Effects of anorexia are mostly seen on the outside of the victim’s body, but do not be fooled. This detrimental eating disorder affects one’s mind just as much as it would the body. What Anorexia does to the mind is that it distorts the way one views their body. Victims of anorexia become fixated on their body image and overly critical about their flaws and weight. Even being obviously underweight, Anorexics will continuously deny that they have a problem and continue with their fatal practices. One will continue to diet and take weight loss medication to get as thin as they see fit. The chemistry of the brain changes completely; your memory becomes bad, the brain’s ability to think is off, and extreme mood swings are prevalent. (Smith, Melinda, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., "Anorexia Nervosa." : Signs, Symptoms, Causes, And Treatment.) Usually any activity involving food or the consumption of food terrifies an Anorexic. One’s brain is rewired to see food as the enemy, as something your body despises instead of needs. (Maloney, Michael, and Rachel Kranz 52) While anorexia drastically affects one’s mind, the physical effects are quick to appear. These effects are seen throughout the victim’s entire body. On the surface, it’s easy to see anorexia. One of the most obvious symptoms would be the weight of the sufferer. Anorexic’s are usually very thin and obviously underweight. Many of their bones are easy to see, such as ribs, shoulder blades, and the spine. One who suffers from anorexia nervosa begins to lose their hair, because of a lack of nutrients. The hair on their head thins and becomes extremely brittle, making it likely to fall out during bathing. An Anorexic does not eat, so one lacks the necessary nutrients to aid in the... ... middle of paper ... ...Image. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1999. Print. "Osteoporosis Center: Symptoms, Treatments, Causes, Prevention, and Diet and Exercise Recommendations."WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Rocha, Toni L. Understanding Recovery from Eating Disorders. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1999. Print. Segal, Jeanne, Ph.D., and Melinda Smith, M.A. "Eating Disorder Treatment and Recovery."Eating Disorder Treatment and Recovery. Helpguide, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. Smith, Melinda, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. "Anorexia Nervosa." : Signs, Symptoms, Causes, And Treatment. Helpguide, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. "Society and Eating Disorders." RSS 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. Stanley, Debbie. Understanding Sports and Eating Disorders. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2000. Print. Tattersall, Clare. Understanding Food and Your Family. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1999. Print.
WebMD LLC. (2012, October 13). Weight Loss & Diet Plans. Retrieved Feburary 5, 2014, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/the-truth-about-fad-diets
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
To be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, an individual must have a significantly low body weight due to food restriction as well as an unjustifiably acute fear weight gain. The patient must also possess a warped perception of their body, place a high value on weight or shape, or are in denial about their unhealthy condition (Comer, 2013).
There are many different characteristics associated with a person who has been diagnosed with anorexia. Anorectics have a distorted image of their bodies. In other words, they see themselves as fat even when they are emaciated. They also have an obsessive preoccupation with food and thinness. Anorectics suffer from depression, mood disturbance, chronic feelings of low self-esteem, and insomnia or other sleeping disorders. Another common symptom is amenorrhea. This is a loss of menses or not achieving menarche if the disorder begins before puberty. Anorectics also impose extreme dieting or exercise practices on themselves.
Imagine looking in a fun house mirror and seeing a distorted image, something that is not really there, an image that does not exist. This happens every day for teenage girls struggling with anorexia nervosa. Anorexia, an eating disorder that causes people to obsess over weight, causes an individual to see a very different image than what the glass reflects. The most prominent effects of anorexia include psychological and emotional stress on the body and body deterioration, both of which ultimately lead to possible death or suicide.
