Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa are described as psychological eating disorders (Keel and Levitt, 1). They are both characterized by an over evaluation of weight. Despite being primarily eating disorders, the manifestations of bulimia and anorexia are different. They both present a very conspicuous example of dangerous psychological disorders, as according to the South Carolina Department of Health, “Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness” (Eating Order Statistics, 1). While Bulimia and anorexia both psychological disorders primarily prevalent in women, anorexia tend to have different diagnostic complexities, symptoms and physiological effects as compared to bulimia. Both bulimics and anorexics are motivated by a desire to lessen weight. Anorexia is explained in Eating Disorders as: “Anorexia nervosa is a condition in which a person starves him or herself. The key feature of this disorder is the refusal to eat enough food, resulting in a body weight that is far below a healthy level” (Keel and Levitt, 3). While bulimia is explained as: “Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binge eating in which an individual feels a loss of control over food consumption and eats very large amounts of food in single sittings” (Keel and Levitt, 7). From this, it is obvious that patients of both disease resort to measures of losing weight. Anorexia and bulimia differ symptomatically; the former exhibits symptoms of abstinence from food, while the latter is characterized by more of a “fear like” emotion over having consumed food, particularly in women. It can be seen that where anorexics tend to eat almost nothing at all, bulimic patients indulge in “binge eating”, after which they tend to use extreme meas... ... middle of paper ... ...BMJ: British Medical Journal 334.7599 (2007): 894-98. Print. Hay, Phillipa J., and Josue Bacaltchuk. "Bulimia Nervosa." BMJ: British Medical Journal 323 (2001). Print. Boskind-Lodahl, Marlene. "Cinderella's Stepsisters: A Feminist Perspective on Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 2.2 (1976): 343- 344. Print. "Perceptions of Beauty « Global Public Health through a Feminist Lens." Stanford University. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. . Fairburn, C. G., and P. J. Cooper. "Self-induced Vomiting and Bulimia Nervosa: an Undetected Problem." Bmj 284.6323 (1982): 1153-155. Print. Lowinson, Joyce H. ., Pedro Ruiz, and Robert B. . Millman. Substance Abuse: a Comprehensive Textbook. Baltimore [etc.: Williams and Wilkins, 1992. 477. Print.
The authors explain that a “fear of fatness” and desire to be thin in order to appear normal in our society can cause anorexia nervosa, where a person purposely starves themselves, losing considerable weight. This is known as visual and behavioral deviation. Bulimic people binge eat and then force themselves to vomit. They usually don’t lose an alarming amount of
Ever since 1979, the world became introduced to a different type of anorexia disorder called bulimia nervosa by Gerald Russell. In the similar attempt to lose weight like anorexia, bulimia nervosa is characterized by having episodes of binge eating, followed by intense efforts to avoid gaining weight. Some of the methods to avoid gaining the weight can be to induce self-vomiting, and consuming laxatives or diuretics. As a result of Russell studying theses eating disorders, he discovered that approximately 1/100 women in Western societies were affected in 1990 (Palmer, 2014). Ever since bulimia nervosa became a known eating disorder, more people have been able to effectively be diagnosed with it, and more useful information about the disorder
One of the similarities between bulimia and anorexia is that the two types of individuals
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder with psychological, physiological, developmental, and cultural components. The disorder is commonly characterized by binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, fasting, and the misuse of diuretics, laxatives or enemas. Patients properly diagnosed with bulimia nervosa endure many psychological and physiological problems. In order to alleviate these problems for the patient, usually some type of intervention is required. Considering the financial costs to the patient who seeks treatment, it is important to identify effective and efficient treatment programs. Due to the wide variety of individual patient differences, it would be unwise to proclaim one treatment method as the universal cure for bulimia nervosa. However, identifying what methods work under particular conditions may help therapists tailor an individualized treatment program after a careful assessment of the client. Having this knowledge would potentially save both the client and the therapist a lot of time and frustration; not to mention, the patient would be on the path to recovery sooner. Kaye et al (1999) stress the importance of making progress towards the understanding and treatment of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, in order to generate more specific and effective psychotherapies and pharmacologic interventions.
Another factor is low self-esteem. One anorexic said of her low self-esteem, "My goal in life was to please; like a chameleon, I'd change to suit whomever I was with. I always felt I was in the way…" (D., 1). Anorexics with low self-esteem often feel they are worthless and do not deserve to eat. Not only do they not eat, but they constantly berate themselves with insults. They hate their bodies, and cannot realize their true appearance, instead seeing a distorted image. When she weighed a mere 98 pounds, Marcia told herself, "You are a pig. You are disgusting. You must suffer" (D., 5). Bulimics also suffer from low self-esteem and feel ashamed of their behavior. Feeling guilty after eating is a co...
