Anorexia Nervosa In Ellen West

The book describes Bruch’s patients’ experiences and the challenges that arise with eating disorders. The book starts with the story of a fifteen-year-old patient named Alma

Diagnosing potential Anorexia nervosa is not always easy, and Alicia’s case, based on information given and her representation, is not clear cut. Researchers argue that the diagnosis has to be done carefully and potential ambiguities have to be resolved (Baer & Blais, 2010). For example, some researchers have argued that one criterion, such as a fear of being fat, can decrease significantly when the person actually loses some weight (Surgenor & Maguire, 2013). For reasons like this, selecting the primary question, namely whether or not the patient has Anorexia

Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive fear of gaining weight due to a distorted self image that results in a dangerously low body weight that can be traced back until 1868 to William Withey Gull who founded the name according to New World Encyclopedia. Although anorexia can be traced back this far, it was not distinguished as the foremost way of altering body image. In this Victorian era being obese or overweight carried the stigma of being in poverty. In efforts to try and fit the standards that society was laying out, women more prominently than males, began to embark on a journey of obtaining a thinner frame through usage of body corsets

A single father watched his daughter, 17 years old, dwindle down to 72 pounds. He begged her to eat, but she would cry and push the plate away. He was irritated and turned to his friends at work complaining his daughter was taking dieting way too far. He would scream at her “Stop! This is nonsense, just eat!”. This father, like many other Americans, did not understand that his daughter could not just stop being Anorexic. The common misconception is that Anorexia Nervosa is just someone obsessed with losing weight. Many people believe that Anorexics look in the mirror and smile at their thinness and progress. This is so untrue, they look in the mirror and wish for a way out.

The story of Stephanie does indeed resemble several of the characteristics on the list of those suffering from an eating disorder. Stephanie suffers from anorexia nervosa because she is very obsessed about losing weight and being thin. In the video, she stated that she counts the caloric intake on a daily basis. she meets some of the criteria on the list because she does live in the U.S, is on a never-ending diet, she is preoccupied with her weight daily, she maintain the distorted body image of herself, she has some kind of Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and she is a single mother of four who may be suffering from a low

eating disorder behaviors have changed. These behaviors have been evident throughout history however, they were not diagnosed as eating disorder., Bulimic behaviors were routinely practiced in in ancient Greek cultures, spiritual fasting was also recorded in the Middle ages (Marky, 2004). Anorexia Nervosa was not recognized by the medical community as an actual medical disorder until 1970, with Bulimia Nervosa not being recognized until 1979 (Miller, 1999.) Prior to this eating disorders were not recognized in culture, and it is culture that establishes eating disorder behaviors abnormal. Today’s culture does recognize eating disorders as the most deadly form of mental illness however, culture also contributes to the stigma against eating

Eating disorders are a very common topic of concern among parents and doctors in an age of endless information. However, the topic is also swiftly judged as taboo in the same breath it is condemned. The refusal to acknowledge the problem is reminiscent of “The Mask of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe in which naïve elitists turn a blind eye to a horrifying plague. Though Poe’s Red Death may be a fictitious disease, the similarities between the effects of an inescapable plague and an eating disorder resonate on a very real level.

Some of the first documented cases of Anorexia Nervosa were religious in origin. As early as the 12th century we saw women, particularly in Western Christianity, known as “Miracle Maidens” who were highly esteemed for their self-control, their “holy anorexia” was thought of as a gift from God. Some scholars have stated “the intense relationship

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).

     In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than

These acts of exclusion are classified as the earliest known methods of bulimia. Thorough studies based on the illnesses were not conducted until 1689, when the first case of anorexia supposedly appeared. The case was disregarded, as religion in that time period promoted fasting over a course of days. Soon after, however, anyone found to be abstaining from nourishment was convicted of witchcraft and burned. Those drastic acts hindered the spread of anorexia, but only for a short period of time. Between the years 1970-1980, anorexia and other eating disorders spread like a wild fire across America and, as a result, the world (Cowley).

Anorexia was introduced into the world around 138 year ago. An esteemed English physician named Sir William Withey Gull introduced it at the Clinical Society of London. The disorder reached public awareness around the 1970’s. It was very popular in the upper class. There are two major types of anorexia. The restriction type and binge eating/purging type. The restriction type is when the person restricts their food intake on their own and does not engage in the other type. The other type, binge eating/purging, is when the person self-induces

As the term "anorexia nervosa" did not exist until 1873” (The first anorexic). In the western world one of the first accounts of anorexia nervosa was during “the 12th and 13th centuries, most famously Saint Catherine of Siena who denied herself food as part of a spiritual denial of self” (A History of Eating Disorders). Most cases of anorexia had to do with fasting as a religious or spiritual experience. However for the women of the Victorian period being thin had transformed and became a way for them to feel successful instead of powerless. It wasn’t till 1970 that the disorder was able to reach the public as it wasn’t just the upper-class that was suffering from anorexia. Again anorexia evolved into the "twentieth-century women progressively idealized the lean, almost 'tubular' body type, deprived of the symbolic emphasis of fertility and motherhood. The thinness of the 'new woman' expressed her sexual liberation and rejection of the traditional female role" (Bremer, J.). Whereas before woman needed to look healthy and capable of having and raising children, now women were aiming to achieve independence the need to be those thing were

Eating disorders are well known in the American culture. It is most likely that people in America know at least one person who has or is currently suffering from an eating disorder. Eating disorders take many forms such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa, binge-eating, and even obesity. The focus of this paper however will be solely on anorexia nervosa. It will breakdown the basics of anorexia as well as compare and contrast the movie Starving in Suburbia with scholarly literature.

“Oh I’m so fat”. This is not something we normally think of hearing out of a