To begin with, Anorexia Nervosa is an on going problem around the world. People with Anorexia need to get treatment because symptoms are bad for their health. Anorexia is mainly seen in women in their late teens to early twenties. According to Mayo Clinic Staff, a group of physicians, scientists, and other medical experts from Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, "...symptoms of anorexia nervosa are related to starvation, but the disorder also includes emotional and behavior issues related to an unrealistic perception of body weight and an extremely strong fear of gaining weight or becoming fat". Physical symptoms are not the only symptoms or damages done to the body. When thinking of anorexia, one typically thinks that physical symptoms are the only symptoms, such as a person so skinny you can see their bones. That is not the case with Anorexia Nervosa. One does not only suffer from, "...Extreme weight loss...Thin appearance...Dehydration...Swelling of arms or legs" but also suffer from emotional and behavioral issues such as, "...Refusal to eat...Fear of
Anorexia nervosa is a disease that revolves around the thought of “Never being skinny enough.” Once someone starts to live an anorexic lifestyle nothing else in his or her life matters anymore. Family, friends and other activities are pushed aside because all that matters in the life of someone with anorexia is losing weight (Anorexia Nervosa). However, anorexia isn’t just about eating unhealthy. Anorexia is about malnutrition, excessive weight loss and starvation of the body. Anorexia isn’t a very popular disease. Anorexia appears in less than one percent of girls (Rosen, Meghan).
Anorexia is a serious and life threatening condition. It can result in death due to starvation, heart failure, or electrolyte imbalance. The first step in helping someone suffering with anorexia is to diagnose the physical characteristics attributed with the disease...
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).
Many people are insecure about their bodies and take desperate measures to get that model like body. People that are fit or well underweight constantly see themselves as fat. They repeatedly weigh themselves, obsessively exercise, portion their food, and eat very small amounts of food in order to lose a few pounds; this is called anorexia (Eating Disorders). Anorexia can be a very critical health problem in the long run because you are starving yourself without realizing it and it can also cause several other issues throughout your body. Some might say that those who are anorexic have skeletal-like bodies; nearly every bone in their body is visible with only a thin layer of skin protecting them. This is very damaging, but anorexia is just one of many eating disorders.
Anorexia Nervosa or just Anorexia, is characterized by an extreme and intense fear of gaining weight, which leads the person to pursue continuous weight loss. Sometimes, a diet can begin innocently, but anorexics don't stop at a rational point. They keep going until their lives may be threatened. Anorexics may use many methods of weight loss along with dieting and fasting. They use excessive exercise, diet pills, laxatives, diuretics, or vomiting as ways of feeling thinner or controlling calories, but whatever the method, the primary goal is thinness. One may wonder why anorexics don't stop dieting once they become skinny. The reason is that a major characteristic of anorexia is a problem called distorted body image. This means that anorexics look at their bodies very differently than other people do. When they look in the mirror, they never see themselves as being too thin. They "feel fat" And usually overestimate their weight. If an anorexic is told she is too skinny, she is more likely to be happy than upset. Many times, anorexics don't believe that they have a problem. Using weight reduction is just a way of coping with other pressures.
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a fear of being overweight which results in becoming exceedingly thin. (guide) People with anorexia go to an extreme in abusing the way they diet, over exercise, and purge. When looking for symptoms in anorexia it is slightly hard to tell, for many times people keep their disorder a secret. Once someone starts undergoing this process, people sometimes gain weight rather than lose, which also initiates them to lose more weight. During the period of growth and maturation, anorexia leads to somatic and psychological development and which leads to serious health issues. (journal research) Although many don’t see what is happening, over time they are sev...
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).
Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
Anorexia may not be noticed in early stages. The Anorexic usually chooses to wear layered and baggy clothes to hide the “ugly fat body” .An Anorexic may have ritualistic eating patterns such as cutting food into little tiny pieces and weighing themselves. These can be found in people who are on a healthy diet, but in Anorexics these behaviors are extremely exaggerated. Other warnings are deliberate self-starvation with weight loss, fear of gaining weight, refusal to eat, denial of hunger, constant exercising, sensitivity to cold, absent or irregular periods, loss of scalp perception of being fat when the person is really to this. Some other associated features are depressed mood, somatic sexual dysfunction, and ...