Bulimia Nervous, as defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting. It affects 1 - 2 percent of the adolescents and young adults. About 80 percent of the people it affects are female. Many people struggling with Bulimia Nervous also struggle with depression and social phobias. The disorder is often shortened from Bulimia Nervosa to just Bulimia. Many people do not understand the severity of the Eating Disorder (ED) at hand. Many people will brush it off as if the sufferer is just wanting attention. What many people do not understand is that, the sufferer has a warped body image and they are suffering mentally and physically with this disorder. Having Bulimia, you binge, and eat your desired food, then you realize the mass of intake and you purge, either through vomiting, exercise, or laxatives. This vicious cycle is a sensation and becomes very addictive which leads the person to the severe disorder of Bulimia Ne...
Anorexia is an obsessive desire to control ones bodily appearance. It often starts with the refusal to obtain a healthy body weight. “This disorder is associated with under nutrition of varying severity with resulting secondary endocrine and metabolic changes and disruptions of bodily functions” (Kontic et al. 2013). An Anorexic person has a distorted view of themselves which can lead to devastating measures of self-starvation due to an immense fear of weight gain. In the same way, an individual suffering with Bulimia has a fear of weight gain, but goes about their technique in a different manner. Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating or, consuming a large amount of food in a short time followed by guilt. This guilt is the leading factor to the purging stage where the individual will rid themselves of the physical and emotional discomfort. The ridding stage can invo...
The motivation that has the bulimia population striving for is none other than for the reason of staying thin. Since the 1980s, this has been an increasing dilemma for both the U.S and Europe. There is no direct cause for this mental disorder but rather a combination of factors that increase...
There are two major disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The first disorder, anorexia nervosa, happens when someone decides to stop eating. “People with anorexia nervosa often also limit or restrict other parts of their lives besides food, including relationships, social activities” (McConnell). These self-imposed limits lead to anorexia. The second disorder, bulimia nervosa, is another disorder, where someone eats but then gets rid of the food. “People who have bulimia nervosa routinely ‘binge,’ consuming large amounts of food in a very short period of time, and immediately ‘purge,’ ridding their bodies of the just-eaten food by self-inducing vomiting, taking enemas, or abusing laxatives or other medications” (McConnell). These actions can be fatal if they are not treated. “Eating disorders are illnesses, not character flaws or choices. Genetics have a significant contribution and may predispose individuals to eating disorders,” (Why do young). “Your environment can also play a major role in developing an eating disorder. Dieting, body dissatisfaction and wanting to be thin are all factors that increase the risk for an eating disorder,” (Why do young). Whatever the reason for having anorexia or bulimia these disorders can have diffe...
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).
Bulimia nervosa is a slightly less serious version of anorexia, but can lead to some of the same horrible results. Bulimia involves an intense concern about weight (which is generally inaccurate) combined with frequent cycles of binge eating followed by purging, through self-induced vomiting, unwarranted use of laxatives, or excessive exercising. Most bulimics are of normal body weight, but they are preoccupied with their weight, feel extreme shame about their abnormal behavior, and often experience significant depression. The occurrence of bulimia has increased in many Western countries over the past few decades. Numbers are difficult to establish due to the shame of reporting incidences to health care providers (Bee and Boyd, 2001).
Did you know that in 2010/2011 official statistics stated that more than 6,500 children and teenagers were treated in hospitals for eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa? Anorexia is probably the most known and common eating disorders out there, along with bulimia. Anorexia is an eating disorder that makes people lose a lot more weight than is thought to be healthy for their age or height. The people who are diagnosed with it could have a fear of gaining weight and over exercise, diet, skip meals, or simply don’t eat at all in order to lose weight. Bulimia is most of the times together with anorexia because the person with it is also is trying to lose a lot of weight by not only starving but also purging. The person will most of the times over eat because their body is starving and afterwards the person will most likely feel guilty and most of the times that leads to the person throwing ...
...l, D. M., & Willard, S. G. (2003). When dieting becomes dangerous: A guide to understanding and treating anorexia and bulimia [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10170079&ppg=4
Of the three eating disorders, anorexia gets the most attention and has the highest mortality rate of six percent out of any mental illness. According to the International Journal of Eating Disorders, half of the deaths caused by anorexia are suicide. Anorexia is when an individual feels that his or her body is distorted. Anorexia is also when an individual starves himself or herself because of the fear of being overweight (Elkins 44). If an individual suffers from anorexia they will loose anywhere from fifteen to sixty percent of their body weight by starving his or herself. Some of the symptoms of anorexia are heart problems, anemia, and fertility problems (“Eating Disorders”). Another horrible eating disorder is bulimia, which is when a person over eats, feels guilty, and then purges, take...
Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa starts with the same binging behavior, however Bulimia Nervosa follows binging by compensatory behaviors and purging. Individuals who are living with Binge Eating Disorder typically are overweight or obese and do not fear weight gain or becoming unhappy with their body. Individuals living with Bulimia Nervosa have a distorted perception of their bodies and fear of becoming fat or overweight (Butcher, Hooley & Mineka, 2013). The differences between the two disorders are to be taken into careful consideration when forming a