The people of the 21st Century have grown apathetic to people’s mental disorders as long as it does not affect them. That is the case with eating disorders. In her article “The Secret Society of the Starving,” Mimi Udovitch effectively justifies the significance of eating disorders, she uses the lives of three girls and the effect eating disorders have had in their life. She argues that eating disorders tend to come with another mental disorder that can make an eating disorder worst. The harmful and many times irreversible effects eating disorders can have on a person. Eating disorders are difficult to quit without help. And how the biggest factor that contributes to an eating disorder is low self-esteem. Udovitch discusses how eating disorders could be accompanied by other disorders that can aggrandize the danger of an eating disorder. Udovitch talks about how many of the people with an eating disorder have O.C.D. one of the girls she interviews takes it to the extreme, Udovitch says, “Chaos, like Clairegirl, is obsessive-compulsive about a certain number (which it would freak her out to see printed), and when she takes laxatives she either has to take …show more content…
that number of them, which is no longer enough to work, or that number plus 10, or that number plus 20, and so forth. The most she has ever taken is that number plus 60, and the total number she takes depends on the total number of calories she has consumed.” (Udovitch 8) The abuse of laxatives can be more harmful than what people think. An overdose of laxatives can dehydrate your body and can cause an electrolyte imbalance. People not having any food in their body is bad enough, in top of that not being hydrated is even worst. Which can be very harmful. Udovitch shows how harmful an eating disorder could be to the human body. She mentions all the health problems Chaos has been going through. Udovitch says, “she has been to the emergency room more than half a dozen times with ‘heart things.’...But the kinds of heart things a severe bulimic might experience range from palpitations to cardiac arrest. And although Chaos hasn't had her kidney function tested in the recent past, it probably isn't great. Her spleen might also be near the point of rupturing.” (Udovitch 8) Mentioning Chaos’s health problems is important because it shows the reader how eating disorders can lead to serious health complications that ultimately will probably result in death if not treated, but they need help to be treated because eating disorders are difficult to quit. Udovitch argues how difficult it is to treat an eating disorders. She shows this in multiple occasions. She says “What Clairegirl, sitting shivering on the running track, would say today is that when she reaches her current goal weight, she will stay there. But she can't ever really see herself giving ana up altogether. ‘I don't think I could ever stop, like, wanting to not eat. Like, I could keep myself from eating below 300 calories a day. But I could never see myself eating more than 1,000.’” (Udovitch 11) This is important because it shows the reader the difficulty of giving up eating disorders. You cannot just quit an eating disorder, you need help and assistance. An eating disorder is the same as any other mental illness, they come directly from the brain and you cannot control your brain. Some people do not think they have a problem, others know they do, but they cannot help it, they cannot control it. Just like Clairegirl, her brain and her body got so used to eating in small amounts that she most likely would not be able to eat normally without help. Another reason why she could not give up anorexia fully is probably because she did not like how she was before. That shows that she has low self-esteem. Udovitch discusses how low self-esteem is what ties mostly all people with eating disorders.
Udovitch says, “But you can't ever really say that ana isn't a form of self-hatred, even though I try to say that. If I was truthfully happy with myself, then I would allow myself to eat. But I don't. And it's kind of like a strive for perfection, and for making myself better.” (Udovitch 11) Providing this piece of information is important because it is letting the reader know that the people with an eating disorder do not like how they look, so they are trying to achieve what is perfect in their mind. What people think is perfect in their mind, is what society thinks is perfect, so society has some fault in eating disorders as well, so just like society cause eating disorders, they should help those afflicted with
it. People may think that people that suffer from bulimia and anorexia just want to lose some weight, but that is nowhere near the truth, these people actually are suffering from an mental illness that they alone cannot control. They need the help of the people around them, and medical assistance as well. They need help improving their self-esteem and improving their eating patterns. Society needs to understand that anyone could suffer from an eating disorder, it could be a son, a daughter, a parent, and even oneself, and an eating disorder is not something you can easily give up and it could lead to irreversible consequences, the most extreme...death.
