or self-induced vomiting, and a distorted view of one’s personal appearance (Shepphird, 2010). Anorexics in general survive on 500 calories or less per day, and they count every calorie they consume (Parks, 2009). Symptoms often also include the inability or refusal to maintain a healthy weight and a great fear of gaining weight (Shepphird, 2010).
An eating disorder is a way of using food to work out emotional problems. These illnesses develop because of emotional and/or psychological problems. Eating disorders are the way some people deal with stress. In today’s society, teenagers are pressured into thinking that bring thin is the same thing as being happy. Chemical balances in the brain that may also result in depression, obsessive compulsive disorders, and bi-polar disorders may also cause some eating disorders. Other causes may be emotional events, illnesses, marital or family problems, manic depression, or ending a relationship. Over eight million Americans suffer from eating disorders. Over 80% of girls under age thirteen admit to dieting, one of the main factors linked to eating disorders. Although eating disorders are mainly found in middle- to upper class, highly educated, Caucasian, female adolescents, no culture or age group is immune to them (EDA HP, n.p.). The three major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive over-eating or binge-eating.
Fairy tales are not real, so is the image you see in the mirror. Thousands of people look in the mirror and hate what they see. When you look in the mirror, you see what eating disorder wants you to see, not the true picture.
Eating disorders are a group of conditions characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior with either an extreme reduction or an extreme increase of food intake, which negatively affects the individual's mental and physical health. There are two main types of eating disorders – anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. There is a third category of eating disorders called “eating disorders not otherwise specified”. Binge eating disorder is categorized under this. Eating disorders mainly appear during adolescence and early adulthood and affect women and girls much more than males. Eating disorders are not self-inflicted diseases, but real illnesses with biological and psychological causes. They often co-exist with other disorders such as depression and substance abuse and can lead to a number of other health complications such as kidney failure, heart problems and even death.
Eating disorders is a problem any one can get; it doesn’t matter what age they are. Eating Disorders can include many diseases, obesity, anorexia, bulimia, and many more. Some of this diseases can occur in an open and close of eyes sometimes it’s not noticeable on how it really occurred. Eating and hunger are a complex phenomena and it’s controlled by numerous of psychological, biological, and social factors. Sometimes it doesn’t really matter if people go to therapies it can be helpless for some people. Even though they keep going and going to therapies, it’s no use because they have that image of them self’s the wrong way even though he or she is very skinny. They see themselves with allot of weight, and the people who are overweight or obese, they eat too much because they don’t feel welcomed in any group of friends and eating helps them feel better. Many symptoms are seen and also felt when the person is going through. If a family member sees something strange with either a brother, sister, son or daughter, sometimes even the parents can be going through this. It is very important to talk to them or take them to a doctor. Sometimes culture can be a cause of eating disorders and how the research has proven this. Not only can this cause eating disorders but many more. Some of the time this kind of diseases can risk the life of an individual and when a doctor tries to help him or her it would be too late. All the damage has been done, and there is no way to go back in time and fix all the mistakes make once, to have that one alive and with his or her family. (Huffman. K.)
The third most common disorder in adolescent is eating disorder (Reijonen, 2003). There are three types of eating disorder. The prevalence rate of eating disorder has been increasing over the past 50 years. They are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. These disorders start as early as adolescence that can cause psychological and medical problems. All three have similar etiology such as biological and sociocultural factors that develops the eating disorder. Even though the three types of eating disorder can overlap with similar characteristics, each type of disorder, there is a specific treatment that works best for one and not the other.
When you think of the words “eating disorders”, you automatically picture someone who is thin. This is partly true because people who suffer from anorexia or bulimia are relatively thin, but what you did not know is that there is also an eating disorder that affects mostly those who are obese and it is called binge eating. Eating disorders are any of several psychological disorders characterized by serious disturbances of eating behavior (Merriam Webster, 2014), the best-known eating disorders are bulimia nervosa, binge eating and anorexia nervosa (Yancey, 1999). Not only do eating disorders have the highest mortality rate than any other mental illnesses, but it is estimated that in the U.S. twenty-four million people of all ages suffer from an eating disorder (ANAD). Eating Disorders are not just something that appear overnight and they certainly cannot be prevented, there are several factors that influence these disorders but with help and treatment they can be treated.
What was once classified as a physical medical condition is now diagnosed as a psychological mental disorder. Eating disorders distort the perception of the human body causing the person to obsess with the idea of losing weight and body image. This not only causes serious physical harm, but mental and emotional harm as well. Many teenage girls develop eating disorders due to their idea of skinny being the equivalent to beauty and being strong. The novel, Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson, demonstrates the life and struggle of a girl dealing from the conditions of an eating disorder. Eating disorders affect a person's physical appearance, and control the thoughts and actions of a person.
Most of you probably already know what anorexia is, however in case you don't anorexia is basically a disease involving self-starvation. Anorexia victims have a very low "ideal" weight. It might begin as a normal diet carried to extremes, reducing their food intake to a bare minimum. Rules are made of how much food they can eat in one day and how much exercise is required after eating certain amounts of food. With anorexia, there is a strong almost overwhelming fear of putting on weight and they are preoccupied with the way that their bodies look. Anorexia sometimes involves use of laxatives, diet pills, or self-induced vomiting to lose or to keep weight off (http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/anorexianervosa.htm). Anorexics may show symptoms such as extreme weight loss for no medical reason. Also, many deny their hunger, chew excessively, choosing low calorie foods and exercising excessively (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health).
According to Laura Shapiro, a notable researcher on eating disorders, the medical condition of anorexia consists of several elements. By definition, anorexia nervosa is a condition characterized by intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, as well as a distorted body image, and a feeling of loss of control (Shapiro 69).
An eating disorder is a serious health condition involving extremely unhealthy dietary habits. There are a number of accepted eating disorder treatments that depend on the symptoms and severity of the illness. The most effective treatments involve both psychological as well as physical issues with the ultimate goal being a healthy dietary lifestyle. The team approach to treatment involves professionals with experience in eating disorders that usually includes a medical provider, mental health workers, registered dieticians and case managers. These individuals work together in hopes of avoiding a life threatening situation.