Anorexia and Bulimia

Anorexia and Bulimia: A Concise Overview

As many as 20% of females in their teenage and young adult years suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Alexander-Mott, 4). Males are also afflicted by these eating disorders, but at a much lower rate, with a female to male ratio of six to one. Those with anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain a normal body weight by not eating and have an intense fear of gaining weight. People with bulimia nervosa go through periods of binge eating and then purging (vomiting), or sometimes not purging but instead refraining from eating at all for days. Both of these disorders wreak havoc on a person's body and mental state, forcing them to become emaciated and often depressed.

There is no known exact cause of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, but many factors play a role in the initial onset, such as: personality traits, low self-esteem, and social and cultural influences (Costin, 21). Many anorexics have specific personality traits that urge them to refrain from eating. Many are perfectionists that will diet and exercise and not eat until their bodies are perfect. Unfortunately, however, he or she never thinks their body is perfect, and continues their destructive cycle. Anorexics that are perfectionists also tend to want to be in control at all times. Often , they feel as though others are trying to force them to do

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things, and so, take complete control of their bodies. Marcia, an anorexic, wrote in her diary "I am in control; people are just jealous because I have will power" (D., 6).

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...

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...orted self-image, low self-esteem, and a need for control. "Eating disorders are not about food or weight but about a disordered 'sense of self' looking for approval and finding it, however

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temporarily, in the pursuit of thinness or the comfort of food" (Costin, 48). Treatment is an option for anorexics and bulimics, though it can take years, and sometimes it never succeeds. Hopefully, though, friends and loved ones of anorexics and bulimics will see the warning signs and seek help for them.

Bibliography

Alexander-Mott, LeeAnn. Understanding Eating Disorders. Washington,

D.C.: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1994.

Costin, Carolyn. The Eating Disorder Sourcebook. Los Angeles, CA: Lowell

House, 1996.

K.D.K. "My Story." Online. March 3, 2000 <http://www.dana.ucc.nau.edu/

~kdk2/mystory.html>

D., Marcia. "My Story." Online. March 3, 2000 <http://www.members.

Tripod.com/~MarciaD/index.html>

Thayne, Becky. Hope and Recovery. New York, New York: Emma Lou

Thayne, 1992.