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With a heartbeat pounding against your ribs and hot tears streaming down your cheeks, it is hard to focus on anything but an abusive voice you try to hide from. Victims of these voices cannot escape the abuse for years on end and often are forced to face a variety of physical, social, and emotional consequences decades after their freedom. After my liberation, anorexia nervosa gave me all of these consequences, but I made it my responsibility to overcome these obstacles in order to reach the life that I deserved to live, no matter what the abusive voice said I could do. At the time of my diagnosis, my physician had no option but to place me in strict bedrest at our local hospital until my weight rose, which proved to be more painful than it
When I think about the moments leading up to my diagnosis I remember feeling weak, confused, shaky and sleepy. I did not notice that I had began sleeping throughout the day. My body was craving soft drinks like soda and juice but not food. Days would go by and I eventually fell into a deep slumber that I found myself only waking up from to use the bathroom. I knew something was wrong and that if I did not get to a hospital it would get worse. Nothing could have prepared me for the life changing diagnosis I would receive.
"Anorexia Nervosa--Part I." Harvard Mental Health Letter. Feb. 2003: 1-4. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
It has been 9 months since my diagnosis, and I am still learning coping mechanisms and pain management. Not everything is 100% though. In a perfect world it would be, but also in a perfect world there would be no disease or sickness. I can only hope for the best and continue living life as I have been for the last 28 years. There may be many changes in my life, some are worse than others, and instead of viewing them as disadvantages I will see them as a metamorphosis. At the end of this journey, I will emerge a stronger person who can withstand fire and brimstone, so to speak. For now I will continue to smile and walk through live with my head held high, even though my body is a battlefield filled with constant aches and pains.
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.
Eating disorders are becoming a prominent illness in our society. More and more cases have been recorded every year since 1930, as reported by the National Eating Disorder Association or NEDA. The NEDA also reports that in 2011 there was 20 million women and 10 million men have by diagnosed with, dealing with, or recovering from an eating disorder. This is becoming more and more relevant to modern day society. Themes related to this illness are present in the books The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein and Still Alice by Lisa Genova. These themes are how illnesses affect personal relationships, how society does not know how to react to being diagnosed or just dealing with an illness, and how support groups impact recovery.
I always remember what my grandmother said to me, “Be careful what you say, what words you use because they can destroy or give hope. Once they are said never could be deleted it from people’s hearts.” That day I learned that words are powerful. According to the article “Free Speech: Westboro Church Supreme Court Case First Amendment” in Christian Science Monitor, author Warren Richey discusses about The First Amendment to define what is offensive and it shows historical facts where the Supreme Court is using the First Amendment to resolve the cases about offensive speech. Also, the author describes people in favor and against of offensive speech. The author concluded that offensive speech should not be banned because free speech is the free
...ke-Kearney, Ann and Striegel-Moore, Ruth H. (1994). Treatment of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa: A Feminist Psychodynamic Approach. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 4, 305 - 319
Anorexic behavior is complex because it is all about the need for control. Someone suffering from anorexia has a distorted body image of himself or herself. He/she believes to be overweight, even though twenty percent of the time he/she is not (Yancey 59). The image of being overweight causes a low self-esteem. Symptoms of low self-esteem are loneliness, inadequacy in talents, a lack of trust in people and themselves, insecurity, identification with a specific peer group, and sadness. The media displays the ideal human body as thin and beautiful. Anorexic’s lives are full of confusion and lack of control. To the anorexic, to be thin is to be in control. The state of control to the anorexic is the ideal life without confusion and difficulties. In most cases, the anorexic is intelligent; popular among his/her peers, athletic, talented, and viewed as a role model to most people he/she comes in contact with. In reality, the issues in daily living are too difficult for the anorexic resulting in a lack of control in his/her life. The anorexic’s answer to a confusing life is to starve the body. The behavioral symptoms of the anorexia are counting calories, eating little food, baking treats for everyone and giving them away in hope of controlling not only the anorexic’s intake of his/her food, but also others. “Playing” with food at meal times is common behavior of the anorexic. When the meal is complete, the anorexic has disguised food intake by pushing the food around on the plate and hiding food in napkins. To dress in layers to hide the distinct weight loss and to avoid social activities where eating is involved are common behavioral symptoms. Behavioral symptoms of the anorexic can go unnoticed by most people. These symptoms are very secretive and oblivious to outsiders because the behavior is not out of the ordinary. Although the behavioral symptoms of the anore...
