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Well i’m doing it. Writing about what I feared to tell anyone, well what I feared a year ago. Something that has been going on for about 2 years. Well let me begin with my name i’m Jenny, i’m 12 years old I go to fort Gratiot Middle school, and I have a problem… I have an eating disorder. It all started in 5th grade I gained a lot of weight my parents told me my sister was the same way she gained a ton of weight then in 7th or 8th grade she lost all of it! They said it was just a part of puberty. But then 5th grade was over in a blink of an eye and it was summer I hated the way I looked I wanted to be “Perfect” I wanted to be “Desired”. So what that made me do was overthink everything I was trapped in my own mind trying to become this cookie …show more content…
I continued this cycle for a while then one day in 6th grade my friend Randall noticed I never eat school lunch so he said “Jenny do you even eat at home or do you starve yourself?” I always said no but almost everyday he would say something. Then it was Summer again and I was really having low self esteem but I didn’t care anymore I started eating a lot again eating my feelings away. I was back to my old size and before I knew it 7th grade was here I was so excited. But I was scared that I would be made fun of and I wasn’t as pretty anymore. So I did it I stopped eating again I still felt a fear of being rejected and still not good enough never good enough. Then my best friend Carly and I had our first sleepover I told her about all the things that had been going on since last Summer because I felt as though we could tell each other everything and we could we still do because if it wasn’t for her she would have never told my parents and my parents would have never gotten me into therapy and support groups to help me. Now I diet and eat everyday 3 times a day. I feel healthier and just better mentally and physically. Back when I use to starve myself I always felt ugly and fat. Plus I had trouble showing my emotions because I was afraid of rejection that’s why it took me so long to find the right person to tell and i’m glad I found the person I did or my eating disorder could have gotten worse. I’m now happy
The book Stick Figure A Diary Of My Former Self is a personal journal written by Lori Gottlieb when she was 11 years old suffering from anorexia nervosa. “Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that causes people to obsess about their weight and the food they eat.” (mayclinic.com) Most eating disorders are physiological due to friends and family, stress, and the social media. Anorexia nervosa, like all other eating disorders, is extremely dangerous and unhealthy for the human body to endure. Although eating disorders are destructive to one's life, is there explainable reasoning behind why a person may have one?
Research, 2016. Bordo implicated popular culture as having a serious negative role in how women of America view their bodies. These images have led to drastic increase change in life altering female disorders and eating. Not only does these images affect Americans but young men and women too which they should be fighting against it, not for
Eating disorders can be viewed as multi-determined disorders because there are many different factors that can play into a person developing an eating disorder. Each case is different and to get a clear picture of the disorder it must be looked at from numerous angles because often times it is a combination of different issues that contribute to someone developing an eating disorder.
Binge eating disorder, also known as BED or compulsive overeating, is a serious disorder, characterized by a recurrent, irresistible urge to overindulge or binge on food, even when you are painfully full. We reveal how and why it becomes a problem, and what you can do about it.
I had found so much of my comfort in food at times when I was stressed, despite my generally smiley appearance. I have never found another word to properly express how I actually felt during any of this other than stressed. Ultimately, the fear of constant approval from peers and relatives caused me to not diet, but take away the only source of comfort I had. In 8th grade, I heard a peer whom I am now very close with mentioned they hadn’t eaten a lot the entire summer for one reason or another. Which led me to the idea to stop eating and lose weight. It was horrible at first, so I lessened the pain by eating only at dinner. As this went on though, I got less hungry. The stomach pains weakened as school days turned to school weeks, as they formed into two years of living off bare minimum. I reduced my portions in half and snacking became less of an enjoyment and turned into a horrid guilt. It got to the point where friends grew concerned and ask me about bringing me
I sat down and interviewed a person who has overcome bulimia nervosa and she described many of the things I have listed here today. She went through many pains and troubles through her time of ?sickness?. She asked to remain nameless, so I shall respect her wish. She was a gymnast who had to maintain a certain body weight to compete in competitions. She would self induce vomiting before her weigh in sessions so she would be under the weight limit. She let me know that this was the worst time of her life, and she is so thankful she is one of the survivors.
There are 70 million individuals around the world and over 14 million Americans who are affected by eating disorders; of those 14 million Americans in the United States 200,000 live in Minnesota. According to the United States Census Bureau there are 5.4 million people living in Minnesota. Eating disorders are a big problem considering that 4 out of 100 people have an eating disorder, just in Minnesota. There are three main eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating. Although doctors still don’t fully understand what causes eating disorders, the disorder can affect someone's body and mind years after getting over an eating disorder (Eating Disorder).
