What are the causes?
The disease usually begins in young people around the time of puberty. The causes for this disease are still not known. Some people think that if they are thinner they will be more happy and successful. Some times the causes of anorexia can be from a painful childhood, sexual abuse, physical abuse, domineering coaches and controlling relationships and they are punishing themselves because of it. Domineering coaches are a reason for anorexia because for example Ballet, you have to be slim and petite, for obvious reasons. If a girl wants to be a Ballet dancer and they are told they cant because they haven’t got the right figure then they will do what ever it takes to change that. This may make them go over the top and start to get too thin. Girls that don’t think they are slim enough to do Ballet will continue to diet. There are many reasons why people do it. Being labelled as a beauty icon can trigger an eating disorder because if people are getting attention for their looks they try hard to keep it that way. They will do what ever it takes to keep their appearance so they will continue to get the attention.
How do we treat it?
Anorexia can be very fatal if it is not treated immediately. Treatment of anorexia is difficult, because people with it think that there is nothing wrong with them. People with this disease will not see a change with their body and will still see themselves as been over weight even when very weak and skinny. Unlike other diseases anorexia cannot be treated with medicines. They have to go through counselling in order to make them realise and change their eating habits. Like every other disease it is easier to treat the earlier you catch it. People who are in the early stages of anorexia (6 months) and not have lost too much weight will be able to be treated and not have to go to hospital. There is a hospital unit especially for people with anorexia and bulimia. There is a special programme in the hospitals called the in patient programme. This rewards the patients for eating regular meals and as the patient gains weight the hospital will give them privileges. The treatment doesn’t only involve changing the persons eating pattern but the patient often needs counselling for a year or more so that it can change the feelings that are causing the persons eating habits. This counselling is called psychotherapy. The only type of medicines that is used to help the recovery is anti-depressants. The doctor or counsellor gives these to them.
What are the effects?
Anorexia has many symptoms that make it easy for someone to detect. People with anorexia have dry skin and thinning hair on the head. They may even have a growth of fine hair all over their body. Girls who have anorexia will eventually stop having menstrual periods, this is otherwise known as amenorrhea. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that one in ten anorexics ends in death from starvation, suicide or medical complications like heart attacks or kidney failure. They also include physical problems like anaemia, heart palpitations, bone loss, tooth decay and inflammation of the oesophagus. The disease not only effects the victim but it effects the people around them. Their friends and family who support them will go through a very hard time. Their family should always be there for them and they should try not to give up on them. A person with anorexia will do anything to try and get out of eating and they will plead with you until you give into them, you should never give into them but you shouldn’t nag them all the time.
I have chosen to study one particular female that had anorexia. I will tell you what happened to her during and after her illness.
Deborah was a teenager with anorexia nervosa. She was only 16 when she developed this illness. She was a shy, hard-working teenager and she tried hard to please everyone. She had an attractive appearance, but was slightly overweight. Like every teenage girl she was interested in boys, but she didn’t think she was attractive enough to get any of their attentions. One day her dad jokingly said to her that she would never get a date if she didn’t loose some weight, but she took this comment really seriously and decided to diet. Never thinking that she was thin enough to look good she became seriously underweight. Soon after she became under weight her menstrual periods stopped. As anorexia became more of an issue Deborah became obsessed with dieting. Everyday when she cooked her dinner she would weigh all of the food she would eat on the kitchen scales, she would cut all of the solids into little pieces and she precisely measured liquids. After she had prepared her food she would put her daily ration into small containers, lining them up in a neat row. She also started doing regular exercise even when she became very weak and felt faint.
Nobody could convince Deborah that she was in danger. Finally, her doctor told her that she must go into hospital and be monitored constantly. While she was in hospital she continued doing regular exercises in the bathroom. It took a lot of hard work from the hospital and a lot of family support to help Deborah get back to her normal self.
This case was not unusual. Anorexic people just starve themselves even though they suffer from hunger pains.
It is not uncommon for people with anorexia to collect recipes and arrange a feast for family and friends, but not take part in the meals themselves. Like Deborah they may keep to strict exercise routines to keep the weight off.
We should constantly remind ourselves that appearance is not everything, it is just one part of which we are. This means it is very important to focus on the other aspects of us, like our skills, characteristics and achievements.
What do women feel about the way they are portrayed in the media?
One of the main reasons or Anorexia in women is because of the pictures in magazines and newspapers. In magazines there are models and stars that are all really skinny, they have nice dresses on and most have brilliant lives. But this makes women who think they are overweight unhappy and makes them feel conscious of their body weight.
Victoria Beckham for example gets so much attention from the press. She suffered from an eating disorder after she gave birth to her son Brooklyn; she wanted to get her figure back to normal again. When she went to the gym she was constantly checking her appearance. In the following years, Victoria began to binge eat – in one passage in her autobiography she describes eating 10 bowls of Frosties in one sitting.
During adolescence the influence of peers becomes important. This is the time where teenagers are particularly aware of the pictures in the media and the pressures from peers. Accepting teenage girls body changes throughout puberty is also important for an adolescent girls father. If a father feels uncomfortable about his daughter going through puberty and distances himself from her she may reject herself and try and do something to stop it like anorexia.
My essay fits into a theme. This theme is Aesthetic and Communicative because it’s the way that we advertise products, we should make it so that anybody can model products any shape or size. Also it’s the way that we communicate with our family and friends, we shouldn’t be worried to chat about things that are on our minds to people. Then they will be able to help us and give us advice.
In conclusion I think that we should stop advertising in magazine and adverts on television featuring petite, thin young women/girls because this causes jealousy and makes people think that if they diet and exercises a lot then they will look just like they do. Another way to stop it is to inform people about anorexia nervosa and tell them more about what and how it happens, we should post flyers or write reports in newspapers about real life stories. We could also encourage people to eat healthier and exercises more often instead of not eating at all and starving themselves to death.
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