Anorexia: A Physical and Mental Disorder
Our society worships physical perfection. Our role models are slim, sexy, perfectly muscled actors, actresses, models, and athletes. Their images are everywhere from billboards, movie screens, to magazines. Many of us are willing to pay high costs physically, emotionally, and financially. The means by which we try to fulfill them can be extreme and even self-destructive. Young adolescents try to control their weight by dieting. Sometimes their dieting gets out of control and leads them to Anorexia. Anorexia is a misunderstood eating disorder that if left untreated can often be fatal to young adolescents.Anorexia is a disorder in which a person refuses to eat or to retain any food or suffers a prolonged and severe reduction of appetite. The individual has an intense fear of becoming obese, feels fat even when thin, and refuses to maintain a minimal body weight. Dr. Bruch backs this up when he states, "Anorexia is a relentless pursuit of excessive thinness" (Strong, Sayad, & DeVault, 1996, p. 371). There are two types of anorexia: Restricting type and Binge-eating-purging type. The restricting type is associated with weight loss due to food restriction. Starvation can damage vital organs, such as the heart and the brai
Another psychoanalytic theory is proposed by Salvador Minuchin and is known as family dynamics. The child is seen as physiologically vulnerable, and the child's family has several characteristics that promote the development of anorexia. According to Minuchin, "Families of children exhibit four characteristics: enmeshment, over-protectiveness, rigidity, and lack of resolution" (Neale & Davison, 1998, p. 216). It is difficult to reach conclusions on anorexia because the disorder may have resulted in changes in personality or in the patient's family. Conditions warranting hospitalization include excessive and rapid weight loss, serious metabolic disturbances, clinical depression, risk of suicide, severe binge eating and purging, or psychosis. Before any treatment program can be put into place, basic nutritional needs must be met. Once the adolescent is out of danger, therapy can be put into place. One type of therapy used in hospitals is the behavior-oriented token program. This program rewards patients for eating regular meals and ensuring they do not purge afterwards. If a specific target weight is gained, they are allowed to return home and continue this therapy. understanding and education on anorexia, adolescents will be able to see the warning signs and avoid the path to their own self-destruction. The most common and effective form of treatment is the use of medications. Some medications can be extremely helpful in the treatment of adolescents. Medication should be carefully monitored, since vomiting reduces the effectiveness of the medication. Antidepressants are the usual drug treatment and help to speed up the recovery process. Although effective, drop-out rates from drug-treatment programs are high, due to the side effects the drugs produce. If a continuous drug program is followed, adolescents seem to gain weight and fight off the effects of anorexia.
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Approximate Word count = 1322
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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