Anorexia Nervosa Case Study Paper

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

Anorexia nervosa, otherwise stated as anorexia, is an eating disorder that occurs when an individual restricts themselves from necessary energy intake which leads to significantly low body weight. Other characteristics of this disorder include: intense fear of becoming fat or gaining weight, persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, and disturbances of perception and experience of their own body weight and shape (DSM V, 2013). Effective treatments are still trying to be researched for this disorder, as there is not a “one size fits all” for people of all age groups, living situations, etc. Since adolescents with anorexia are such a vulnerable population,

Some of side effects for anorexia nervosa are serious or even in some cases, life threatening. The most noticeable side effect is the serious weight balance. But there are plenty other side effects that come with the gruesome disorder, which is anorexia nervosa. Most of these side effects can be treated and taken care of to not risk any further injury or death. But if not death can defiantly come your without the proper help. These are most of the side of the side effects for the gruesome disorder.

Unfortunately, a not so uncommon problem in American society regarding body image is the development of eating disorders. Though the causes are not always known, a seriously negative perception of body image may result in unhealthy eating patterns. The two most widely known eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Those with anorexia believe that thinness is the key to self-worth and most are never satisfied with their own body image. Contrary to popular belief, anorexia does not deal directly with food; it has been described that anorexia is an unhealthy way to “cope with emotional problems” (Mayo Clinic). Dieting occupies most of their day, and many purposely starve to lose weight. Many of those affected refuse to maintain a healthy weight and become extremely thin, due to being intensely afraid of gaining weight.

Anorexia Nervosa is one of the most prevalent disorders that afflict women, where between 0.5 to 4.0 of all females in Western countries develop it in their lifetime. Victims of anorexia are obsessed with becoming thin and practice refraining from consuming food as well as cycling through bingeing and purging. The question arises if all women in Western society will at one point be fated to struggle with an eating disorder. Even more frightening is the fact that many young women and adolescents are affected by anorexia and are at risk for the various medial problems that result from the disorder. In this paper, I will be discussing my personal experience with certain traits of the disorder, as well as why I believe that anorexia and eating disorders in general perhaps are so prevalent.

“Anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder that affects women and men of all ages. It’s characterized by three key features: refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image” (Smith & Segal, 2016). Individuals with this disorder do not have healthy eating habits, most often not eating at all. They will starve themselves, excessively exercise, eat very little, purge at random times, and/or throw up their food following their “meal”. Anorexia can arise from a multitude of reasons from biological to environmental factors, depending on the individual. Although, almost all of the people who acquire it share a common issue of having low self-esteem. Having anorexia affects your whole body. Normal bodily functions will stop and everything will start shutting down slowly.

Eating disorders are not just about food and weight; they affect someone both psychologically and emotionally. “Anorexics punish themselves for their perceived failures and self-hatred by restricting their food intake.” (Engel). Although this may be the case, people with anorexia don’t just take food from their lives, the fact that they have self-hatred to trigger it causes many more complications and long-term effects. Clearly, anorexia is not just a weight issue. Individuals mainly use food to control how they are feeling if they are placed in a conflict or feel insecure.

Anorexia is a rising disorder which deserves attention however, the doctor’s themselves are not willing to help. According to the book Treating and Overcoming Anorexia Nervosa, it states “ These patients are time-consuming and demanding, and classic psychotherapy often does not work. The doctors are saying even if a patient is looking for help they aren’t going to help them because there is no hope of saving them and that therapy does not work on them. Moreover, “Anorexia Nervosa is a formidable disease of epidemic proportions currently affecting over 3 percent of our female college population.” In this quote, it is saying that anorexia is a widespread disease that is affecting colleges because the people are now handed a responsibility to

Among the mental illnesses, eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates. This is why knowledge and awareness on the subject must be spread. This research paper discusses one eating disorder in particular called anorexia nervosa. The paper begins with an examination of the diagnostic criteria required for anorexia as well as the two sub-groups associated with the diagnosis. After discussing the many effects, symptoms and addictive behaviors, treatment options are explored. This includes different types of therapy along with ethics in counseling eating disorders. The research concludes with a look at anorexia nervosa recovery from a

The mortality rate for anorexia is a staggering 19 percent, leaving it at the highest rank out of any other psychiatric condition. A lot of individuals that fall in 19 percent are lost due to the refusal of treatment (Matusek and Wright). It has been noted that many individuals that are affected by anorexia nervosa are also affected by other harsh conditions which leave medical professionals questioning their competence in decision making involving medical treatment (Tan et al). If these individuals are not competent and reliable enough to eat the necessary amount for comfortable and healthy living, how can they be trusted to make medical decisions?

My name is Stephanie Gomez, I live in Lemont, Illinois, and I have been diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is an illness that not many people come in contact with. Personally, I never thought I would have. While reading a collection of articles on my illness, I have come up with a general definition. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that limits the consumption of food to the point of bodily physical harm. (Question1)

Anorexia nervosa is an extremely serious, life-threatening eating disorder characterised by self-starvation and excessive weight loss, effecting 0.3% of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (male and female). Signs of this disorder can include Inadequate food intake, Self-esteem overly related to body image, frequent comments about feeling overweight despite being thin, consistent excuses to avoid situations involving food, development of food routines (e.g. eating foods in certain orders, excessive chewing, rearranging food on a plate), and the obvious dramatic weight loss in a short period of time due to very minimal food intake. Approximately 90-95% of anorexia nervosa sufferers are girls and women, although there are the few

She entered the hospital emergency room frightened and lonely. The past months for her were the worst of her life. As the nurse hooked her up to the heart moniter, she heard a loud beep inticating her heart beat was extremely low. She glanced at the screen; dispite being scared and anxious, the numbers fifty-six stared back at her. Her heart beat would slow down to thirty- six beats per minute at one point during the length of the girl’s stay. The girl finally realised she was extremely sick. She was sick with anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is a type of eating disorder that is characterised by extreme weight loss, restrictive eating or purging, and a fear a gaining weight. Anorexia Nervosa is a sereve illness that is accompanied by life-threatning

Berman, Boutelle and Crow (2009) conducted an experiment in which they investigated the positive effects of acceptance and commitment therapy to treat patients who were treated for Anorexia Nervosa in the past. Participants received several therapy sessions and interviews to determine whether they met the criteria for anorexia nervosa. The participants communicated with their family members throughout the experiment. Overall, the participants showed improvements in terms of the reduction of Anorexia symptoms. Fluoxetine may also take part in reducing the relapse for the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. A Study conducted by Duvvuri et al. (2012) describes such phenomena. In their research, Duvvuri and his colleagues (2012) uses twins who are malnourished due to

Christine is a sixteen year old girl who has severely restricted her dietary intake. She is currently forty nine kilograms and height 163cm. Her mother says she was 60kgs six months ago.