Eating disorders are one of society’s most debilitating physical and psychological problems faced today. In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe was society’s role model, but would now be considered a plus-sized model and somewhat unattractive in society’s eyes (Steinem 5). Now in 2013, Demi Lovato, a pop singer, plays a huge role as a role model for young people, but has recently told the media that she suffers from anorexia nervosa and embraces it, ultimately showing adolescents that eating disorders are socially acceptable and even often encouraged (Cotliar 80). The psychological effects that eating disorders have on a patient can be very detrimental to themselves and often push the patient farther into the disorder than she could ever have imagined ("Prevalence vs. Funding" 3). The physical effects that an eating disorder can have on the body could be as minor as feeling faint to something as major as an organ shut down, or even resulting in death (“Physical Dangers” 2). Eating disorders affect a wide variety of people, particularly adolescent girls, and may ultimately lead to many destructive physical and psychological results.
Binge-eating disorder is defined as an eating disorder in which a person frequently consumes large amounts of food while feeling out of control and unable to stop. Almost everyone overeats every once in a while but for some people overeating crosses the line to binge-eating disorder and it becomes a regular occurrence. Many people who have this disorder may feel embarrassed about eating large amounts of food in front of others however the urge and compulsiveness of this disorder continues to affect their eating habits. Binge-eating disorder is estimated to affect approximately 1-5% of the general population and also tends to affect women slightly more often than men. Binge-eating disorder is often associated with symptoms of depression and people diagnosed with this may often express distress, shame, and guilt over their eating behaviors.
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.
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.
Christmas eve ended with me crying on our living room floor because my mom wanted me to eat just one of her famous sugar cookies. Her cookies had always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions, but this year when I looked at the cookies, all I could see were calories and guilt. They smelled and looked delicious, but just the thought of taking one bite filled me with anxiety and fear. I consider this the moment I realized my eating disorder had completely taken over my life. I had become obsessed with calories and weight as a way to feel in control of my life and gain confidence. In reality, my eating disorder had slowly stripped me of my independence, health, and happiness. After that Christmas, I finally decided to seek help after months of struggling, and at the age of 17, I began an intensive outpatient treatment program.
I will start by saying that it all started I guess in high school when I was a little over weight and I wanted to fit in. I got depressed and everything. Finally the doctors put me on wellbutrin 500mg; and I also found out that I had polycystic ovary syndrome so he put me on birth control and glucophage 250 mg to help regulate my sugar. I didn't know that by taking these meds id loose weight as well as treat my depression and my syndromes that I found out I had. But then the depression just got worse when I found out who my true friends were. Every one hated me cause I wasn't fat any more. I was teased for being too skinny, so fell worse in. I started to feel suicidal. (Now I ask my self why? And answer go figure!) So in order for me to succeed with high school and get away from all the negativity I transferred schools and met the next bad chapter of my life.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that I struggled with for the majority of my middle school years and a portion of my high school years. My classmates at Riverview High School were aware of my disorder, and it greatly affected the way they treated me. At the start of my junior year, I transferred to Madison High School. I decided not to tell anyone at that school about my eating disorder since I was mostly recovered by that time. Even though my friends at Riverview and Madison all showed concern for my well-being, their approaches differed greatly, especially in lunchroom behavior, conversation, and individual opinions about my personality and character.
I started going on runs about every night, and I started to eat healthier. I did not really tell anyone that because I knew they were just going to say, “Oh my gosh, you do not need to!!” I really did not care at that point. I weighed around 120 at that time, and I can agree that I was skinny, but apparently I just did not feel good enough about myself. Some people started to notice that I was getting skinnier because people were asking, “Are you anorexic?” No, I am not. Now in females, anorexia usually starts during late childhood or adolescence. The true definition of anorexia nervosa is having an eating disorder, wanting to lose weight by self-starvation, and having a distorted body image (Fujisawa, 2015). That was not me. Yeah, I did lose some weight. In fact, I ended up losing 15 pounds, but I never starved myself. Once I found that I was too skinny, I stopped caring so much. Usually people that are anorexic, they cannot control their bodies, but for me, I could control it. It was a choice I made, but after noticing how weak I became, I knew I had to build myself back up. It did not take me much longer because I gained it all back within a year or