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
“Eating disorders are ‘about’: yes, control, and history, philosophy, society, personal strangeness, family fuck-ups, autoerotics, myth, mirrors, love and death and S&M, magazines and religion, the individual’s blindfolded stumble-walk through an ever-stranger world.” (Hornbacher, 4)
These cases, along with the Junkie case (Joe), were the only cases that showed significant physical consequences, such as headaches, loss of tooth enamel, feeling fatigue, and possibly leading to terminal illness. Mrs. B’s and Thin Tim’s cases were the only cases where the clients’ intrusive thoughts caused them to avoid a behavior (Mrs. B avoiding sexual intercourse with her husband for fear of disapproval from family or being a “tramp” and Tim’s obsessive cleanliness causing him to avoid social activities at friends’ homes because they are “dirty”). Joe, Wanda, and Tomas all seemed to engage in behaviors despite being aware of the physical and financial consequences. The last difference we believe is important to mention is that Tim is the only client who has significant and obvious signs of a comorbid disorder. According to https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/expert-opinion-eating-disorders-and-ocd/ eating disorders fall on the OCD spectrum. This is actually quite challenging for clinicians, since they may struggle to diagnose and treat OCD in a client who is in need of treatment for a diagnosed eating
Leave me alone! It's a phrase often times used by teenagers around the world. During teenage years, many people fight to be left alone. They find comfort in being without the company of others. Many of them grow out of it and learn to deal with social interaction in a positive way. But some of them, don't. Instead they alienate themselves from society further. “The Hunger Artist”, by Franz Kafka, and “The Secret Society Of The Starving”, by Mim Udovitch feature the few people that prefer to stay in isolation. They illustrate the true extent that many are willing to go to be alone. They supplement each other. “ The Hunger Artist” helps us to see how far Anas, otherwise known as anorexics, are willing to go to stay isolated from a community that is their own.
The author’s intended audience is most likely to people who are experiencing the disorder or are interested in knowing more about eating disorders. When Lia was admitted to New Seasons, her rehabilitation facility, she relates her experience to someone who has gone through the struggles in that kind of facility. Lia was expected to be “a good girl [by not poking holes] or write depressing poetry and [eat and eat]” (Anderson 18). Her struggles in the facility allowed the audience who experienced this disorder to relate their experiences. In addition, people who choose to starve...
The National Institute of Mental Health: Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions. Pub No. 01-4901. Accessed Feb. 2002.
She interviews girls that have dealt with a personal eating disorder and addresses them by their website nicknames. Claire, Chaos, and Futurebird were only a few of the girls that she interviewed. She describes Chaos as, “a very attractive 23-year-old who has been either bulimic or anorexic since she was 10.” (Udovitch 561) Chaos practices weird habits such as not eating in front of people and taking an excessive number of laxatives.
Eating Disorders (EDs) are a series of often life-threatening mental health disorders which are commonly used as coping mechanisms or as ways to mask one’s problems. The causes of these illnesses are still being researched, and the effects they have on a person’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing can often be as long as the sufferer’s life.
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.
An eating disorder is characterized when eating, exercise and body image become an obsession that preoccupies someone’s life. There are a variety of eating disorders that can affect a person and are associated with different characteristics and causes. Most cases can be linked to low self esteem and an attempt to, “deal with underlying psychological issues through an unhealthy relationship with food” (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Eating disorders typically develop during adolescence or early adulthood, with females being most vulner...
Hoek, Hans Wijbrand, and Daphne Van Hoeken. "Review of the Prevalence and Incidence of Eating Disorders." International Journal of Eating Disorders 34.4 (2003): 383-96. Print.
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.
Eating disorders can be altered by many things including bullying. One way that an eating disorder can come about into someone's life if is low self-esteem. Negative body images can make someone want to become skinnier. When someone has a low self-esteem it means a person who has a very low image of themselves. They think that they are nothing and aren’t worthy of life. When someone thinks this they could exercise excessively thinking that it will make them skinnier.
"ANAD." Eating Disorders Statistics « « National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Although, the media promotes this outlook on self image, it seems. as if it tries to correct the “negative images” by making people aware of the dangers of them. They do this by creating after-school specials that expose the risks and dangers involved in eating disorders. Ironically, while writing this paper, I happened to view a program called “Mysteries”. and Scandals”, on the TV network E!.