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Abstract This paper is designed for you and I to learn more about Eating Disorders. What you are about to learn one day will maybe save your life. Hopefully you will never encounter what is called an Eating Disorder. Eating Disorders mostly consist of, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Obesity and Compulsive Eating, although Obesity and Compulsive Eating are closely linked. Anorexia is “Starvation,” by starving yourself. People who have Anorexia Nervosa starve themselves to be skinny, not eating a thing. Bulimia Nervosa is, “vomiting what you eat.” People, who suffer from Bulimia, eat foods that are high in calories or fat, then vomit what they eat, often they take diet pills, laxatives or diuretics, to make them keep their weight off. Obesity is said to be a “mental problem, more than an Eating Disorder.” It is a large accumulation of fat in the body. Compulsive Eaters usually eat when emotionally upset or stressed. Compulsive Eaters find an out by eating their way into happiness. To find more about Eating Disorders and how to deal with them read this paper and find out for yourself. Just remember if you suffer from an Eating Disorder there is still hope for you and recovery. Although if you want to become a statistic you go right ahead and do so, but your hurting yourself and the ones that love you and care about you the most. Eating Disorders do KILL! As you will soon find out. Eating Disorders are not the disease that you want to play around with, they are very dangerous, and can have a harsh effect on you and on your life. Never do you want to get involved with an Eating Disorder unless you want to pay the consequences. Introduction Eating Disorders are a way of life that can be called “suicide.” You vomit all that you eat and do not stop until it is too late, or you just do not eat. You wish and hope that the person you love will stop before it is too late, but they do not understand the words, “to late.” The person who has the Eating Disorder finds their life to be less stressful and open for more than just food and criticism. Life to them can be more sufficient if they have a way to get out of stress and that is their way out. Life to them is so much easier with the Eating Disorder because they find a way to let stress out. Did you know that the person sitting next to you has a forty-five percent chance of getting an Eating Disorder? You might know them and you might not, but you can help them; by letting them know about Eating Disorders. Life can be so much easier if they know that they look good and have a great personality and everyone likes them. Most cases of Eating Disorders are because of what the person sees on television or in magazines. Life as they know it will change; it will never be the same again, as they once knew it. Eating Disorders are a very complex disorder; start to get your knowledge early and maybe you can help someone that you love. Chapter One Introduction The study of Eating Disorders has long been studied. People are still trying to figure out why exactly people have Eating Disorders and why they continue with them. In order to teach you all about Eating Disorders, it would take many pages so I am going to take just some of the main questions that people ask. Many people have different views about Eating Disorders, though there are the simple questions, what is the medical treatment, what are the typical Eating Disorders, who gets involved in Eating Disorders, what are the psychological reasons for Eating Disorders, the emotional characteristics, medical characteristics, and the physical problems. Eating Disorders are said to be, “caused by the result of psychological disturbances,” (Wolhart, 1988). Women take up most Eating Disorders by an outstanding ninety- percent and only ten percent of men take up Eating Disorders. Learning about Eating Disorders is a reward in itself and to you and the people that love you. Understanding what is exactly an Eating Disorder is and what you can do to prevent it, and how can you help others overcome an Eating Disorder. The focus on Eating Disorders out number the people trying to help the people with Eating Disorders. In order to be successful you have to be able to fix the problem with Eating Disorders and help the people who have already started the problem. Eating Disorders have always been known to plague models or people who need to be thin because of their careers like; dancers, models, actors, flight attendants, jockeys, gymnasts and professional runners. That’s not true any more, researchers have proved that, “Eating Disorders can be started by anyone because of being upset with themselves or angry with themselves,” (Levenkron, 1982). For you to have some knowledge about Eating Disorders this paper was designed for you to find out exactly why and how one would take up such a devastating disease, that can eventually take someone’s life because of their need to be skinny. Problem Statement Eating Disorders target the young, the middle aged, and the old. Approximately eight million American teenagers and adults have symptoms of this life threatening disease. Eating Disorders are common among models, and many other professions because their weight is seen as the focus of their job. Though they can be found in others just because they are angry or not happy with themselves. The problem with Eating Disorders is that it is killing people, and even if they find help, the odds of going back to the disorder is likely by seventy-five percent, still no one takes it that they should get help they need before it is too late for them. Purpose of the study, which includes research questions My exact purpose of this study was to know hands on exactly what an Eating Disorder is and how to treat the Eating Disorder. My study of Eating Disorder was also self-intentional study to find out what exactly killed my best friend and why she had to do it, why she felt the need to be extremely skinny. The study involves the simple questions I had, why my best friend did this to herself and all the people that cared about her. Some of the questions were: what are the typical