I suffer from anorexia nervosa. I am one of 24 million people in the United States that suffers from an eating disorder and I am only one in ten of those people that has received treatment for my lifestyle (Noordenbox, et al). Multiple doctors, therapists, social workers, and treatment facilities have put forth their time and effort to try and put me and others like me on a path towards recovery. Every educated mind fighting this battle though is waging a war that cannot be won on the current grounds it is being fought. A steady torrent of magazines glamorizing thigh gaps, movies showing perfectly sculpted bodies, photographs showcasing flawless models, and an unrelenting advertising market built around fake and unrealistic projections of perfection is constantly pouring into young eyes and washing through young minds. The greed fueled monster known as the American media is fostering a more welcome environment for eating disorders in the American youth and undermining kind-hearted efforts to save lives from the lifestyle with the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Noordenbox, et al).
Referring back to the symptoms and warning signs of Anorexia Nervosa , these young women explained methods and ways they tried to self-harm. Some examples of signs of Anorexia Nervosa include, withdrawal from friends and activities, low self-esteem, feelings of guilt after eating, abuse of diuretics, and the intense anxiety of gaining weight. Each of these four women showed these signs and more throughout their treatment. I was surprised to learn that after they left the treatment facility, they relapsed and went back to being underweight. Another thing that also caught my attention was Alisa’s drawing of her body. She labeled everything that was wrong with her such as saddlebags, muffin top, and areas that she needed to tone up just to name a few. Each woman mentioned that their goal was to be thin. The thought of weighing more than a hundred pounds was the worst thing they could
In an episode of the popular sitcom Full House, “Shape Up,” DJ Tanner under-eats and over-exercises, but she recovers from her negative relationship with food and exercise by the end of the episode. Though it should be noted that this episode does not claim to represent a specific eating disorder and does not glamorize eating disorders in any way, representations like this solidify the stereotype that eating disorders are easily solved and recovered from. Also, eating disorders can be tied to other disabilities of mental health, including bipolar disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, anxiety, and depression (Adair). Disabilities of mental health in general are often intertwined. This can be seen in The Quiet Room; Schiller often shows signs of depression and anxiety during treatment. In Schiller’s case and in many others, disabilities of mental health can snowball in many ways.
According to the DSM-IV anorexia nervosa is characterized by a refusal to maintain body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, and amenorrhea (Polivy). According to the Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, “up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States” (Siber 331). Anorexia is seen to affect girls in their adolescence and is rarely seen to affect men. A person suffering from anorexia has a fear of being overweight and weighs 15% less than her ideal weight. Those suffering from anorexia will pursue in extreme dieting, exercise and use of laxatives. They will skip meals and even starve themselves. They will binge and purge whenever they do decide to eat (Post). This will result in them to be very moody and affect their cognitive functions (Brockmeyera). Anorexia can be fatal to one’s health and can result in suicide (Silber). Anorexia nervosa can be caused due to peer pressure from ones family and friends, teasing and bullying done in school therefore resulting in psychological problems and can result in one inflicting pain on herself and can lead to extreme health illness. In this paper, I am going to prove that Anorexia Nervosa, which is an eating disorder in teens, can have harmful effect to one’s health which can cause psychological, physical, emotional damage.
A persons emotions influence every aspect of ones lives. Especially when you’re a child, your emotions are vulnerable to every interaction they receive. When these emotions are beaten down and destroyed continuously, a common name for this is abuse. For example, Dee, a young married women, was emotionally abused everyday by her husband. He treated her as more of a servant than a wife and she eventually hated her life. She became depressed and eventually contemplated suicide. It wasn’t until then that she considered getting help (YWCA Mohawk Valley, 2014). Approximately one third of Canadians have experienced child abuse (CBC Radio, 2014) and approximately 8% of Canadians experience depression (Mood Disorders Society of Canada, 2009)? This is normally an uncommon conversation topic in today’s society because most people do not like to talk about it. The statistics above are connected; many people who experience abuse are prone to mental illness. When a child has been physically abused, there are noticeable bruises, or other effects on the person. On the other hand, most people do not recognize or even know the effects of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can deeply wound a child, and as the child grows, the scars will remain; the scars that people do not see that can cause a lifetime of suffering. These invisible scars can affect a person’s development as they struggle to accept themselves from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Emotional abuse negatively impacts an individual’s self-esteem, which can in turn, cause depression and substance abuse later in adulthood.
Purpose: The purpose of this speech is to inform my audience about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.
Educators attempt to provide safe, nurturing environments where students can thrive. Any disturbance to this climate can have negative affects on students’ educational performances. Bullying is one such disruption. Unfortunately, physical and verbal abuse are nothing new in the school setting, however, the rise of technology in our country has created a new setting for bullies to target their victims. Cyberbulling, or the use of any number of technological means to harm or harass another, has become an increasingly prevalent occurrence, specifically among school-aged children (Campfield, 2006).