Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Cons of bulimia
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Cons of bulimia
Before 1995, the island of Fiji had no reported cases of eating disorders. In three years of obtaining American and British television programming, more than two-thirds of the Fijian girls developed eating disorders and three quarters of the girls felt fat (Hall 1-2). Girls and guys are feeling more insecure about their bodies and are trying to cope with smothering feelings that come with being insecure. Some people aren’t well-educated on this topic, and because of that, they don’t see its seriousness. One example, bulimia, has been around for thirty years, and people are still not very familiar with the harm it can do physically and emotionally. Bulimia is when people choose to vomit their food up because they’re unsatisfied with their body. Bulimia nervosa can destroy not only a person's life but others around him/her, and it can be stopped with support and counseling. Bulimia exists for numerous reasons. It is normal for a person’s body to get bigger when it is growing. Most people handle that badly though, so they will do anything to get rid of that newly added weight. A handful of young people use bulimia to postpone growing up. This way of thinking may explain why college students are prime candidates for becoming bulimic (Hall 1-2). It is a way of expressing thoughts that cannot be put into words. It provides instant relief from the pain being caused from life. The throwing up replaces other actions, thoughts, and feelings. When the binge/purge episode is over, the bulimic gains control, but only for a moment. A sense of calm is felt. Nevertheless, the negative feelings soon return, and the cycle begins again. Another reason bulimia occurs is because of life changes or stressful events. If a close friend or family member d... ... middle of paper ... ...r old life. It takes time to work, but knowing that it’s going to work can make a bulimic person feel like he/she is taking the necessary action to get better. Bulimia is a serious eating disorder that needs to be addressed. It affects not only the bulimic, but also the bulimics friends and family. There are many solutions to this problem, but they go unnoticed because people chose to ignore bulimia and its seriousness. We need to spread the word. We need to make people aware of things they choose to ignore just because it isn’t affecting them. We need to make resources such as books, movies, and Prozac more accessible. A person with bulimia should not be scared or embarrassed to reach out to a friend or family member. He/she would want to help in any way they can. No one wants to sit back and watch a loved one suffer, especially if something can be done about it.
However, these views don’t take social process into consideration. Therefore, they organized a self-help group for bulimics and anorexics known as BANISH in order to determine what societal aspects cause these disorders. The author’s group consisted mostly of college age females which is significant because this is group primarily affected by these disorders. Interestingly, the backgrounds of the women in the BANISH group are strikingly similar in that they are excellent students, good children who have very close parental relationships, from “functional” families - all having been brought up with an emphasis on thin physical appearance. The authors also allude to the fact that in today’s society, slimness is considered attractive and most worthy, while being overweight is viewed as both morally and physically wrong. Society labels heavy people as “lazy, obscene, and unhealthy”. (244) It is noted that when members of the group lost weight, they reported feeling more accepted and
Treatment for bulimia often involves a combination of options and depends on individual needs. Also, in order to reduce or eliminate binging and purging, a patient may undergo nutritional counseling and psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy and be prescribed medication. Some patients maybe prescribed the antidepressant Prozac, which is the only medication approved by the FDA for treating bulimia. This medication may help patients who also suffer from depression and anxiety.
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.
...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
Although part of the struggle has to do with being obsessive about your weight, that is far from the entire picture. Bulimia is about control, and making sure you have it over certain aspects of your life.
Anorexic and bulimic people are often perfectionists, with unrealistically high expectations. They frequently lack self-esteem, with their feelings of ineffectiveness and a strong need for other peoples’ approval. Causes There is at present no generally accepted view of the causes of anorexia or bulimia. Most authorities believe the problem to be psychologically based, possibly stemming from family and social pressures, or other forms of stress in our modern environment. Where a high value is placed on slim-ness, women are most likely to be judged on their appearance, against a heavy background of high carbohydrate junk food promotion.
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...
Bauer, Barbara G. Ph.D., Wayne Anderson, Ph.D., and Robert W. Hyatt, M.D. Bulimia, Book for Therapist and Client. Indianapolis: Accelerated Development Inc., 1986.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
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).
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from eating disorders and only 1 in 10 of those 24 million are treated (ANAD). Eating disorders do not discriminate; all ages, genders, ethnicities and races can be victim to this mental illness. It’s important to be aware of the impact eating disorders have on societies across the globe and how the media plays a role if we want to fight the source and promote prevention and/or rehabilitation. I’ve known many people in my life who have some sort of eating disorder, whether it’s anorexia(not eating enough), binge eating(eating large amounts of food rapidly), bulimia (throwing up their food) or just struggling with an unsatisfying self-image. Becoming aware of eating disorders and how they are developed is important to me because in a perfect world, I would like to see this illness become less common or diminished completely among those that I love and anyone else in today’s society. Eating disorders hit home for many people, including myself. Raising awareness may decrease the rate of eating disorders by informing the population of the harm this illness causes and hopefully promote prevention and/or rehabilitation. With the 3 theoretical approaches used by sociologists, Eating disorders can be understood which will better inform society on how to raise awareness, prevent this illness and help those who suffer from eating disorders.
According to bodywhys.ie (2013); “Bulimia is characterised by repeated episodes of binge-eating followed by behaviour aimed at compensating for the out of control eating.” Bulimia can happen because the person may not be happy with the shape of their own body. This can lead to a person either becoming Anorexic or in this client’s case Bulimic. The person has food and weight problems which becomes obsessive and can take over the person's life. In most cases they become trapped in a compulsive cycle of bingeing and purging (getting rid of the food) or resorting to other ways of preventing weight gain like over exercising.
Bulimia is marked by significant cycles in eating habits. Bulimics will often starve themselves (calorie/food/fat intake restriction -- sometimes with the help of diet pills or supplements) for extended periods of time prior to a massive binge, during which they consume abnormal amounts of food in a short period of time. These binges are followed by purging, which generally is constituted by self-induced vomiting. Other methods of purging the body include the use of diuretics, laxatives, and excessive exercising. Bulimics are generally within what is considered to be a "normal" weight range, but see themselves as being overly fat, or suffer from an intense fear of gaining weight. They often do realize that they have a problem, but by that point the cycle has become an obsession. Bulimics usually weigh themselves frequently, even several times daily.
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.
... condition such as bulimia is difficult and often frustrating. The best piece of advice that I ever offered my friend was the idea that there is always hope. No matter who you are or what your problems may be, there is always hope. Every person in the world has a close group of friends or family that loves them. There is always hope, but the only problem is that you have to have the strength to believe in yourself and open up your eyes and see what a wonderful life you really have. No one should take anything in their life for granted because life is always unpredictable and it could always get worse. I will never forget the lessons I have learned in life and I hope that everyone will work to do the same. .