Eating Disorders, who gets an Eating Disorder, the psychological characteristics of an Eating Disorders, emotional characteristics, medical characteristics, physical problems and the eventual treatment of an Eating Disorder. Significance of the study of Eating Disorders The significance of my study is to find out exactly what life wrenching disease had taken my best friends’ life. Finding out what causes them, and learning more about Eating Disorders, incase another person close to me gets involved in an Eating Disorder. Never in my life would I wish this disease upon anyone, it is like a leech it sucks the life out of you and when you get to far into the disease it will not be too long before you die. Chapter Two Literature Section One What are the Eating Disorders? Anorexia We often define Anorexia Nervosa as a form of self-starvation leading to excessive emaciation, usually resulting from a morbid fear of becoming fat or losing control of one’s behavior. Anorexia comes from the Greek and it means “a loss of appetite.” “Primary” or “Retrictive,” anorectic achieves and maintains their low weight through fasting and sometimes through excessive exercises (Maloney, 1991). Anorexia is a vicious weight loss that begins when the victim goes on a diet (Maloney, 1991). Even after losing as much as one-fourth of their body weight, “anorexics say that they feel fat,” (Erlanger, 1985). People with Anorexia Nervosa refuse to eat not because they are afraid to do so, but they are afraid of weight gain, afraid of becoming fat, afraid of losing control (Palmer, 1989). Anorexia is said to be, “caused by the results of psychological disturbances,” (Wolhart, 1988, Pg. 54). Pointing out that the symptoms of Anorexia are self-starvation, and emaciation. Bingeing and purging, come later in the progression of whatever disorders underlie Anorexia. The major psychological features seem to be the fear of maturing and the fear of losing control. Dealing with stress, of divorced parents, death, and school are the top causes why teenagers develop Anorexia. They think that becoming anorexic will take away all their uncertainty and guide them through the problem (Wolhart, 1988). Diagnosing Anorexia is not that easy unless you really know the person. Some of the pattern that would exist would be these: the person’s way of either eating or not eating is out of control, other people are affected in a negative way by the person’s change of habits and behavior. He or she is unhappy, nervous, depressed, guilty, and or lonely, most of their health is in danger. Warning signs of Anorexia Nervosa are; significant abnormal weight loss, with no medical cause, denial of hunger, including claims of, “feeling full” or “feeling fat” only after a few bites. Other warning signs; extreme fear of weight gain; disruption or half of menstruation changes in personality or behavior. Those are the key warning signs of Anorexia Nervosa (Moe, 1991). Bulimia The term is from the Greek, meaning “insatiable appetite.” Bulimia is often characterized by episodes of compulsive overeating or binges, immediately followed by self-induced vomiting to prevent weight gain from the overeating. Laxatives and diuretics are also used to prevent weight gain. Bulimia is now considered a separate disorder, although some bulimics develop Anorexia Nervosa. The bulimic is well aware of the loss of control of eating. About twenty percent of bulimics also abuse alcohol or drugs too. Bulimia is a two-part pattern of binges and purging that happens repeatedly. Bingeing is eating many calorie rich foods, high in sugar, and in fat. Purging comes in forms of vomiting, using overdoses of laxatives and diuretics, or fasting. A bulimics weight may often change dramatically, it can sparingly fluctuate (Cauwels, 1983). Bulimia was once thought to be a manifestation of Anorexia Nervosa. There is a close relationship between Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Some of the personality characteristics of typical anorectics and bulimics seem to be similar. In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association formally recognized Bulimia in its third edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Hall, 1986). Why do people become bulimic? Bulimics are generally considered to have a psychological or emotional disorder. There are significant studies that claim Bulimia is closely related to major affective disorders, and therefore can be caused by heredity and chemical imbalances in the body. Theories of Bulimia causes encompass both biological and psychological factors. Relationships or conditions in the person’s life change suddenly like a divorce, death, a romantic breakup, or a new job, can lead the person to Bulimia. The person may fear or experience failure, and insecurity of physical appearance. The causes of Bulimia encompasses both biological and psychological factors, also (Wolhart, 1988). Still the question remains why? Bulimia is seen as the way out. First, of all that eating provides instant relief from painful feelings. The mind ceases to dwell upon anything but food and how to get it down fastest. It is also relief from boredom, the fear of failure or success and other pains and pressures. Dieting does not work; at any moment, some twenty million Americans are actively dieting, and ninety-eight percent of them will fail to lose weight and keep it off. Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and Twiggy for the past twenty years, centerfolds and beauty contestants have continually gotten thinner; although no one wants to tell how, they got that way (Moe, 1991). To diagnose Bulimia you would see some of the following patterns. Recurrent episodes if binge eating, consumption of high-calorie food intake, easily ingested food during a binge, inconspicuous eating during a binge, termination of such eating episode’s by abdominal pain, abnormal sleep, social interruption, or self-induced vomiting. Repeated attempts to lose weight by severely restrictive diets or use of cathartics or diuretics: frequent weight functions greater than ten pounds due to alternative binges and fasts.
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